Ojulari can see himself in the Swamp: Florida Gators recruiting

Everyone knows about how big of a night Friday Night Lights was for the Florida Gators recruiting class, but Saturday also saw several big time prospects on campus.

One of those big prospects on campus was defensive end Azeez Ojulari (6-4, 224, Marietta, GA. High) who got to visit and be around several coaches.

“I’ve been here since like 12. It’s a great place. First time in The Swamp,” Ojulari said of his Florida visit on Saturday. “Coach [Chris] Rumph is a great coach. I sat in there with him, we were talking position wise, we went around the campus, saw the academics, great academics here. They’re building new things around here. It’s great.”

This was the first time for Ojulari to be around Rumph for an extended period of time and they’re building a solid relationship based on communication.

“It’s good. I mean, he’s a cool guy,” he said of Rumph. “He gets to know you, like building a good relationship with you. He texts me almost every week, every day, so we’re talking a lot, so the relationship’s getting better and better. Great guy.”

Defensive line coach Chris Rumph offered Ojulari this spring and that helped get the Gators really in the mix for the defensive end.

“It’s a big priority,” Ojulari said of building a relationship with Rumph. “Because when you come here that’s gonna be your position coach, so yeah, it means a lot.”

When Rumph offered Ojulari this spring, it was a little later then some teams but the offer still stood out to him.
“It was crazy. I was super excited,” he said of his reaction to the Florida offer. “ I was like, ‘I gotta get up on a visit,’ so I’m here now.”

After the offer was given to Ojulari, the defensive end knew he had to visit Florida and he explained why he wanted to visit Gainesville.

“Big time SEC football, Dante Fowler, Coach Rumph,” Ojulari said on why he wanted to visit Florida. “He came to see me in spring practice, him and Coach [JaJuan] Seider, so they came and watched me practice. That really made me want to come out. I knew I was a major target.”

After Ojulari got on campus, the coaches made sure to explain to him how big of a priority the defensive end is to the Gators.

“They want me. First of all, they want me,” he said on the message from Florida. “Come in and tell me where I’m gonna be, show me how they’re gonna use me.”

Following his trip to Gainesville, the defensive end says that the Gators helped themselves out with a great visit on Saturday.
“It did. I mean, a lot. It helped them a lot,” Ojulari said on if the visit helped Florida. ““Because I got to actually come see it. Because I’ve just called them on the phone, I haven’t actually been able to come see it.”

Ojulari and his family got to see everything that Florida has to offer and that made the defensive end feel like Florida was a place he could be.

“Yeah, I see myself here,” he said. “

After a great spring, Ojulari has a lot of offers but he says a few schools have pulled out from the others some.
“I mean, not really yet, but they’re in there,” he said on if he has any top schools. “Like Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Auburn, Tennessee, Notre Dame.”

The lead group of schools is just that but Ojulari says he doesn’t want to name any leaders or anything like that.

“Right now, I mean, nah. Not right now,” Ojulari said on if he has a leader. “It’s like so neck and neck right now. Really Georgia, Tennessee, Florida, South Carolina, Auburn, so neck and neck right now.”

The summer has been packed and practice starts soon for Ojulari and his teammates but the defensive end knows when he wants to make a decision.
“I say probably mid-way through the season or late August probably,” he said on when he wants to decide.

With practice starting, Ojulari is looking ahead to some fall visits so he can see some SEC games in person.

“Right now, this Florida one is the last one I’ve actually planned, but I’m not sure yet. I don’t have any visits after this one though,” he said on visits coming up. “I wanna get to a Florida game, Georgia game, Tennessee game.”

INSIDERS TAKE: Right now Georgia seems to be the team to beat for Ojulari but Florida is right there in the mix. Florida did a great job of making him a priority after they offered him and he’s a guy that should be a priority. Ojulari is an elite athlete of the edge.

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.