OT Bryce Lovett Earns Gators Offer on Unofficial Visit: 'It Meant a Lot'

Rockledge (Fla.) 2023 offensive tackle Bryce Lovett recaps the Florida Gators' offer he received during his unofficial visit to Gainesville on Saturday.

On Saturday – in the midst of the final weekend for official visitors before Wednesday's 2022 cycle-ending National Signing Day – the Florida Gators welcomed a handful of unofficial visitors from the 2023 and 2024 recruiting classes, many for the first time under the new coaching staff.

Among the list of unofficial visitors on campus, Rockledge (Fla.) offensive tackle Bryce Lovett walked into Gainesville, expecting to get a preview of what his home state school could provide him.

He walked away holding a scholarship offer from head coach Billy Napier and the Gators.

After a great unofficial visit and talk with @coach_bnapier I’m blessed to say I have received my 10th D1 offer from the university or Florida 🐊 @darnellru53 @MikeRichardFB @CoachRobSale @Jamar51Chaney @cblackshear @GatorsFB @247Sports @Rivals @CoachYounger14 pic.twitter.com/c8pHebiTaR

— bryce5️⃣3️⃣ (@bryceLovett55) January 29, 2022

"It was just great," Lovett told AllGators, asked about the offer. "It was like mid-conversation. We were talking about, like, what they were going to do, about how the visit went, and he just came out and said I had a scholarship there.

"It meant a lot because they've been recruiting me for a while. The old coaching staff recruited me for a long time, and the new one’s been recruiting since they got there. So to finally just get that [offer] means a lot."

Spending the majority of his time with offensive line coaches Rob Sale and Darnell Stapleton, Lovett shared that he was able to get a sense of the emphasis on building back the trenches on the offensive side of the football. Sale and Stapleton made sure to hammer home the idea that a strong offensive attack starts upfront.

They used their sustained success at Louisiana-Lafayette to benchmark how a talented offensive line can elevate the offense, especially one that likely intends to carry over a heavy dose of the powering rushing scheme utilized with the Ragin' Cajuns over the past four seasons.

"They take o-line very serious, and they have a lot of staff supporting the o-line and how they think it’s very important," he said. "They were telling me how they had a lot of success at UL and how they were planning on bringing that [to Florida] and turning the program around.”

During a conversation in Napier's office – a highlight of the visit – the Gators head coach expanded on Sale and Stapleton's assertion that the offensive line is the main focus for Florida as they prepare to rebuild the program.

“He talked about how he's coached at a lot of [Division-I] schools and had a lot of success. He turned Louisiana around, and the future for UF is gonna be very bright, and that o-linemen are where it starts.”.

Lovett described Sale's experience in the NFL with the New York Giants as "very valuable," continuing to say that his knowledge of coaching at the highest level shows he has what he takes to shape him toward his goal of reaching the league.

Standing at 6-foot-4, 330 pounds, Lovett possesses the frame to move around the offensive line however his future coaching staff sees fit. 

Sale has the vision to play him on the exterior of the offensive line if he was to choose UF based on need. However, the idea that he could be plugged into multiple spots is not off the table, according to Napier.

"Coach Sale said he sees me at tackle. Coach Napier didn't really say where he sees me at, but he said he wants to lean me down, just so I could be even quicker on my feet," he said. "Then, he said I could really play anything I wanted to."

Growing up in Florida, Lovett had always been exposed to the tradition of the Gators. As a result, putting on the orange and blue threads for a photo shoot was surreal for the high school junior.

“It was crazy because growing up in Florida, UF was always like a crazy big school, the fans are crazy, SEC. But, like to be there getting recruited and taking pictures in the uniform was kind of crazy.”

Down the stretch of his recruitment, Lovett will be adamant about joining a program that boasts a tight-knit, family environment. 

Despite the relative unfamiliarity the Florida staff has with each other, Lovett walked away impressed with their chemistry given the limited time working with one another.

“Even though not all of them have been there for a long time, most of them are two, three weeks into the job, and they all seem that they've been working together for years," he said. "They all communicate with me and bonded with me yesterday, just one day like they knew me for years. It's like a family environment.”

Lovett plans to decide where he will continue his football career by the end of June.

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