One of the many blue-chip prospects that will be in Gainesville at the end of the month is Gardendale, Alabama, four-star defensive lineman [autotag]Kelby Collins[/autotag]. Gators Online first reported that news at the beginning of the month and has now followed up with the recruit ranked No. 52 on the On3 Consensus.
After visiting UF twice under [autotag]Dan Mullen[/autotag]’s staff in 2021, Collins’ only in-person time with [autotag]Billy Napier[/autotag] has been the official visit he took on June 3. Still, he’s been able to develop meaningful enough relationships with the Gators to keep them in his top five.
“Really, it’s the players and coaches,” Collins said to On3. “I think I’m real close with (defensive line) coach (Sean) Spencer, Scooby (Jeremiah Williams) and Shemar (James). I think I’m real close with them. Also, I just want to check out the campus again and the new facility that is going to open up.”
Spencer’s NFL experience is a plus for Collins, but Alabama is considered the leader right now in his recruitment and there’s no better place to get to the league than Tuscaloosa. Bringing in experienced recruiters like Katie Turner has helped change the energy in Gainesville, and Collins took note of that in June.
“I loved it (the official visit),” he said. “It was a great experience. It was a totally different experience from the old coaching staff, so I thought that was cool. I feel like there was more energy and it was more in-depth.”
The Tide will likely get the last word in with a scheduled official visit date of December 9, which is just 12 days before the early signing period. The good news is Collins has said he’d like to stop by each of his finalists over the season to see them in person. Along with Florida and Alabama, he is considering Georgia, Oklahoma and South Carolina.
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