The Tampa area has always been a prime spot in recruiting and the Florida Gators are starting to own the area again like they have in the past.
The Gators are hoping to continue that trend in 2018 and on Saturday they hosted 2018 defensive end Jonathan King (6-3, 230, Tampa, FL. Tech) on his first visit to Gainesville this fall.
“Man, it’s great,” King said of Saturday’s visit. “I love the atmosphere. It’s a good experience and it was a good visit. It’s the energy it’s the opportunity, the players, the pride in the team. I just like how it’s structured and how it operates.”
With King being a defensive lineman, he played close attention to the Gators defense and he was impressed by them.
“It’s almost a lot like the defense that we have at my school now,” he said of Florida’s defense. “It’s a whole lot of teamwork and holding each other accountable and just getting the job done. That’s what it’s about. As a defensive player I like to see that.”
Last spring the Gators offered the 2018 defensive end and King admits that his relationship with Florida is improving daily.
“Definitely. As I’ve matured and gotten older, I’ve come closer I have more encounters with the players, with the coaches,” King said on if he has a good relationship with Florida. “We’re growing more of a relationship and I like that.”
The main coach that King talks to is defensive line coach Chris Rumph and they have bonded well so far.
“That’s a cool dude,” he said of his relationship with Chris Rumph. “We kinda resemble each other personality wise. We connect like it ain’t nothing.”
King has over double digit offers already but he says that he doesn’t have any leaders right now but several schools are still talking to him.
“I don’t know where I want to go right now,” King said on if he has any leaders. “A lot of schools are recruiting me hard. I get a lot of mail every day. I get tweets, emails, texts, it’s a whole lot of stuff.”
The 2018 defensive end hasn’t taken many visits this year and he says he isn’t sure of where he will visit next.
“I don’t know. I visited Alabama, I visited FSU. I don’t know if I’m going to visit anywhere else,” he said. “I’m going to just plan visits out.”