Florida Gators make a good impression on Scarlett

Jim McElwain and the Florida Gators are looking to land a power running back in the class of 2015 and this weekend they hosted one of the best running backs in the country on an official visit.

Miami running back commit Jordan Scarlett (5-11, 210, Fort Lauderdale, FL St. Thomas Aquinas) was on campus and he was hosted by one of his old friends Brandon Powell.

“It was great man, I had a great time,” Scarlett said. “I got to hang out with some of the players that I already knew and some of the recruits that I have gotten to know. I had a great time. I got to hang out with Quincy [Wilson] and Brandon Powell. Those are good friends.”

Scarlett has gotten the chance to meet McElwain once before but this weekend McElwain impressed Scarlett with his personality.

“Coach McElwain is a great coach and when he came to visit me at my house he was just a good guy,” Scarlett said. “He is full of energy and all weekend he was like that. I love that about him. He gets me fired up.”

The Miami commit looks up to McElwain because he has coached NFL running backs and that’s something that McElwain told Scarlett more about this weekend.

“He was telling me that I’m the kind of running back that he’s looking for in his offense,” Scarlett said. “He said he wished that I would come be a Gator. I know he coached a lot of great backs and that means a lot to me because it shows a lot about him and has track record. I think it’s a good move.”

Running backs coach Tim Skipper has been a big communicator with Scarlett since he was hired and the two are building quite the relationship together.

“Coach Skipper is a good guy and I talk to him often, probably the most often of all of the coaches,” Scarlett said. “I also like his energy. He was just telling me the backs that he has coached and that he was hoping to be able to coach me. He said that he could help me out a lot.”

Next weekend the Miami commit will visit Florida’s arch-rival and after that he hopes to make a final decision.

“Florida State is my last official visit next weekend,” Scarlett said. “I’m probably going to announce sometime after that but I’m not sure of an exact date. As of right now I’m solid to Miami though.”

One thing is for sure is that Florida and McElwain made quite the impression on Scarlett this weekend.

“I had a great time and it was a great visit,” Scarlett said. “Florida is definitely in the mix for me and the fact that I could come in and possibly play early and do great things is intriguing to me.”

 

INSIDERS TAKE: Scarlett says that coaches from Miami and Florida will be by this weekend but Florida State is also a big threat to land Scarlett. Right now it’s a battle and I don’t think anyone has a leg up despite him being committed to Miami. Things will be interesting going down the stretch the next week.

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.

1 COMMENT

  1. Thanks, Andrew. The good guys need him. And, he needs the good guys. Fortunately, an education from either of the other universities won’t carry that much weight. A consideration after football comes to an end. He’d look mighty fine in the Orange and blue. Go Gators.