Addazio discusses OL Signees

[IHateUGAlyDawgs]

Until a prospect has signed on the dotted line and has faxed his letter of intent to the University of Florida, the staff is not allowed to comment publicly in any way about the prospects under consideration for a football scholarship. Now that signing day has come and gone, Gator Country was able to get offensive line coach Steve Addazio to comment about the newest group he will be working to develop. While not a large number, it’s a group he could talk about all day.

The headliner of the class is Seffner Armwood’s Matt Patchan, a 6-6, 270-pounder who made the Parade and US Army All-American teams. His father was a standout lineman at Miami during the 1980s and his uncle also played there so convincing him to be a Gator was no small recruiting achievement. Up first is maybe the hardest recruiting battle of the season won by the Gator football staff. Patchan has all the tools to be a great offensive tackle at Florida and Addazio knows he has something special.

“He is a guy that loves football and he comes from a tremendous family,” Addazio said. “He is a great player that has a real aptitude for football. Obviously he is an athlete. He can really run and move. He is one of the most explosive guys that get off the ball I have ever seen at the position. He plays unbelievably relentlessly. He is very intense and a focused guy since he has been enrolled.”

The Gators set out to sign two tackles in the Class of 2008 but the second one sort of flew under the radar. David Young, a 6-5, 285-pounder out of Edwardsville, Illinois was high on Florida’s list when the Gators began recruiting for 2008 but he broke both knee caps his senior year so he dropped off a lot of high profile recruiting lists. He was a late addition to the recruiting class but the Gators feel they have a real gem.

“We have always loved David Young,” Addazio said. “Urban (Meyer) and I both went out there [to Illinois] and we really liked this kid. He has a really great personality. He is a guy that you can talk to about a play and he knows every position for a play. He really understands concepts. He has a lot of energy to him.”

The Gators made certain there was medical clearance for Young before they sent him the LOI to sign. It was almost a twelfth hour deal and not until Dr. Pete Indelicato saw an MRI and further medical evidence that indicated Young was on track for a full recovery that the Gators went ahead and sent the LOI to Edwardsville. There was a lot of trust going on in this situation.

“His high school coach and Urban worked together at Illinois State and they are good friends,” Addazio said. “He trusted the coach and the coach was really strong with his feelings on the kid as a player and an athlete. When you watch his film and you see he has unbelievable potential. When you watch him as a player ... in his senior year he had unbelievable injuries and to think that the guy could play like that with those injuries. It speaks volumes for who he is, so we have a real passion for him.

“But ... we really had to find out that he was okay, and we really didn’t find out till the last minute. The truth was, he is who we already wanted. The truth was we were committed to him and he was committed to us for quite some time. We had to put it on hold to go through that whole medical deal and we thought we may have to move in a different direction. It is really cool how it all worked out. It is unbelievable.”

At the last minute, the offers really started to roll in for Young from schools that were seeking to add prospects the last week. Young made a decision he would hold out because he wanted to be a Gator. The Gators did everything they could to speed up the process and as the bell sounded on signing day the doctors gave the signal that the staff was looking for.

“It was really cool to see how important it was to him and his mom to follow a dream,” Addazio said. “You have to have a special spot for a guy that it was that important to him, he was willing to risk it all. He just hung in there, and he is an athletic guy. He is 6-5, he is a tackle and we really wanted two tackles. And now we find out that he is going to be fine the day he arrives on campus.”

The third piece of the offensive line puzzle was at center, and the Gators think they found a gem in Sam Robey (6-5, 278) of Louisville (KY) Trinity. Robey shares a lot of the same mental traits as Patchan. He is intense and focused, things that put it over the edge for this staff to go after him.

“I just love Robey,” said Addazio. “He is a great kid. He comes from a strong high school program with a great coach. He comes from an athletic family. His dad is Rick Robey [former Kentucky basketball All-American and NBA star]. There was something about him. He has great feet, and he was 255 pounds. He never had a chance to lift because he was a heck of a basketball player.

“Now he has decided not to play basketball. He said he wants to be the best, play in the best conference, and play against the best. You are looking at a kid that is a little undersized so you go and investigate him and you learn about him and watch his tape. Then the kid turns around and asks, ‘What do I have to do?’ You tell him what he has to do (to get a scholarship) and he dedicates himself to it. Then he goes from 255, to 265, then 275, and he is darn near 280 now. He will come in at 290. Everything he says to you, he actually is. He will be one of those guys that is a high end guy, he does great in the classroom, he will work his tail off, he is a hell of a person, and he is a competitor.

“I think he is perfect for us, I really do. I am really excited about the three guys we have. They have a great work ethic, all good in the class room, and all are about the right stuff.”

Another signing day has come and gone and doing an interview about his future prospects, I could see the smile beaming from Addazio through my phone as he was talking about them. It takes a special character and mindset to play on the offensive line in college, and the Gators feel they have three perfect fits for what they want to accomplish.

[annarborgator]

Sounds like the OL guys are solid prospects in every respect...here's hoping they all 3 pan out...love them big nasties up front.

[apexgator]

Thanks for sharing hater.

[radbag]

good read - thanks hater!

[a1bion]

I'm excited about all three of these guys. It sounds like we brought in some beasts on the line.