Top 2015 defensive end has Florida interest

ST. PETERSBURG — One of the top defensive ends at the Under Armour All-American combine was Russell Ude (6-3, 250, Atlanta, GA Westminster), a 2015 recruit who is receiving national attention after an impressive junior year.

“I recently picked up an offer from Virginia in December,” Ude said. “I talked to coach (Noel) Mazzone from UCLA on Wednesday. I’ve been getting interest from schools all over the country not just the SEC.”

One of the schools that Ude has visited but hasn’t received an official offer from is Florida but he thinks that could change very soon.

“Florida is still talking to me a lot they haven’t offered yet but they are close,” Ude said. “I loved my visit to Tennessee this past fall. I loved the atmosphere and it wasn’t too hot or anything. I love the Swamp too. It was cool to see Tyler Murphy bounce back in that game after Jeff Driskel went down with an injury.”

The atmosphere in The Swamp is something that impressed Ude along with Florida’s style of defense.

“I like that they play in the SEC and it’s a step towards to the NFL,” Ude said. “I like that Florida runs both the 3-4 and 4-3 because it gives you an opportunity to different things in the defense. They want me to play the BUCK position in their defense.”

Next up for Ude is several visits including one possibly to Florida but also across the country from his Atlanta home.

“I plan to visit Florida and some west coast schools this spring and summer,” Ude said. “I haven’t set any kind of dates yet but it will probably be for their junior days.

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.