cane commit opening things up for UF
Matt Shodell, CaneSport Magazine
CaneSport.com
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Miami coach Randy Shannon says he doesn't consider a player committed to UM if he's taking other visits.
And his point was borne out by a visit Miami Booker T Washington High School receiver Davon Johnson, a Cane commit, took to the University of Florida this weekend.
It was Johnson's first official visit, and he said, "It was way beyond what I expected."
So much so that Johnson says he has opened things up.
"It's all up in the air now," he said.
Johnson says the atmosphere in Gainesville was a huge selling point.
Another selling point: "Their style of offense," said Johnson, who was hosted by former Cane recruit Major Wright. "Also the coaching staff, the players."
And he spent a lot of time there with fellow South Florida recruits Patrick Johnson (also a Cane commitment), Brandon Harris and Etienne Sabino.
"We all hung around with each other, had a great time," Johnson said.
Johnson says Tim Tebow and Urban Meyer were in his ear about becoming a Gator.
"(Tebow) was saying it's a good place for me, and coach Meyer was telling me I'm a special player," Johnson said. "He asked if I was strongly considering coming to Florida. I said `Yeah.'"
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rivals100 lineman jones sees two for one
This past weekend Rivals100 offensive lineman Barrett Jones had the opportunity to see two of his five finalists face off against each other Saturday in the Swamp while on an official visit to the University of Florida. The 6-foot-5, 271-pounder, who is the No. 55 rated prospect in the nation, talked about his time in Gainesville and what it meant to see one of his finalists dismantle another in person.
Living in the Volunteer State, he was well aware of the fact that the Tennessee faithful aren't exactly Gator fans. What he found out Saturday is that there's no love lost on the Florida side of the side of the fence as well.
"The purpose of the trip was to see what the game day atmosphere was like at the University of Florida. I figured what better game to attend than the one against their bitter rival. I've never met a Tennessee fan that liked Florida, and now it's vice versa – you can definitely see Florida doesn't like Tennessee from what I saw on the field and in the stands."
While the Gator team and nation are busy basking in the glow of victory today, for his part, while he said it was impressive, Jones said one game – win or loss – won't factor into his decision.
"Obviously these kind of games happen – I can't base my decision on one game," said Jones. "Florida was the better team yesterday, but I'm trying not to focus on specific games. I will look at how teams do over the entire season and if I think they are on the way up or the way down. If someone has a losing season, now that matters."
He then spoke a little more in-depth about the weekend.
"Definitely being at the game was the highlight, it was amazing," was Jones reply when asked about the atmosphere in the Swamp. "When Florida scored that first touchdown on the return, I've heard the crowds at games at Tennessee, Alabama and Auburn, but that place was crazy. That was as loud as I've ever heard a stadium get.
"Duke (Lemmens) and James (Wilson) were my player hosts for the weekend and I talked to Zebrie Sanders there a lot. I hung out with them and some other players at night and got a chance to talk to Tim Tebow and (Percy) Harvin in the locker room after the game. Coach Meyer was in there congratulating the players and calling out the ones he thought played very well to give them credit."
Before boarding his plane to head back home, Jones gave a brief description of where he currently stands in the recruiting process.
"Coach Meyer told me that he thinks I'm a great fit for Florida, but I'm still trying to keep an open mind right now until I take the rest of these visits."
Next month Jones heads to North Carolina for his second official visit. He also has two unofficial visits scheduled as well. He will attend the Alabama – Tennessee and Tennessee – Georgia games.
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harris talks about his visit to florida
Although the University of Florida Gators have picked up two four-star cornerback prospects within the last week, with the numbers being what they are at the position, Urban Meyer and staff are still in the hunt for difference makers in the secondary. One of the top prospects on the board was in Gainesville over the weekend for an official visit with the Gators.
It was the first official visit of the recruiting process for 5-foot-10, 174-pound Miami (Fla.) Booker T. Washington prospect Brandon Harris, giving him something to compare the rest of his visits to.
"The stadium was packed with a sellout crowd. The crowd was really into it and kept Florida in the game. It was loud and it kept the team pumped up. I really enjoyed it."
The only other college football games he has visited personally were those of the hometown Miami Hurricanes.
"I went to all the Miami home games last year," said Harris, who then talked about the two experiences. "Both crowds are intense because they love and support their team. The big difference is the size of the crowd. There's more people at Florida – that's a big difference, but both places love their team."
Harris talked a little more about his time in Gainesville.
"The first night we hung with our host, but the second night after the victory we went out with the team. I talked to the coaches and they tried to sell their program."
It is a sales pitch Harris has heard before and will hear again. With the overwhelming amount of attention he receives, he is trying to give each college interested an opportunity to lure him out of South Florida while at the same time not giving any of them false hope.
"I have really had to stay modest with them (coaching staffs) without insulting them. You have to let them know how you honestly feel about their program while at the same time knowing that you can't make everyone happy and if you can't see yourself playing in their program, you have to let them know that in a respectful way so their not offended. I told Florida that they've always been one of my top schools and after that visit, it only helped them."
The trip to Gainesville was the first step in what promises to be a drawn out process for Harris. According to the Rivals250 member, he plans on taking all five of his allotted official visits.
While he is sure he'll take them all, just who will get the remaining four is undecided.
"I don't know at all,"said Harris, who was laughing as he continued, "I would be telling you a story if I said I knew where I wanted to visit."
Since the weekly calling period began on September 1st, Harris says that he has been hearing from the following programs on a consistent basis: "I've been talking mostly to the coaches from Miami, Florida, Rutgers, LSU, Tennessee and the University of Central Florida. There's nothing really new."
Harris said those are his six leaders at this point, while stressing that they were all on the same level.
"Mainly I'm looking at the schools that are still calling me," said Harris. "Right now I'm still open. I'm breaking things down with my family and I won't be making any decisions about a leader until I take all five of my visits."
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4 star brown was already in the bag
ven before setting foot on the campus at the University of Florida this past weekend, 4-star Orlando (Fla.) Boone cornerback Jeremy Brown already knew where he was going to attend college. He made that decision months earlier - he just didn't make it public. All that was left to do over the weekend was make the announcement known and help his future team by doing a little recruiting of his own.
The 5-foot-10, 163-pounder said he has known for quite some time where he would be attending college and his future coaches knew it as well.
"It was one of those things that when I went to Florida over the summer, I got a good enough feel for it and was impressed by them enough that before I left I knew Florida was on top by a long shot and all I really needed to do was go to a couple of places to make sure," explained Brown. "I liked Florida so much I wanted to be able to see if it was real – did I really like them that much or would I feel the same way about all the schools I visited?"
He was able to answer his own question.
"I went on some other unofficial visits and they were impressive – I liked them a lot, but none of them had the feel of Florida. Nothing compares to the Gators. I kind of gave the coaches my word, I kind of told them, 'Yeah I'm going to be coming here (Florida) coach, I just want to see some other schools first, you don't have anything to worry about.' I didn't want to go public with it.
"It was a great experience for me. You only get to go through this once and I didn't want to miss out on it. They knew they didn't have anything to worry about when it comes to me keeping my word."
Brown said he decided this weekend to make public what the Gator coaching staff had known all along.
"It was time. This was the last official visit I wanted to take and it's early in my season, so I want to be able to concentrate on my senior season and help my team get to the playoffs and help Florida in any way I can."
When it comes to recruiting, Brown started being helpful in a big way over the weekend, but only after fate stepped in and switched the plans around a little bit.
"My host was supposed to be Lorenzo Edwards, but on the play where Jerimy Finch broke his leg, he had a little concussion or something on that play. He didn't go out on Saturday so I went out with a bunch of players in a group with Major Wright, Moses Jenkins, Jaye Howard, Joe Haden, we saw all the football players and then I was with Will Hill – that's the guy I definitely spent a lot of time with. I got his number – we'll be staying in touch. I told him it would be great to be teammates. I'm trying to lead him to Florida. He's the coolest guy. We laughed and joked around the whole time. I know I was saying, 'Will it'll be great to be teammates' - really he was who I hung out the most."
Since Brown made his mind up prior to his visit, there wasn't a need for the coaching staff to sell him on the program. Instead he just experienced the weekend more as a player than as a prospect.
"They actually showed me a lot of love. Coach (Chuck) Heater spent a lot of time with me. After the game we had dinner together and then this morning we all went to the President's house. We spent a lot of one-on-one time together. Coach Heater and coach Meyer discussed how exciting it is to have me on board, how we're going to have something special. They are excited about having me as a Gator."
From the way Brown was talking, the excitement wasn't just a one way street, he sounds equally as pumped up.
"Man it's great to be a Florida Gator!" said Brown. "To be the defending national champions is great, but to be around the coaches and players, that's what makes it better. This is a young team that is going to be good for a long time. I'm coming into a special place and we're all coming in to win. I'm 100% a Florida Gator. I'm not one of those guys who's going to try to surprise people and change my mind. I'm a Gator."
Now that his final destination is public, he can go about the business of preparing to suit up for the Orange and Blue. With the turnover of personnel in the secondary, there's not much experience and according to Brown, plenty of opportunity for those willing to seize it.
"I'm working out and then immediately after the season I'll be working with trainers. I don't plan on redshirting. I'm going to do what I can in the of off season to get faster, stronger and come in ready to contribute."