Carl Johnson working on others

Florida five-star commitment Carl Johnson finally took his official visit last weekend to Gainesville to witness the Gators decisive 34-7 victory over Florida State. What did the 6-foot-6, 348-pounder from Durham (N.C.) Southern think of the visit and was there anything different this time around?

"It was a really good trip," he said. "The game was great and I liked the way the players played for four quarters to make sure they'd win the game. The offensive line played better than what I have seen in some other games which was good to see."

What did the No. 13 player in the country do on his visit?

"I basically just hung out and talked to the players, coaches and some of the other recruits," he said. "I talked with Chris Leak, Tavares Washington and Josh Portis. I talked to all of them many times prior to this and it was just a good time. I also got to talk to the coaches including Urban Meyer, Doc Holliday and others."

Johnson rated his trip to Florida a perfect 10 as he was able to try to convince other top recruits to join him in Gainesville.

"I got to talk to some of the other prospects and I tried to persuade them to come to UF too," he said. "I talked to Brandon Spikes, Tim Tebow and they seemed to respond pretty well to me. Both of them thought they could see themselves playing there and I could tell Brandon really enjoyed his visit. I told Tebow specifically that I plan to build him a line and give him protection if he comes here."

The No. 2 offensive guard in the country helped Southern to a 12-1 record as they lost in the second round of the playoffs. Now he's focusing on preparing for the Shrine Bowl and Army All-American Bowl.

"It's just a real honor to play in both of these games and it should be a lot of fun," he said. "There are so many high school players across the state and country, to be selected in both of these games is a real honor and I'm proud to play in it."