The Florida Gators coaching staff has been all over the country recruiting top prospects the past month and last week they were in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Running backs coach Tim Skipper visited defensive back Brad Stewart (6-0, 194, New Orleans, LA McDonogh 35) while in the area to watch him practice.
“Coach Skipper came by, it was good, it was nice seeing him by my school,” Stewart said. “He couldn’t talk to me but he was able to talk to my coaches and then I called him that night to talk to him more. It was good that he came by.”
Skipper, who has been in communication with Stewart since last year, liked what he was able to see from the defensive back last week.
“He told me that I looked good in practice and he was impressed,” he said of what Skipper told him. “He said that I had a good practice and he liked what he was seeing from there out there.”
Stewart received a deep recruiting message from Skipper over the phone last week that showed how important the defensive back is to Florida.
“He told me that I would look good in Orange and Blue,” Stewart said. “He said that I fit in well with the program and that they’re losing a lot of people at defensive back this year. He said that I’m a versatile athlete that can could come in and play whichever position they need me at. He said that I had a chance to play as a true freshman.”
Not only is Stewart talking to Skipper, but defensive backs coach Torrian Gray and head coach Jim McElwain are also staying in contact with the defensive back.
“My relationship with Coach Skipper is great and I have a good one with Coach Gray,” he said of his relationship with the Gators. “I just got off the phone with Coach McElwain and that was good too. Coach Skipper is from my area and we have a nice bond and he’s a great recruiter and he’s just Coach Skip.”
When McElwain and Stewart spoke on Wednesday the message was pretty much to the point from the Gators head coach.
“Coach McElwain was telling me that he’s looking forward to seeing me when I come down there the first week of June,” Stewart said of McElwain’s message to him. “He was telling me that they have an opportunity for me there and that the orange and blue would look good on me. He said that they like versatile defensive backs at Florida and that they just had two drafted in the first round.”
Stewart has never been to Gainesville before but that will change in the coming weeks when he arrives in the Sunshine State.
“The beginning of June we’re planning a trip to visit Florida,” he said. “We’re going to see Miami and Florida State while in the state too. Me and my parents are coming down for that trip.”
Despite having a lot of big offers Stewart says that he doesn’t have a leader or has yet to cut his list.
“I haven’t narrowed things down yet but I’m going to put my top 10 out this summer,” Stewart said. “I’m not too sure when I’ll make a commitment but it’s really when the time feels right for me.”
INSIDERS TAKE: Florida is a school on the rise in Stewart’s recruitment and at this point it seems like going out of state is something that Stewart may do. Stewart sees a big opportunity to play early at Florida, plus his relationship with Coach Skipper has the Gators in the mix.