Sitkowski’s experience sets the Florida Gators apart

The Florida Gators have their 2017 quarterback in Jake Allen and the coaching staff has already turned their attention to the class of 2018 at the position.

2018 quarterback Artur Sitkowski (6-4, 215, Old Bridge, NJ. High) is one of the top targets at the position after a two-day visit to Gainesville last month for the quarterback camp.

While on that two-day visit to Florida, Sitkowski picked up an offer from the Gators and ever since then he’s been doing his homework on Florida.

“I’ve been doing my research on Florida for the past month since I left that visit there,” Sitkowski said. “Florida is a school I can see myself going to and playing football at. The university is filled with great academics and a football team filled with tradition with the Heisman trophy winners, Danny Wuerffel, Tim Tebow and it goes on and on. Also what Coach [Jim] McElwain and Coach [Doug] Nussmeier bring to the table sets them apart.”

Sitkowski had a rare opportunity to work with Gators offensive coordinator Doug Nussmeier not once but twice this summer and that’s something the quarterback enjoyed.

“It was very beneficial to work with Coach Nussmeier, I got to work with him twice this summer actually,” he said of his time with Nussmeier. “I got to work with him when he came up for a satellite camp at Wagner College and then I worked with him down in Gainesville. Out of all of the schools, I’ve gotten to work with Florida the most so that’s why I like Florida so much.”

The quarterback has gotten the chance to see how Nussmeier coaches the position and Sitkowski likes his style of coaching.

“Coach Nussmeier really coaches me up and he doesn’t’ pity pat around, he’s straight to the point,” Sitkowski said of Nussmeier’s style of coaching. “He always talks to me about feet and he coaches me hard. He doesn’t sugar coat anything and that’s something I admire and look for in a coach.”

The relationship between quarterback and offensive coordinator is an important one and Sitkowski and Nussmeier are developing a good one so far.

“Our relationship is getting stronger and stronger every time we talk,” he said of his relationship with Nussmeier. “The first time my family got to meet with him was good. That’s when the recruiting process starts is when your family gets to meet them and you get to on campus and work with them. We have a really close relationship and one of the top relationships I have.”

When Sitkowski left Florida he planned to keep in touch with the Gators and that’s exactly what he has done.

“We’ve kept in touch here and there, I talked to them the week after the visit was over,” Sitkowski said of his communications with Florida. “They have camp right now and I understand they’re busy and I’ve been busy with my season lately. When September first comes around and they’re able to call me then things will start picking up.”

Florida isn’t the only big school that is recruiting Sitkowski as he says several other schools have his attention.

“Miami, Wisconsin, North Carolina, South Carolina, Maryland and Michigan are the schools that I’ve been in contact with the most besides Florida,” he said of other schools in the mix. “Those are the schools that I’ve done the most research on and looked at the most.”

The Gators will get another chance this fall to impress Sitkowski as the quarterback plans to take a visit to Gainesville this season.

“The one game that I do want to come to is actually during my bye week of October 8th,” Sitkowski said. “Florida plays LSU that weekend so that’s definitely the game that I plan to come too. I know that game is a big deal down there. That’s probably the one game that I plan to go to this fall.”

INSIDERS TAKE: Sitkowski says that he still plans to announce his decision after the spring evaluation period is over so that he’s able to see who is recruiting him the hardest. Florida is definitely a school to keep a close eye on with Sitkowski.

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.