Florida’s 2017 recruiting class just added a huge recruit- in more ways than one.
Enter defensive tackle Fred Hansard into the class, a 305 pound defensive tackle from New Jersey with an offer list that includes Alabama, Georgia, Michigan, Oklahoma, Wisconsin, and many, many more. Hansard announced his decision with a Bleacher Report video that featured him riding through New York City in a cab and ended with him stepping out of the cab to reveal Gator gloves.
Watch the full video below:
https://twitter.com/Fred_Hansard56/status/769172775365971968
Hansard wasn’t ever really considered to be too interested in Florida, but a trip to Gainesville for Friday Night Lights changed that. He built a great relationship with the coaches, particularly defensive line coach Chris Rumph, and was sold on the idea of playing in the SEC.
Good thing, because the line of scrimmage friendly SEC is where he belongs.
Hansard is a one man defensive line in high school, and while he can obviously expect tougher competition at the collegiate level, the raw talent he displays just jumps out at you on his highlight tape. Very few defensive tackles of Hansard’s stature are as explosive off the snap as he is, and if he continues to develop defensive finesse moves, he could someday grow into a star at the college level. As it stands now, the skills he has for a guy his size are extremely rare, and he’s ahead of where a lot of recent Gator DTs were entering their senior years of high school, so there’s certainly reason to believe he can reach his potential.
With the commitment of Hansard, Florida now has three defensive tackles in the Class of 2017. However, neither of the other two (Javier Edwards and Jordon Scott) bring the physical prowess Hansard does, so landing Hansard did a lot more to address the future need at the defensive tackle position than either of them did.
Basically, however you choose to look at it, Fred Hansard was a big get.
