On Monday night the Florida Gators made a very important in-home visit to one of their top targets on the offensive side of the ball.
Head coach Dan Mullen and offensive line coach John Hevesy visited Miami offensive line commit Michael Tarquin (6-5, 290, Citra, FL. North Marion) at his home and it was a good overall visit according to the lineman.
“It went great, I had a good visit,” Tarquin said of his in-home visit with Florida. “Just talked for awhile, I got to learn a lot more about Coach Mullen and Coach Hevesy. I got to talk to them at home for a few hours and understand what kind of program they have and how they’re going to run it.”
The visit was a much-needed visit for Tarquin and his family as they got to ask Florida some questions they had for them.
“It helped not only answer my questions but my parents’ as well,” he said of the visit. “It was a relaxed environment.”
Mullen didn’t give Tarquin a big sales pitch on Monday night but just explained why the Gators can help the lineman.
“They were talking about my potential and they feel like they can develop me to reach my full potential both on and off the field,” Tarquin said of the message from Florida on Monday. “That’s their main goal, Coach Mullen says the main goal is development. He loves developing guys.”
It was just a few months ago that Tarquin wasn’t talking with Florida but he says he’s glad he started to the Gators coaching staff again.
“I think very highly of them now,” he said of his impressions of the staff after Monday. “I kind of turned away from Florida because of the former staff but I’m very glad that I opened up to the University of Florida again. I like Coach Mullen and Coach Hevesy a lot and think very highly of them.”
This weekend Tarquin will get a chance to take his official visit to Gainesville and he knows what he wants to accomplish this weekend.
“Just get one more full view of Florida,” Tarquin said of the goal of this weekend’s official visit to Florida. “Talk to the coaches again and at this point I think it’s very beneficial to just get with the players and getting around the guys that I’m going to be with.”
After this weekend, Tarquin will have visited both Florida and Miami and he knows that after this weekend it will be time to start making a final decision.
“Just sit down and weigh my options and talk to my family,” he said on what’s next for him after this weekend. “And then I’m either going to stick with my commitment to Miami and sign with them on the 19th or flip to Florida. I don’t want it to be right on signing day.”