Top 2021 Safety, Visiting for Florida's Junior Day, Praises Gators' 'Family Culture'

One of the top safeties in the 2021 class is set to visit Florida for the second junior day in a row.

One of the top prospects Florida is set to host for its upcoming junior day on March 7th is Florida State University School (Tallahassee, FL) safety, Ahmari Harvey.

The 5-11, 175 lb. free safety recently dropped his top seven schools on Twitter, including the Gators. Two weeks prior, Harvey attended Florida's February junior day event.

I’ve been enjoying the recruitment process but here is the 7 schools I will be focusing on. #LLG #LL32 #LLN
Edit: @Hayesfawcett3
📷 : @bigbendpreps pic.twitter.com/RDXY4GSqU1

— A3☔️ (@Ahmari_saucy) February 14, 2020

A rangy athlete, Harvey has recorded 13 interceptions, 15 defended passes, 310 total tackles, two sacks, 23 tackles for loss, and eight forced fumbles over 38 varsity games.

"I’m a pretty smart player," Harvey told AllGators in an interview. "I tend to know where the ball is going before it gets there."

And if his stats don't back that up enough, perhaps his tape will.

Harvey is considered the No. 5 safety in the 2021 recruiting class, according to the 247Sports Composite Rankings. 

At Florida State University School, Harvey also plays wide receiver, where he has tallied 76 receptions for 1178 yards and 11 touchdowns over the past three seasons. That experience has helped him become a ball-hawk in the secondary.

"[Playing wide receiver] helps me with my ball skills," Harvey said. "I tend to make acrobatic interceptions because I practice it at wide receiver. I also can think like a receiver on defense, where they want to run their routes and stuff like that."

Harvey noted that he wants to be in "a family environment, if it feels right," when asked what he is looking for in the school of his choice. Florida certainly meets that bill, in Harvey's opinion.

"The family culture there, they really look out and care about their players," Harvey said of Florida, recalling from his visit from February.

With inconsistency plaguing the position at times in 2019, the Gators' safety room has been in need of a makeover. And to make matters more complicated, all three of Florida's safeties with starting experience are entering their senior seasons in 2020.

The Gators landed two 2020 safeties in Rashad Torrence II and Mordecai McDaniel, but missed on the cream of the crop in Avantae Williams, who Harvey shares a similar playing style with. Both are aggressive, rangy athletes in coverage who have a knack for making plays on the ball, so it makes sense why Florida is in Harvey early in the process.

"Playing early is a factor in my recruitment," Harvey said.

Florida is in a position where they can offer Harvey a great opportunity to compete for early playing time, with the factors mentioned above. Torrence and McDaniel would obviously have the upper hand that comes with experience if Harvey should elect to attend Florida, but he has the coverage skills to demand snaps.

Harvey has yet to decide when he will be making his commitment. Follow AllGators for updates on his recruitment and other Florida Gators' athletics and recruiting stories.