Sunseri’s background is intriguing to Noah Jefferson

Defensive line has been one of the biggest areas that new Florida Gators head coach Dan Mullen has focused on in recruiting since taking over in Gainesville.

Mullen has sent out a lot of offers and that continued once defensive line coach Sal Sunseri took the job earlier this month.

One of their main targets on the defensive line is JUCO defensive tackle Noah Jefferson (6-6, 330, Las Vegas, NV. Desert Oasis) who has spoken to Sunseri a lot lately.

“I’ve talked to him multiple times, he said I was one of the first guys he called,” Jefferson said of his talks with new defensive line coach Sal Sunseri. “It’s going pretty good, he’s pretty cool. He likes to yell but I’m used to that.”

Sunseri has made sure to explain to Jefferson that the Gators need him in Gainesville and need on the defensive line.

“He’s just telling me that I’m on top of his board right now,” he said of Sunseri’s message to him. “He said to take my time and make the decision for me.”

Jefferson is an athletic guy despite his size and Sunseri has told him that they plan to move him around on the defensive line if he chooses Florida.

“They want me to play 1 technique, 3 technique and a little bit of end,” Jefferson said on where Florida sees him playing. “They see me moving around a lot.”

Sunseri isn’t the only coach recruiting Jefferson hard as two other coaches are hard after the JUCO defensive lineman.

“Coach [Todd] Grantham, Coach Sunseri and Coach Mullen really,” he said on the coaches he talk to from Florida. “They all basically say the same to me, it just is a general message from them.”

Jefferson admits that the Gators have had an up hill climb in his recruitment once the Gators lost their defensive line coach but Sunseri’s background has helped Florida’s chances.

“It’s going good so far, it kind of caught me off guard when Coach [Chris] Rumph left but it’s good now,” Jefferson said on his relationship with Florida. “Things are going good so far and I’ve looked into Coach Sunseri’s background and his last few years of how he has developed his players.”

Now that Jefferson is heading into the last month of his recruitment, he has two more official visits planned before he announces on signing day.

“February 2nd is my Florida official and Ole Miss on the 26th,” he said on upcoming visits. “I don’t think I’ll take a visit this weekend.

The Gators have already visited Jefferson once since the recruiting period opened back up and they plan to return to see him soon.

“They’re coming one day this week,” Jefferson said on when Florida is coming to see him.

INSIDERS TAKE: There’s some question as to whether or not Florida can get Jefferson into school but if the Gators are able to do that then Florida are in good shape for the defensive lineman.

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.