Eleven Florida Gators commits were in town on Saturday for the first game of the year in the Swamp to help recruit others to join them in Gainesville.
Making his first visit to Gainesville since he committed was receiver Tyquan Thornton (6-3, 165, Miami, FL. Booker T.) and he felt the love of being a commit on Saturday.
“The visit was very great,” Thornton said of his visit to Florida. “The game was very exciting, there was some up’s and down’s throughout the game. The end was great to win. I felt like a part of the family.”
Saturday was also the first time for Thornton to watch a game in the Swamp and he enjoyed the atmosphere.
“The atmosphere was crazy,” he said. “I was just excited and shaking in my seat. I was ready to go.”
Thornton being a receiver he watched that position the most and he liked a lot of things they did including the final play.
“I saw a lot of explosiveness when they caught the ball,” Thornton said of the Florida receivers. “I liked how Tyrie Cleveland made the big catch at the end of the game. That grabbed my attention right there. I liked how they spread the ball around.”
After the game was over, Thornton had the chance to talk with several coaches including head coach Jim McElwain.
“I talked to Coach Randy Shannon, Coach Kerry Dixon and Coach Mac,” he said of the coaches he spoke to. “He was just excited to see us come down for the game and told us to stay excited and enjoy the game.”
Receiver coach Kerry Dixon mainly keep the conversation about things off the field while they spoke on Saturday.
“Coach Dixon, we just talked about a lot of things,” Thornton said. “He was asking me about the hurricane and about my family. We were just talking about the game and stuff like that.”
Saturday likely will not be the final game that Thornton sees in Gainesville this fall as he and two other commits are planning another trip.
“I’m planning on coming back for a couple of more games,” he said on when he plans to return to Florida. “Me, Newt [Divaad Wilson] and Randy [Russell] will have to sit down and talk about it and see what game we’re going to come up.”
Before Thornton visited Gainesville on Saturday, he had went to see Miami play in week one but he admitted that their game day atmosphere didn’t compare to Florida’s.
“It was good but it wasn’t like here,” he said of his trip to Miami earlier this year. “The atmosphere wasn’t like this. This was a good experience.”
After this visit on Saturday, Thornton has went from wanting to take other visits to not anymore.
“Right now, I’m not looking at any other places,” Thornton said of his commitment to Florida. “I’m locked in. The love from the players and coaches just make it feel like a big family.”
INSIDERS TAKE: Thornton is a big play speedy receiver that Florida is really excited about so getting him to stop taking visits elsewhere is a huge plus for Florida.