Fast-tempo practice catches receiver’s attention

The receiver position is very deep in the state of Florida in 2016 and the Florida Gators are trying to cash in with several big time playmakers at the position.

Receiver Eddie McDoom (6-1, 170, Winter Garden, FL West Orange) was in the latest of the crop of receivers to visit Florida and on Friday he got to see the Gators on the field for the first time.

“It was good, I had a good time there,” McDoom said. “I got to talk and meet all of the new coaching staff and I got to watch the practice. After practice we got to try on the uniforms and visit the campus.”

Jim McElwain has made it known that he plans to work his guys hard in practice and that caught the attention of McDoom on Firday.

“Practice was fast tempo and that caught my eyes,” McDoom said. “They move around a lot. I don’t a lot of the players on the team so I didn’t really know anyone. I like how they put their top players in slots to get the ball more.”

Friday was the first time for McDoom to meet new receivers coach Kerry Dixon and from all accounts it seemed to have went well.

“Coach Dixon is a funny dude, I like him,” McDoom said. “His coaching style is good. He was coaching up his guys hard. He was talking to me about how he coaches the position and how they are trying to change the program around.”

After practice was over McDoom got to sit down with Dixon to talk about the position and how Dixon sees the Orlando receiver fitting in.

“He said that he sees me as an outside receiver in the offense,” McDoom said. “He said that I can be the vertical player that they are missing because I have speed. He said that they are going to get their star players the ball and I can be one of those guys.”

Two weeks ago Florida was the leader for McDoom but following a trip last weekend, the Gators are now chasing another SEC team.

“Yeah it helps Florida, I feel comfortable at Florida,” McDoom said. “Alabama is still my leader but Florida is right there maybe even. I plan to wait out my decision for awhile until I take some visits this summer.”

 

INSIDERS TAKE: Alabama did a really job on McDoom’s visit up there and now the Gators have some catching up to do but his recruitment is far from over.

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.