2022 RB Damari Alston Recaps Call with Florida Gators, Updates Recruitment
Just a few days before week one action for many high school athletes around the nation, the 2022 class received their first taste of unlimited recruiting access from college coaches.
With the dead period that limited college football staff’s to openly contact 2022 talents being lifted at midnight on September 1st, Florida took to the trail to emphasize their priorities from the class that’s two years out.
As a busy day for both the coaching staff and recruits around the nation, Florida stayed active throughout the day and continue to remain in frequent contact with many of the young but talented ballplayers.
Specifically, the Gators reached out to 2022 running back Damari Alston, who has considered the Gators among his top schools since the program offered him in mid-June.
In an exclusive interview with the talented back, Sports Illustrated-AllGators was able to get a recap of the September 1st call with the Gators and get an update on his recruitment to this point.
Receiving a text 12:01 on the morning of September 1st, UF running backs coach Greg Knox and the Florida coaching staff expressed their desire to acquire a player of Alston’s caliber.
“Me and coach Knox are keeping a consistent relationship, we’re texting each other every day. We’ve had a few phone calls, he’s [spoken] with my parents a little bit, and we should definitely be setting up a Zoom sometime before the games start.”
In our discussions over the past few months, the connection the 5-foot-11, 205-pound Woodward product builds with his position coach and other members of the team staff has been made a focal point of his eventual decision since entering into the wild world of being a highly-touted recruit.
Receiving a call from Florida on September 1st, Alston once again noted the intriguing idea of opportunity that Florida has to offer at his position, and it is something Knox consistently pitches to him.
“Backs are going to be leaving when the ’22 class comes about, so he’s probably going to pick up two from our class,” Alston says regarding the current running back room at UF. “That’s one that still sticks out to me, and I’m pretty sure a couple of other backs in 2022.”
Continuing what has been a relationship Alston has talked highly of before in interviews with AllGators, the Gators remain atop the teams in Alston’s mind for his services.
“I’ve been staying in consistent touch with Florida, and they’re definitely one of my top teams like they’ve always been up there.”
Unlike previously, Alston no longer looks at Florida as his leader and instead has taken some time to step back and evaluate the position he is currently in.
“I mean, right now, as I look at it, as things change, I don’t really have a leader, so I think everything is just like in the middle or whatever.”
One point he made was the fact that he is only a junior, which creates a necessity for him to weigh his options to make the right decision for him in the end.
“I’m still young, like, I should be committing close to this time next year, so as things go on, I feel like me and the UF staff will definitely get way closer as we go into the spring, as we go into the summer, and as we go into my senior year.”
The Atlanta (Ga.) native continues to be pursued on the trail by a multitude of different universities, now up to 43 total offers from Division-I programs.
From those schools, “Florida, Oregon, Ohio State, Georgia Tech is still tagging on me real hard because that’s my city, Michigan, Penn State, UNC, South Carolina, Utah, Florida State, and Alabama” remain as the highest on his radar at the moment.
As everything progresses forward in his recruitment, Alston looks to get his first conversation with head coach Dan Mullen before the season begins via zoom before the September 26th kickoff date for Florida.
Until his decision, Alston will be a player to continue to monitor for the next year and a half as a potential running back for the Florida Gators.
For more on Alston and the skill-set that he brings to the table, check out his recruiting profile, here.
Featured Image Credit: Maria Golick