It has been a big weekend in Gainesville as the Florida Gators picked up four commitments on Saturday as they hosted another big official visitor weekend.
Offensive lineman Fletcher Westphal (6-8, 335, Leesburg, VA. Tuscarora) was on campus and he enjoyed getting to be around the team.
“Just getting to spend a lot of time with the players really,” Westphal said on how an official visit was different. “On other visits, I’ve only been here for two and one was for a game, so I didn’t spend any time with them then and the other was a practice. That was definitely a huge part of the official visit.”
One of the Gators top offensive linemen hosted Westphal on his official visit and explained his experience in Gainesville to the lineman.
“Austin Barber was,” Westphal said on who his player host was. “Nothing but positive information, just talking good about Coach [Rob] Sale and Coach [Darnell] Stapleton. How he has gotten developed into the player he is now.”
Offensive line coach Rob Sale and Darnell Stapleton broke down to Westphal just why Florida is the place for him and how they can prepare him for the NFL.
“They’re going to get me here and develop me into a better player and a better person,” he said on the message from the coaches. “And eventually get me into the league. They said it’s 365 days a year, it’s nonstop training. You get constantly better and better. I’ve seen it just from talking with some of the players and some of the early enrollees. They can see improvement.”
Westphal has visited Clemson and Georgia already and he says all of these visits have been good and making his recruitment harder.
“It’s making the decision tough,” Westphal said on official visits. “I go to each official visit and they’re all amazing, so my decision is going to be tough to make. I’m keeping an open mind going into each OV, I have Arkansas next week, so I’ll make my decision in early July, July 10thish.”
After being in Gainesville for the third time, Westphal says Florida checks a lot of boxes for him including what Billy Napier is building.
“It’s one of those schools that check a lot of boxes,” he said on why Florida could be his pick. “They have a fantastic education; they have the life after football and then Coach Napier is building up that good football winning part as well.”
When it comes decision time for Westphal, he says a few things will play a role in his decision and he has ranked them already.
“When I was at Georgia, Coach [Kirby] Smart actually had me rank five things, it was player relationships, coach relationships, winning, playing as a freshman and NIL,” Westphal said on what’s important when deciding. “I ranked them player relationships one, coaching relationships two, winning three, starting as a freshman four and NIL five.”