Schools
"Gatormeat" Can't Wait for Football Season to Begin
Pinellas Park defensive lineman/linebacker Jeremi Powell, who college coaches have nicknamed "Gatormeat" for verbally committing to the Florida Gators, is eager for football season to begin.
It's a nickname Jeremi Powell is starting to warm up to.
The Pinellas Park High School linebacker is one of the more sought after high school football players in the country and perhaps the best player in Pinellas County for the upcoming football season.
This spring Powell attended a recruiting gathering at the University of Florida and received a verbal offer on the spot.
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A Gators fan through and through, Powell didn't blink. He accepted. And while the commitment isn't official until signing day next year, it opens the door for other schools to try to convince him to change his mind. Alabama is one such school.
"It was crazy, there were coaches there every day to watch me," Powell said. "There was FIU, Miami, a bunch of schools."
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Not that Powell will change his mind.
"It's crazy, I think about it every day," Powell said about playing for the Gators. "I think about it every morning when I wake up and I think about it every night when I say a prayer before I go to bed. I'm blessed."
During spring practices, scrimmages and his spring game, college coaches flocked to watch the Patriots, specifically to watch Powell. But word quickly spread among college coaches that Powell could not be moved to reconsider his verbal commitment to the Gators.
Powell's loyalty to Florida soon earned him a nickname by other college coaches.
"They would call me 'Gatormeat,'" Powell said.
Powell was back in Gainesville this past weekend working at a football camp and bonding with his future teammates and coaches.
Unlike high school graduates who receive detailed agendas on how and what players should do during the offseason, Powell has not received any such instructions from Gators coaches.
"The only thing they have told me is that I should work on my footwork," Powell said.
Any while Powell is excited about being a Florida Gator, he has his high school senior season yet to play, so he has placed that priority as his primary focus.
"I am so excited, I am just pumped and cannot wait to put some pads on," Powell said. "I can't wait for school to start."