Florida offered four-star Picayune Memorial (Mississippi) edge rusher [autotag]Jamonta Waller[/autotag] on Thursday, according to a social media post he sent out in the afternoon.
Waller spoke with defensive analyst [autotag]Jamar Chaney[/autotag] and outside linebackers coach Mike Peterson before picking up the offer. He’d been talking with the program for a while and felt like the offer was coming, according to 247Sports.
“It’s something that had been kind of building up,” Waller said. “I have a good relationship with Coach Jamar and I just got the opportunity to talk with Coach Peterson today. We chopped it up on the phone and he was the one who actually offered me.”
It’s not the first SEC offer Waller has earned by a long shot, though. Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, Georgia, Missouri, Ole Miss, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas A&M have submitted bids for him, and LSU offered on the same day Florida did. That’s 11 of the 14 programs in the conference, so it’s safe to say Billy Napier and Co. will be scheming either for or against him in the future.
#AGTG đđ˝ after a great talk with @Jamar51Chaney and @CoachMPeterson Iâm absolutely blessed to receive an offer from @GatorsFB. Big thanks to my team @LawrencHopkins and @CoachMcCannERT for always believing in me. #Blessed!!!! đ pic.twitter.com/5iWC2ODyb0
— JamontaWALLER (@JamontaWaller) February 16, 2023
The good news is that it should not take long for Waller to get to Gainesville for his first visit.
“I am looking forward to getting over there on March 11,” he said. “When I go, I want to have an opportunity to get on the field and somewhere that has good coaches who can develop me into a great football player and a great young man. I just wanna see if it feels like home.”
Waller’s schedule is busy in the spring. He’s giving teams a look before taking official visits in the summer, and programs like Florida need to wow him to earn one of five slots. Waller says the Gators “are up at the top,” but that doesn’t guarantee anything.
The 247Sports composite has Waller at No. 206 overall and No. 15 among edge rushers in the class of 2024. The site’s independent rankings have him just inside the top 200 at No. 199 and No. 12 among those at his position. On3 has yet to grade Waller as a recruit, and Rivals has him at Nos. 184 and 10, respectively.
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