OT Tyree Adams Previews Florida Gators Official Visit

Louisiana 2023 offensive tackle Tyree Adams will officially visit the Florida Gators for their 2022 season opener.

Florida continues to assess its options for blue-chip offensive tackle talent in the class of 2023, and has honed in on a familiar recruit from The Boot State in recent days.

New Orleans (La.) St. Augustine tackle Tyree Adams scheduled an official visit with the Florida Gators for week one of Billy Napier's first campaign in Gainesville, the season-opener against Utah in The Swamp, on Tuesday.

It was an easy decision for Adams to allocate one of his five officials to UF, as the Gators have surged into his top four schools due to longstanding relationships with head coach Billy Napier and his staff.

"You know, they've done a lot," Adams told AllGators on Tuesday, explaining Florida's rise in his recruitment. "Just, really from the New Orleans staff that they have, they show constant support and they love me."

The ties begin with Florida running backs coach Jabbar Juluke, a graduate and former assistant coach at Adams' high school before climbing into the college ranks and spending nearly the last five years working alongside Napier.

"It's really a good connection. Since he graduated from [St. Augustine], he understands what I'm going through," Adams shared. "This connection that we have from being Louisiana, New Orleans kids growing up in the city [and] how hard it is sometimes, he can relate to me."

Emerging as a top prospect in New Orleans during his junior season and hailing from Juluke's old stomping grounds, Napier and his Louisiana staff — plenty of members have since followed him to Florida — entered Adams' recruitment with an offer in June 2021.

As such, Adams is quite familiar with the coaches recruiting him to UF now, including both offensive line assistants Rob Sale and Darnell Stapleton in addition to Juluke and Napier. Although the former spent the 2021 season with the New York Giants in the NFL, the two had also connected prior to Sale's arrival at Florida.

Florida offensive line coaches Darnell Stapleton (left) and Rob Sale (right) / Zach Goodall

"It had been happening [and] it's just a great relationship," Adams said of Sale. "He's a great guy, he knows his stuff and he just loves to coach O-line and I love it.

"You really can get a hands-on experience, " Adams continued on Florida employing two offensive line coaches. "When one coach [is] dealing with something, you can go to the next one and he'll give you the same advice and help you just as much as the other coach. It's just great, to have both those guys doing what they love, they really help these kids."

Sale and Stapleton envision Adams manning the tackle position at Florida as he does at St. Augustine, aligning at right tackle for the Purple Knights in 2021, considering his 6-foot-6 frame and 35-inch arms — "prototypical size for a tackle" as noted by Adams.

As for Napier, Adams has a lot of confidence that UF's new head coach can turn things around. During his spring unofficial visit and a stop in Gainesville for a camp in June, Adams was impressed by the improvements Napier had already made to the team's culture.

"It gives me a lot of confidence just to see what he has done already, this sort of program," Adams said. "It shows that he's sticking with his commitment, [he] said 'I'm rebuilding the program and making Florida better.'"

Adams is a fan of the staff's work ethic, discipline and focus on developing their players off of the field, based on what he saw at Louisiana and how it carried over to Florida.

He's excited to observe those qualities over a three-day stay, particularly with the opportunity to watch a game in The Swamp under the lights on his official visit.

"I just want to learn how they operate on their day-to-day basis and see if I really like it to the point where I can see myself there," Adams admitted. "It's not just about football with them, they want to build this brand to even more than just football. You know, let's be businessmen, and let's be more in society than just football players."

UF is joined by LSU, Ole Miss and Georgia in Adams' top four schools. He intends to officially visit each school, although dates have yet to be determined for those trips. Adams also has an official to Alabama locked in for October 7.

As a result, Adams' college decision likely won't come before the season kicks off, although he doesn't have a commitment date in mind and a pledge could come at the spur of the moment once he begins taking his officials.

"I don't know at the moment, but I really just feel like whenever the time is right for me," Adams expressed. "When I feel ready with the school that I want to go to, I'm gonna lock it in and just continue with that."

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