Darlington meets with the Gators

Apopka (Fla.) interior offensive lineman Ty Darlington made the short trip from his Central Florida home to Gainesville on Saturday to attend the Gator's Junior Day festivities. He is glad he made the trip and recapped what he learned while on campus.

"I had a real good time," Darlington said. "I hadn't really met any of the new coaches on the coaching staff, so it was good to get down there and meet some of the coaches. Everyone treated me great. I was there with one of my teammates, Qua Barnes, and they treated us really good. We got to meet all of the coaches."

Amongst the new assistant coaches that Darlington got to meet was his primary recruiter and his position coach.

"Coach (Travaris) Robinson is our area recruiter and Coach (Frank) Verducci is the offensive line coach," Darlington said. "So it was a good experience to get down there, meet them, and learn what they are all about."

On Verducci, Darlington was impressed by his resume and experience in developing offensive linemen.

"He has great experience," Darlington said. "He has a ton of NFL experience. He really has a handle on exactly what he wants to do. I don't really know more about him than that, but he seems to be a really good coach."

In addition to the assistant coaches, Darlington also got a chance to meet and spend time with head coach Will Muschamp who explained why the Gators have yet to extend an offer.

"I got to meet with Coach Muschamp for a couple of minutes and he was the one that told me they will sign five or six offensive linemen and really only one interior guy," Darlington said. "They were really complimentary to me and everything, but he said they just need to continue the evaluation process."

"I was flattered I got to meet him, because not everybody got to spend time with him like I did," Darlington added. "I really liked him. He seemed like a really down-to-earth guy. He just seemed to be focused on what he wanted to get his program going and everything. I got a good vibe from him."

At this time, Darlington does not have any other Junior Day plans set in stone. He may attempt to make it to Miami next weekend. He does plan to attend Auburn's spring game on April 16th.

Darlington's offer list recently swelled to over 25 offers with the additions of Connecticut, Georgia Tech, Marshall, Michigan State, Navy, North Carolina, Northern Illinois, Washington State, and Minnesota. Schools such as Alabama, LSU, and Miami are also showing major interest.