The Florida coaching staff was back on the road recruiting Monday.
UF coach Jim McElwain and his assistants are trying to play catch up after missing all but one day during the first week of the contact period because of their preparation for the SEC Championship Game.
“The big thing is that all of them were able to see it,” McElwain said when asked about the recruiting impact of Saturday. “They were able to see the opportunity that’s going to be there for them to come into a great place, be able to contribute early and get their degree from a top-10 public institution. I’m not sure it gets any better than that.
“So, there’s a lot of momentum. We’ve got a lot of guys excited about the Gators. And missing last week in recruiting, I’m sure glad we did because that meant we were playing. And that’s the way it should be.”
McElwain paid a visit Sunday to 5-star quarterback Jarrett Stidham, a junior college transfer. On Monday, McElwain and offensive line coach Mike Summers went to see 5-star offensive tackle Alex Leatherwood and 4-star wide receiver Jacob Copeland (2018) in Pensacola, Fla. Leatherwood, an Alabama commit, plans to officially visit UF on Dec. 9, while Copeland has a top 2 of Clemson and Florida.
Meanwhile, offensive coordinator Doug Nussmeier visited 5-star quarterback Trevor Lawrence (Cartersville, Ga.), the nation’s No. 1 overall prospect for 2018. He’s considering Clemson, Florida and Georgia.
Nussmeier also saw 4-star offensive linemen Tony Gray (Lawrenceville, Ga.), Netori Johnson (Ellenwood, Ga.) and Andrew Thomas (Atlanta). Gray will visit UF next month, and Johnson and Thomas are UGA commits.
Defensive line coach Chris Rumph joined Nussmeier on his visit with Johnson, then evaluated a pair of 3-star prospects at his position: defensive tackles Emmanuel McNeil (Lawrenceville, Ga.) and Devonte Wyatt (Decatur, Ga.).
Defensive coordinator Geoff Collins and secondary coach Torrian Gray were in Georgia as well, visiting 4-star safeties Tray Bishop (Dawson, Ga.) and Xavier McKinney (Roswell, Ga.), both of whom plan to officially visit Florida.
Running backs coach Tim Skipper was in his hometown of New Orleans to visit 4-star defensive back Brad Stewart, while wide receivers coach Kerry Dixon II spent Monday in Detroit seeing 4-star cornerback Ambry Thomas and 3-star offensive guard Jordan Reid, a Michigan State commit.
Two more 4-star offensive linemen in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., American Heritage teammates Kai-Leon Herbert (Michigan commit) and Tedarrell Slaton, were seen by linebackers coach Randy Shannon. The Gators want to get both prospects on campus for official visits.
Tight ends coach Greg Nord checked out a pair of 3-star linebackers in the Peach State: Solon Page (Marietta, Ga.) and Chandler Wooten (Kennesaw, Ga.). Page is pledged to Tennessee, while Wooten is an Auburn commit.
News & notes
* Alec Jackson, a 3-star defensive tackle from Montgomery, Ala., has trimmed his list of more than two dozen offers to
four finalists. The Gators made the cut along with Auburn, Ole Miss and Southern Cal. He plans to officially visit UF in January.
* The Gators apparently gave Stidham something to think about. McElwain and Nussmeier are hoping to secure an official visit from him before the dead period. Looks like he spent Sunday night sleeping on it.