TE Makes Mid-Week UF Visit

In the past few weeks, Florida has made a huge push on the recruiting front for tight ends. One new target is Rory Nicol from Beaver (Pa.) Area High School. Nicol had plans to officially visit Florida this past weekend for the Florida-Florida State game, but those plans changed and he now will be take a mid-week visit to Florida from Dec. 2-4.

“Well, travel was hard that weekend,” Kathleen Nicol, Rory’s mom, said. “They couldn’t secure the flight. So we just rescheduled the visit and he is coming Tuesday.”

Nicol has all five official visits tentatively set up. As of now, his first visit will be to Florida, followed by a visit to Ohio State, Georgia Tech, Virginia and then to finish the visits off, a trip to Pittsburgh, Kathleen Nicol said.

“I will be running around all over the country for a couple of weeks,” Rory Nicol said.

“He just wants to get them done and not drag it out,” Kathleen Nicol said.

Nicol’s plan is to be done with the recruiting process by Christmas and make a verbal commitment to a college.

“I might end up saying it on Christmas Day to make it interesting, but I want to be done by then,” Nicol said.

Nicol commented about why these schools comprise his top five:

Florida: “They kind of jumped into it late. Their tight end situation is really good. I think (Florida head) coach (Ron) Zook has done a pretty good job with the young class. They are starting to win some pretty big games, so that kind of attracted me to them.”

Pittsburgh: “It is close to home. Good coaching staff. I probably have the best relationship with the coaching staff there just because where they are located in comparison to my house. They have a good situation as well since they have only two scholarship tight ends coming back.”

Ohio State: “They got a freshman last year in Louis Irizarry. But I like their style on offense, so that is appealing to me. (Fifth-year senior tight end) Ben Hartsock is similar to myself.”

Virginia: “It is a good school academically. They have a great staff and their tight end situation is good as well.”

Georgia Tech: “I have always wanted to see Atlanta. I think the school is going to be in a cool place. Their tight end situation is pretty much the same as Florida.”

Nicol does not have a clear favorite out of the group, but pinpoints two schools that are in need of a tight end.

“Florida and Georgia Tech have the best situations as far as depth is concerned,” Nicol said.

Nicol has expressed his interest in Florida to his mom as well.

“I think he is excited about their tight end needs,” Kathleen Nicol said. “I think that is intriguing to him and he really feels like the Gators are picking up their play. They are playing well and what he tells me is that they are a relatively young team.”

Academically, Nicol is fully qualified with a 3.9 GPA and 1080 SAT score.

Area High School is a predominantly running team and Nicol was a key part of the blocking scheme, as Area rushed for close to 2,800 yards. Nicol had 18 receptions for 240 yards and four touchdowns on the season.

“Everyone really thinks that I am a complete player,” Nicol said. “They know I can catch and do things downfield.”

Never say never, is a phrase that is prevalent in college football recruiting and Nicol is very aware of that statement. The only schools on his top five that he has not visited are Florida and Georgia Tech. Therefore, Nicol has not thought about ruling out the fact that a decision could come a lot earlier, maybe in early December.

“I would say that I would still want to see Georgia Tech because I haven’t seen that school,” Nicol said. “Then I think I could make a decision but I think I am going to take all of my visits.”

Give InsidetheGators.net a try! The above article is the type of extensive recruiting coverage you receive with a InsidetheGators.net Ultimate Ticket subscription. InsidetheGators.net provides our subscribers with in-depth coverage of Gator football, basketball and recruiting plus exclusive insights from Gator Bait editor Marty Cohen and assistant editor Guerry Smith. And Alligator Alley, our online community for Gator fans only, where one of our most popular features is posted every week – the War Room. Try InsidetheGators.net's Premium Ticket for 7 days FREE with no obligation by clicking here.