The Florida Gators coaching staff was out on the road on Monday and Tuesday during the bye week recruiting and visiting several targets and commits.
On Tuesday offensive line coach Brad Davis visited Rutgers offensive line commit Raiqwon O’Neal (6-5, 270, Conway, SC. High) and later offered him a scholarship.
“Coach Brad Davis offered me,” O’Neal said of who offered him on Tuesday. “He was at my school and then I called him. We were just talking non-football related stuff and he was just telling me about himself and also about Florida.”
Davis didn’t get into much talk about where O’Neal would play for the Gators but did express a want for the lineman to get on campus for a visit.
“He was just saying he wants to get me down there,” he said of Davis’ message to him. “I’m trying to schedule an official visit to Florida now.”
This was the first time for O’Neal to meet Davis and the first impression was a good one as Davis explained things about Florida.
“He’s a great person and especially outside of football,” O’Neal said of Brad Davis. “He was telling me about the academics and the environment around the place at Florida.”
O’Neal hasn’t visited Florida before but he still knows quite a few things about the Gators including how the offensive line plays.
“I know that they have a high education and their football team is good,” he said of what he knows about Florida. “Their offensive line is fast, strong and plays physical.”
Despite the offer from Florida, O’Neal is still solid to Rutgers but looking at three other schools.
“It’s great we talked today [Tuesday],” O’Neal said of his commitment to Rutgers. “Florida, Indiana and Maryland are still talking to me though. I’m early enrolling so I plan to sign in December after I talk officials.”
INSIDERS TAKE: O’Neal is a physical tackle that plays with a lot of intensity and effort and plays through the whistle. Rutgers gained his commitment in August but the Gators are a school he’s very interested in.