This late in the recruiting process, most prospects are widely known by fan bases but one prospect visited the Florida Gators this weekend and had fans wanting to know more about him.
That prospect was defensive back Eric Stokes Jr. (6-0, 170, Covington, GA. Eastside) who enjoyed getting to see everything that Florida had to offer this weekend.
“It was a great visit,” Stokes Jr. said. “I got to see the whole city of Gainesville, the campus and eat breakfast at the head coach house. I got to hangout with some of the players and of course chill at the Swamp.”
Stokes Jr. was hosted by freshman safety Jeawon Taylor and the defensive back liked hanging out with the other current Gators.
“It was good to hang out with the players, they have only been there a year and you couldn’t tell by how they acted,” he said of his time with the players. “They acted like people that been with each others for years. They were telling me things like how I will see playing time as soon as I get there.”
Defensive backs coach Torrian Gray has been the coach recruiting Stokes and they were able to talk about how he would into the Gators defense if he was to choose Florida.
“It was good talking to Coach Gray, he says that they’re losing three defensive backs this year and he would love to have me there,” Stokes Jr. said. “He said he can me playing either nickel or corner since I’m a raw talent. “
Stokes Jr. spent a lot of time with Gray over the weekend and he says their relationship is a solid one.
“Coach Gray is going to you how it is no matter what,” he said of what he thinks of Gray. “He’s not going to hold anything back from you. I think we’re real cool with each other too.”
Florida Gators head coach Jim McElwain also spent a lot of time with Stokes Jr. this weekend and his message centered around football and education.
“Coach McElwain basically said the same thing that Coach Gray said,” Stokes Jr. said of his talks with McElwain. “How they didn’t bring many defensive backs in last year and they need some badly this year. He was talking about how they have one of the best educations in the nation.”
This was the first of three official visits this month so Stokes Jr. was a little hesitant to say where Florida stands with so much still to come.
“It’s hard to say cause I haven’t took any other official visits,” he said of where this visit puts Florida. “But I would rate the visit a 10 out of 10.”
INSIDERS TAKE: Stokes Jr. has visits to Georgia and Ole Miss coming up but Florida will continue to recruit the defensive back hard. Right now it seems like Florida has a better chance with other defensive backs on the board.