Tough decision ahead for Rocel McWilliams

The Gators have an All-SEC BUCK end in Dante Fowler but the coaches are trying to add depth to the position with a player capable of seeing the field immediately. Missouri commitment Rocel McWilliams  (6-3, 240 Pensacola, FL West Florida) is taking a long, hard look at the Gators after a successful official visit weekend.

“It was awesome; I liked it a lot,” McWilliams said after spending a couple of days in Gainesville. “My family also really liked it as well. My favorite parts of the visit was seeing the campus and meeting the players and seeing how the players and coaches get feedback from each other.”

When McWilliams met with Florida head coach, he was made aware of the need to add a quality, ready to play BUCK end in this class.

“Coach Muschamp said he liked me a lot,” McWilliams said. “He said that they are looking for a good end to come in and play. He said that he wants me and needs me to be a Gator and to be that end that they are looking for.”

After McWilliams spoke to Will Muschamp he moved over to defensive coordinator D.J. Durkin’s office where the message was basically the same.

“Coach Durkin said the same thing pretty much except that I’ll be a BUCK end coming,” McWilliams said. “He thinks that I can develop into an end after being in the weight room for a year or so at Florida. He said that they need a BUCK end in this year’s class thought right now.”

While on official visits each prospect has a player host and McWilliams player host was Jarrad  Davis who was straight forward with McWilliams about college life.

“My host was Jarrad Davis,” McWilliams said. “He was cool and laid back. He was like me, a homebody, and we just stayed home and played video games. Jarrad was telling me that if I come to Florida that I have to work hard and take no days off but you have to earn everything here. He said that I would have to take care of my school work first though.”

McWilliams has been committed to Missouri since last April but after this official visit things are getting tougher for McWilliams and his family as Gainesville is a lot closer than Columbia, Missouri.

“I’m still committed to Missouri and I plan to visit them next week,” McWilliams said. “After this weekend though I have to sit down and talk my parents about everything because this was a good visit, but I will make my decision on signing day. Florida being only four hours away will play into my decision some.”

Coach Muschamp plans to make an in-home visit with McWilliams either this week or next week.

Andrew Spivey
Andrew always knew he wanted to be involved with sports in some capacity. He began by coaching high school football for six years before deciding to pursue a career in journalism. While coaching, he was a part of two state semifinal teams in the state of Alabama. Given his past coaching experience, he figured covering recruiting would be a perfect fit. He began his career as an intern for Rivals.com, covering University of Florida football recruiting. After interning with Rivals for six months, he joined the Gator Country family as a recruiting analyst. Andrew enjoys spending his free time on the golf course and watching his beloved Atlanta Braves. Follow him on Twitter at @AndrewSpiveyGC.

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