2021 California DL Drawn to Florida by David Turner, Visiting in April
Shortly after receiving an offer from Florida, Westlake (Westlake Village, CA) defensive tackle Victory Vaka postponed his commitment from this upcoming June 28th: Date TBD.
Now, Florida isn't the sole reason for Vaka to shake some things up in his recruitment. As of late, schools are starting to show the 6-4, 315 lb. lineman love, as he's received offers from Florida State and Mississippi State this year on top of previous offers from LSU, Michigan, Tennessee, and others.
However, Florida certainly has Vaka's attention.
"Communication between me and the Florida staff has been great," Vaka told AllGators. "I already have great relationships with the coaches as of right now."
Vaka said that he is in constant communication with the staff. Between conversation with head coach Dan Mullen, defensive line coach David Turner, and assistant director of player personnel David Cooper, Vaka chats with Florida nearly every day.
"They all love how I’m a big, quick defensive tackle," said Vaka. "I can play practically anywhere on the D-line. Wherever coach Turner sticks me, I’ll play that technique."
On tape, Vaka moves bodies with pure power and drive. He plays with a low center of gravity to win the pad level battle and force his way into opposing backfields. He prides himself on being an effective run stopper, and "making my linebackers jobs easier."
A smart player in the trenches, Vaka studies his opponent thoroughly during the week to pick up on tendencies and use them to his advantage on game day.
"So, it was week two and we were playing Mission Hills [San Marcos, CA]," Vaka began to explain when discussing his game. "I noticed all week in films that their offensive linemen loved to lean, a lot. I used that to my advantage and push-pulled them all night."
"It was funny actually, Vaka continued. "They just didn’t learn I guess."
Vaka is a film junkie, which will appeal to Mullen and Turner. He namely watches the tape of Auburn defensive lineman Derrick Brown, Washington Redskins nose tackle Daron Payne, and Florida State tackle Marvin Wilson to learn and improve his own game.
Now taking time with his recruiting process, Vaka is excited to check out the University of Florida during his official visit on April 18th.
"I want to get an in-depth look at the facilities and the academic side of Florida," Vaka said. Despite the University of Florida being over 2400 miles away from Westlake Village, Vaka doesn't consider distance to be a factor in his recruitment.
"I want to go where I’m needed and where I can be best developed."
And Vaka believes the Gators can give him that opportunity. Vaka has paid attention to the performance of Florida's defensive line over the past two years and has liked what he's seen from David Turner's group as of late.
"I really like Florida because of their defensive line play this year and before that," said Vaka. "Also because of coach Turner and how he won the defensive line coach of the year award this past season. They’re also in the SEC and that’s the best conference to play football in."
Vaka is also set to take an official visit to Michigan on June 19th, and it appears his recruitment is going to play out for a while. Though, the Gators are involved early and often with the California trench prospect, and he is giving back the same energy.
Ahead of his senior season, Vaka looks forward to emerging as a leader on his team, while en route to achieving a goal of 15 sacks and a state title.
"I want to improve on being a good big brother to my teammates this upcoming senior season," Vaka stated. "I already have a younger brother who is a sophomore, and playing and standing with him on the sidelines is going to be amazing."