Diabate likes the Florida Gators plan for him on defense

The Florida Gators are set to host a lot of prospects over the next few days and on Wednesday they kicked things off with an out of state visitor.

Linebacker Mohamoud Diabate (6-4, 220, Auburn, AL. High) was on campus with his family and enjoyed his visit on Wednesday.

“It went well, it was a great visit,” Diabate said of Wednesday’s visit. “We went to the academic center, to the nutrition center, took a campus tour and sat down and talked with the coaches and watched film with them. Overall it was a great day. I got to see all aspects of the university and see what they can provide for me from the athletic side of things to the academic side of things.”

While on campus Diabate got to speak with several coaches including head coach Dan Mullen.

“I spoke with Coach Mullen, Coach [Sal] Sunseri and Coach [Todd] Grantham,” he said on the coaches he spoke with. “Those are the people that I talked to the most but I greeted all of the coaches. I got to talk to them and get to know who they were and they got to know who I was.”

The Gators coaching staff spoke with Diabate at length about where the Gators see the 2019 prospect fitting into the Florida defense if he chooses the Gators.

“They’re going to be running a 3-4 so they want me as a 3-4 outside linebacker,” Diabete said on where Florida wants him playing. “I love that, I feel like that is where I will flourish at. I feel like I can be a really good player there with the correct coaching and with hard work. I was really excited to hear that and excited to see the film of the players that have played there.”

Defensive coordinator Todd Grantham explained to Diabate that there is a big need for players at his position in Gainesville.

“He just basically said that changing defenses they really don’t have the players who are accustomed to playing that position,” he said on Grantham’s message to him. “He said with me coming from high school and being used to playing the position that coming in, I would have a chance to play early. They have a lot of seniors and people who might go to the draft so me coming there I would have a chance to earn playing time early.”

Defensive line coach Sal Sunseri’s background is something that caught Diabate’s attention because of his history in the NFL.

“It shows me that he has extensive knowledge that a top NFL team like the Oakland Raiders would hire him,” Diabate said of Sal Sunseri. “For him to coach one of the best players in the league in Khalil Mack shows me a lot, shows me when he’s telling me something he knows what he’s talking. He knows what it takes to get a player to that level in life.”

Mullen’s conversation with Diabate on Wednesday was one that stuck out to the linebacker because the two got to learn a lot about each other during that talk.

“Coach Mullen just let me know that coming there I would have to work,” Diabate said on Mullen’s message to him. “He said that everything I earn at the University of Florida isn’t going to come easy but he just set the stone and let me know that if I wasn’t a hard worker that Florida wasn’t the place for me. I really liked hearing that from him. He let me know what he’s about by telling me that. I really enjoyed my talk with him.”

Heading into the visit Diabate knew about Mullen’s past success at Florida and he believes the Gators head coach can get Florida back to that level.

“I know what he accomplished before and he went over that with me again,” he said on Mullen’s past success at Florida. “I believe he can get back there and he has the tools to do that. He has the coaches and the facilities to do that. I believe he has the talent to get Florida back to where they were before he and Coach [Urban] Meyer left. I’m a believer in him.”

The visit was a good one for Diabate and before he left he got the chance to talk to a former player who raved about Mullen and the Gators coaching staff.

“It exceeded my expectations a lot,” he said of the visit. “I was impressed by Florida athletically, academically and by Coach Mullen. I was talking with Taven Bryan and he was just telling me how much he believes in Coach Mullen. He wouldn’t have any reason to lie to me because he’s not on the team anymore. He was telling me about how the culture around there has changed.”

INSIDERS TAKE: Diabate says he doesn’t have a leader and doesn’t have a timeline for his decision. The linebacker said he would like to sign early in December with a school and he hopes to get back to Florida soon.

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.