Monday was a big day for the Florida Gators coaching staff as the assistant coaches hit the road recruiting, visiting several top prospects in the state of Florida.
Tight end Tre McKitty (6-4, 225, Bradenton, FL IMG Academy) was one of the first ones to receive a visit and he had two coaches at his school to see him.
“Coach [Doug] Nussmeier and Coach [Chris] Rumph came by to see me today [Monday],” McKitty said. “It went good but we couldn’t talk to each other, so they just talked to my coaches. I was one of the first guys they visited and it showed that they were really pushing hard for me and wanting me.”
Just last week McKitty was on Florida’s campus when the IMG Academy bus tour stopped in Gainesville, and while the trip was short, the tight end got a lot of face time with the coaches.
“It was real good, I’ve been up there plenty of times already,” McKitty said of his most recent Florida visit. “It was just good to go back up there again and to talk to the coaches. They were just showing me how much they want me and talking to me the whole trip.”
A lot of the IMG prospects had never been on campus before, so the Florida staff took them around campus, but McKitty got to spend more time with the coaching staff.
“Everyone went on a tour but I’ve already toured the campus a lot so I just went with Coach [Greg] Nord for awhile,” he said. “After that I went up to Coach Nussmeier’s office and talked with him. That was pretty much it, I just hung out with them most of the time we were there.”
Tight ends coach Greg Nord has been recruiting McKitty for two years now and the message has stayed the same.
“Coach Nord is just telling me how much he wants me,” McKitty said. “He tells me how he can use me in the offense and he showed me some more film of that too. He showed me the different ways that they we going to get me the ball. He also expressed a big need for tight ends in this class and that’s something I noticed.”
Offensive coordinator Doug Nussmeier much like Nord wants McKitty in Gainesville and he told the tight end that last week.
“Coach Nussmeier is just kind of saying the same thing as Coach Nord but he brought me up to his office so he could go over some things with me during the visit,” he said. “He was talking about how great of player I am and how great of a fit I would be for Florida in their offense. He said that he wants me a lot and he showed me how much they use the tight end.”
McKitty, who is being recruited by several SEC schools, likes one thing in particular that Florida is doing in his recruitment.
“They talk to me everyday. They talk to me all the time,” McKitty said. “Really the whole coaching staff talks to me and that’s what I love about Florida. Everybody hits me up and not just one coach.”
The one-time Miami commitment backed off that pledge earlier this year and now McKitty wants to take things slow.
“I don’t really have a list or anything but Florida is always up there,” he said. “I still plan to decide after my official visits and I will most likely be back up to Florida again this summer.”
INSIDERS TAKE: McKitty is one of the tight ends that the Gators are pursuing, but the biggest question is whether or not he waits until after official visits to decide or not. The Gators have and still are one of the top teams for the IMG tight end.