Vlad Talks

Are you still committed to Florida?

"No and yes, because I'm still committed but I'm still looking around. I committed to Florida because I liked the school and coaching staff, but now that changed. I'm still committed but I've opened up my options again just to see where would be the best place for me."

Do you consider yourself a soft commitment?

"Somewhat, yeah."

What were your initial reactions to Ron Zook’s firing at Florida?
"I just couldn't believe it. I know a job is not forever because people go where the money is. You never know if someone could be stable. I just never would have thought it would be Zook.

"When it happened I was just shocked. I just couldn't believe it. I was like 'Man, this is the choice I made. I love the coaching staff and everything and now they're going to be gone.' It just shocked me."

Did you ever want to just cut ties with Florida?

"At first, I was like 'Man, the coaches I thought were going to be there are gone and I don't know who the coach is going to be. The place where I was going is all messed up.' That's when I really started opening the door just looking around."

Has newly hired Florida head coach Urban Meyer helped you feel more comfortable?

"I've talked to him and he seems like a real good guy, but I haven't met him yet. I'm supposed to meet him. The biggest thing is not really Urban Meyer, it's his staff. I don't know any of them. Urban Meyer is the one that talked to me.

"I don't know a lot about the D-Line coach. And the other coaches I don't know anything. It's not the head coach; it's the coaching staff. If you don't know anything about them, you can't build relationships. That's a key part."

Are you anxious to meet the staff?

"I don't know if you'd call it anxious. The new coaches came, and I feel they should've contacted me just to let me know who they are so we could start talking. I've talked to the D-Line coach and coach Meyer and that's it. And coach (Charlie) Strong, but he was already there. With the new staff, no one called me. I wouldn't say anxious because I didn't feel that they were coming hard. I'll just wait and see."

Is Gerald Williams a guy you want to play with?

"Oh most definitely."

What did you think of Tennessee before you committed to Florida?

"Tennessee was a good program. We thought about it before but not really too much. Then when the Florida thing happened, it kind of opened up doors. We took that visit and it was just great. The SEC is where it's at. You play good teams every week.

"We were just thinking about SEC teams. Tennessee is a good program. They're up and rising. They have good talent and the coaches were recruiting us so we took a visit to see how it was, and it was just great. I didn't know Knoxville was a big city, I thought it was a small place.

"The fans treated us great, like they already knew us. The players just welcomed us. The coaching staff was great. Everything was good. It was like we were around family."

What do you think of UT assistant coach Trooper Taylor who is recruiting you?

"Oh man, he's a great guy. He brings excitement to the game. He's a guy that has a lot of emotion. I don't want to say he’s hyper; but he has a lot of energy. Seeing a coach that fired up really fires up the team. He's so fired up, and he's not even going to play.

"He just fires up the team because you have a chance to see a coach that fired up who wants to get on the field. You've got a chance to give that coach a victory, and the rest of the coaching staff. He is just a great guy. He's down to Earth. I can relate to him. He is just a good guy, very energetic."

Can you see yourself winding up at UT?

"Probably, yeah, it's a possibility."

What other schools are in the picture?

"Georgia"

What did you think when Demetrice Morley de-committed to Florida and committed to Tennessee?

"We'd heard of his de-commitment, and he committed to Tennessee, and we knew him."

Did that motivate you and Gerald to look at Tennessee?

"I would say ‘No’ because that (UT) was an option but not really a high priority on our list. It's not like he committed to Tennessee and 'Wow, Gerald and I are going to follow.' It's nothing like that.

"It's stuff we talk about and look at different scenarios and try to figure out where the best place is going to be for us. If Tennessee was a good spot, we felt that we should take a chance and visit."

When do you feel like you’ll make announce your decision?

"Most likely on signing day."

Josh Ward contributed to this report