Gators surge into 2nd for 4-star DB Lagonza Hayward

The Florida Gators were fourth in the pecking order for 4-star safety Lagonza Hayward of Lyons (Ga.) Toombs County entering his trip to Gainesville on Tuesday. But after exiting the visit, he said they had made a significant move.

In fact …

“This helped them a lot,” Hayward told Gators Online. “They crept into my top three. Tennessee is No. 1. Florida is No. 2. It’s close now. Florida is knocking on the door.”

For Hayward — and Florida — getting Hayward to visit before his official visit was huge. That’s because Hayward, the No. 112 overall recruit and No. 13 safety in the country for the On3 Industry Rankings, never had previously visited the Gators.

He now will return to Florida on June 14.

Lagonza Hayward had a great experience in Gainesville

“It was great,” Hayward said of his Tuesday trip. “More than what I thought it was gonna be. In a good way. I wasn’t expecting the atmosphere like it was at Florida. Then when I saw the stadium it was familiar to my stadium because the fans are right there. We play at The Pit. And the stands are right on top of you also. On top of that, seeing (secondary coach Will Harris ) and (defensive coordinator Austin Armstrong ) in their natural habitat was cool. Coach Harris, he knows what he’s talking about. He’s been through the process and developed players. Coach Armstrong, he’s got a multipurpose defense. He’s going to get you ready for the NFL. At some schools they only run bracket coverage. But at Florida, they run everything.”

Those two coaches visited Hayward last week at his school, so he’d already met them.

Tuesday, however, gave him a chance to talk face-to-face for the first time with Gators coach Billy Napier .

“He was cool,” Hayward told Gators Online. “He’s laid back but he’s got a cool personality. He can crack a joke with you. When it’s time to get serious, he’ll get serious. He was like, ‘We want you. You’re an athlete on film and we love that you play all three phases of the game.'”

Hayward made Tuesday’s visit with one of his coaches.

He next will officially visit Florida, Georgia, Southern California and Tennessee. Then, a commitment decision is likely to come this summer.

His official to Gainesville will be “big,” he said.

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