Former Florida coaches tried to flip top DE, talked smack about Gators

Those are some dirty tactics.

One of the prizes of Florida's most recent recruiting class is defensive end Antonneous Clayton. The four-star end out of Vienna, Georgia was a hard Florida commit back in October, but there were plenty of coaches trying to flip him until he signed in February.


RELATED: Antonneous Clayton gives UF a verbal commitment


That much is normal, but the coaches who were trying to flip him were anything but that. Most of the guys who were trying to flip him were actually former Florida coaches. Clayton says that most of the guys trying to flip him also talked down the Gators pretty hard.

"Coach Muschamp and coach T-Rob told me if I'm really choosing between Florida and Auburn, Auburn is where I needed to go," Clayton said. "They were like, 'Trust us, Auburn is better.' I felt some type of way about it."

Of course, Muschamp and Travaris Robinson are now at South Carolina with Muschamp there as the head coach. Apparently, former Florida defensive line coach Brad Lawing (now at FSU) was also talking trash and tried pretty hard to pressure Clayton into a flip.


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"He basically tried to say that I was being forced to go to Florida," Clayton recalled. "He pressured me my whole recruitment. When me, my mom and my dad sat down with coach Lawing in his office, I just felt pressure. My heart started beating fast. It felt like I was skipping a heartbeat. He wanted me to commit, and that same day I was supposed to go to Florida's Friday Night Lights."

That sounds like some high stakes recruiting there. Florida fans are sure happy Clayton stuck to his guns though and went to Florida.

 

[h/t Saturday Down South]