Billy Napier's Involvement Elevating Gators in RB Treyaun Webb's Recruitment
Photo: Treyaun Webb; Credit: Zach Goodall
Trinity Christian (Fla.) 2023 running back Treyaun Webb has narrowed his recruitment down to three schools prior to his June 30 commitment date.
After posting a top-five in March, Webb has since canceled an official visit to Tennessee and not made any trips west to Baylor, leaving the Florida Gators, South Carolina Gamecocks and Penn State Nittany Lions standing in pursuit of his services.
New Gators head coach Billy Napier in the Gators' surge to the top of Webb's recruitment, which dates back to his first offer as a middle schooler.
Florida has always been in the mix for Webb across its current and previous coaching staff, even amid Webb's prior commitments to Georgia and Oklahoma, but Napier's direct involvement in recent months has put Florida in a great spot just weeks before Webb's decision.
"I think I saw y'all when I was in the office," Webb told reporters after his official visit to Florida this past weekend. "You know, when you have the head coach very involved in your recruitment, it shows that you're a priority. He wasn't taking time out of his day to talk to just anybody, you know what I'm saying?
"[Napier] was very involved this weekend, I'm thankful for that. He treated me like a priority, I feel like."
It isn't only Napier treating Webb like a priority, either. Running backs Jabbar Juluke and outside linebackers coach Mike Peterson — a legend in Webb's community having previously played for the Jacksonville Jaguars — deserve credit for the Gators' momentum in the race for Webb as well.
The trio of coaches, as well as numerous off-field staff members, provided Webb with a different experience on his official than what he had gotten used to across his three unofficial visits in the spring.
"Me, I've kinda seen everything, but it was different being able to interact with other recruits," Webb said. "You know, actually stay in a hotel with everything paid for, get treated lavishly. They treated me like I was a priority and I like that about this staff.
"The first night we were at the little spot, at Spurrier's [Gridiron Grill], and they introduced the recruits to talk, I was the first one they brought up. My table [was] the first one to eat every single day. So little stuff like that, you know, it's just the little things."
Webb was so impressed by his latest trip to Gainesville that, in place of the canceled Tennessee visit, he's considering another stop at UF around the same weekend, June 17-19. He'll be at Penn State from June 10-12 and South Carolina from June 24-26.
Once again, Webb credited the coaching staff for their persistence in his recruitment as to why he'd return to Florida two weeks from now and in between other officials.
"I just enjoy coming up here, it's down the street," Webb said. "Really the coaches keep inviting me back up here as much as I can, they tried to keep me today, they don't want me to leave. They're putting a fence up. I love coming back because it's like home."
Stay tuned to AllGators for continuous coverage of Florida Gators football, basketball and recruiting. Follow along on social media at @SI_AllGators on Twitter and Florida Gators on Sports Illustrated on Facebook.