Billy Napier and his coaching staff have already set their sights on the 2023 recruiting class just days after finishing the 2022 class up.
Last month, the staff hosted offensive lineman Clay Wedin (6-6, 295, Tampa, FL. Carrollwood Day) on campus for a visit and he was able to meet several coaches.
“The visit overall was really impressive,” Wedin said on his visit to Florida in January. “I sat down with Coach [Darnell] Stapleton and talked with him about his coaching philosophy and what Coach [Billy] Napier is trying to instill up there for the culture. I was really impressed with the whole visit.”
Wedin admits that this visit to Gainesville was different for him and he liked the new energy around the coaching staff.
“I definitely got a different feeling from this coaching staff,” he said on if he noticed a difference from this visit to his last. “I feel like it was a lot more interactive, that was really the first time that I had a sit-down conversation with anyone at UF or really any conversation to begin with. I loved the environment.”
Offensive line coach Rob Sale spent a lot of time with Wedin during the visit as they’re starting to learn more about each other.
“I was talking to Coach Sale too,” Wedin said. “He was the one that toured us around the new athletic facility. We didn’t talk to in-depth about football, we were just getting to know each other. That was the first time for me to talk to him in-person or on the phone, so it was great getting to meet him. Hopefully this relationship keeps getting stronger and stronger.”
Offensive line coach Darnell Stapleton also spent time around Wedin and explained what’s expect of a player at Florida.
“He knows his stuff,” he said on his impressions of Stapleton. “He was real straight up with me when we were talking, he was probably the main guy that I talked too. He said they’re going to give you everything you need resource wise but you’re on your own with how your work ethic is. If you give 100 percent, they’re going to give you 100 percent.”
Wedin who’s considered one of the top lineman in the 2023 class says the Gators are starting to show a lot of interest in him now that Napier and company are in charge.
“They said they were interested, they’ve been showing a lot of interest,” Wedin said on if the coaches expressed a need for him. “To be honest, we weren’t talking recruiting too much, we were really just getting to know each other. The relationship is really early with both Coach Stapleton and Coach Sale.”
INSIDERS NOTE: Wedin says he plans to return to Gainesville for a visit either this spring or summer.