Loud Swamp impresses Clifton Garrett

Saturdays in the fall mean one thing college football especially in the South where it’s not just a game its life.

Three weeks ago when Florida took on Tennessee in the Swamp it was an electric environment that was buzzing with energy and linebacker Clifton Garrett (6-2, 222 Joliet, IL Plainfield South) was there to soak up the atmosphere.

“I enjoyed my visit it was good to see Florida play,” Garrett explained. “The atmosphere was amazing; it was just cool to see all of the fans and the environment. I didn’t expect it to be as loud as it was but it was really loud in there and they got the W.”

With the bulldozer style linebacker on an official visit to Florida, he had a lot of time to experience the campus and Gainesville but also plenty of time to talk business with the Gators coaching staff.

“I got to talk to all of the coaches but mainly just Coach (Will) Muschamp and Coach (D.J.) Durkin,” Garrett said. “They were just telling me to come to Florida and play ball. They said that I have the opportunity to come in and work hard and earn early playing time.”

While in town the Gators showed Garrett something that he liked and that was the fierce hitting that has become a known factor for a Muschamp-coached defense.

“The defense was great,” Garrett said laughing. “They are a hard hitting defense that loves to hit the team in the opposite color jersey. That’s the style of defense that I could see myself playing in.”

During the visit he was able to hang out with another tough hard hitting Illinois linebacker in Antonio Morrison.

“I went out to dinner with Antonio (Morrison) and went to Coach Muschamp’s house with him for dinner,” Garrett said. “He was telling me some stuff about Florida and telling me that the assumption that instate guys play before out of state guys isn’t true that if you come in and work hard you will earn playing time.”

With two official visits down Garrett has three more visits to find what he’s looking for from a school and next up is another SEC school.

“Next up for me is Ole Miss because I just visited Tennessee,” Garrett said. “LSU isn’t my leader because I want to give everyone an equal shot at me. I will probably decide at the All-American game.”

All though Garrett has already taken an official visit to Gainesville the Gators could end up hosting the Illinois star again before he decides.

“Me and my parents may visit Florida after the season for an unofficial visit but right now I’m not sure,” Garrett explained.”

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.