Killing two birds with one stone! The Gators get commitment from this blue-chip running back after the big Week 3 win.
Florida football not only scored a big win on the field against the Tennessee Volunteers but it also hauled in a blue-chip commitment thanks to the 29-16 victory.
Four-star running back [autotag]Waltez Clark[/autotag] out of Tampa (Florida) Plant in the 2025 recruiting class gave the Gators his word after the clock expired in the Swamp on Saturday night. The experience helped put the Orange and Blue — which had been firmly favored to land the in-state ball carrier — over the top.
“It blew me away to be here. I thought it was going to be a dogfight, but it actually went really good,” Clark told Swamp247. “The running backs ran the ball well.”
The 6-foot-2-inch, 194-pound rusher recently attended the Gators’ Grill in the Ville event at the end of July and came away even more impressed than he was beforehand.
“It stuck out to me a lot because they weren’t only talking about football,” Clark added, according to Swamp247. “They were talking about how people came together as one. They are more than just coaches. They want to get to know you with more than just football. Just about your life in general.”
“The facilities, the coaches, the colors — I love the colors. My mom is a fan, too,” Clark told On3’s Keith Niebuhr. “They’re pretty high.”
The Florida State Seminoles, Miami Hurricanes, Southern California Trojans, Central Florida Knights and Toledo Rockets were among the top suitors for the high school junior’s talents. However, Florida stood out when it came to a very important aspect of recruiting: communication.
“The communication they have is pretty good. I talk to them a lot and that’s like a big thing that I want to see in all the schools,” Clark said. “Communicating back and forth and building relationships. That’s why communicating is big to me. They told me I fit right in with their offense and I’m at the top of their (board).”
Running backs coach Jabbar Juluke, who has an impressive pedigree of backfield work, is the member of staff that has stood out the most so far.
“I love Coach Juluke — that’s my man,” Clark said. “His style — the way he carries himself… all that stuff. He’s just a good man. He coached some of the top — Leonard Fournette, a couple more running backs.”
Clark is ranked No. 128 overall and No. 11 at his position nationally according to the 247Sports composite while the On3 industry ranking has him at Nos. 151 and 12, respectively.
Prior to his commitment, 247Sports had a crystal ball prediction in favor of Florida while On3’s Recruiting Prediction Machine gave the Gators a 44.1% chance of signing him, followed by the Penn State Nittany Lions (20.2%), South Florida Bulls (1.6%) and UCF (1.3%), as of our last update.
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