Jones lineman Gardner commits to UF
growing up,” Gardner said. “It’s their rival I committed to. Growing up, I didn’t want to go to Florida. I wanted to go to Florida State, so now it’s like weird that I’m going to Florida.”
Gardner chuckled at the suggestion that now he’ll have to be a Gator fan.
“I was ready. I was just looking at their roster and stuff and who they’ve got committed or whatever, and I just felt like it was the right time,” Gardner said.
The Gators have made a strong commitment to recruiting offensive linemen, especially in the 2020 class. They signed four of five committed offensive linemen as part of Wednesday’s National Signing Day class, which was ranked No. 8 in the nation by 247Sports.com.
He was recruited to UF by cooffensive coordinator and offensive line coach John Hevesy, but Gardner wasn’t sure if Hevesy had heard the news as of about 1 p.m. Friday.
“I don’t think he knows yet because he didn’t say anything yet, but I had told Coach [Dan] Mullen though,” Gardner said. “I feel good. I like the coaching staff there.”
Gardner is a big reason Jones High ran its way into the Class 5A state title game this season. The Tigers lost the championship game to Miami Northwestern 34-17, going 13-2 overall. Gardner was one of the main blockers paving the way to 2,000-plus rushing yards for running back
Avarius Sparrow.
Gardner, who is good friends with Sparrow, is trying to get the Gators to offer the running back so they can join each other in Gainesville. Sparrow is a senior.
Gardner said UCF made a decent push at recruiting him and the hometown appeal was certainly there, but he just felt Florida was where he should be.
“They did the best they could do, but I just made my decision,” Gardner said of UCF. “I’ve been leaning [toward UF] for about three to four months now.”
Gardner is the No. 3-ranked player in the Sentinel’s 2021 Central Florida Super 60.
“He’s a big kid who is very athletic,” Jones coach Elijah Williams said. “He plays tackle for us but he’s probably going to be a guard in college just because of the weight he’s put on. They’ve been on him from Day 1. They’ve wanted him bad.”