Prestwood back from Florida unofficial

Last week, Plant City (Fla.) offensive lineman Jordan Prestwood backed off his longtime commitment to the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. He wasted no time getting back on the road and checking out schools, taking an unofficial visit to Florida for their homecoming game against the Mississippi State Bulldogs.

"We got there around 4:30, walked up to the Gator Room and met with (Program Assistant) Mark Pantoni, and then we ate," Prestwood said. "We then walked down to the locker room and met with some of the players, met with Coach (Dan) McCarney and Coach (Steve) Addazio, talked with them, and then I went down to the coaches locker room and met with Coach (Urban) Meyer with my mom and dad for about 20 minutes, talked to him for a while, walked out to the field and did the whole pregame thing, and then pretty much just watched the game."

The 6-foot-6, 280-pound offensive tackle was impressed by everything but the final score.

"Besides the loss, it was just an awesome trip," Prestwood said. "I loved everything about it - the atmosphere, the players, the coaches. I liked being in the stadium. It was just a good trip overall."

The Gator coaching staff was consistent in their message to the three-star lineman.

"They just told me they really want me there," Prestwood said. "They talked to me for a while and told me how they could use me in the offense and things like that. That is pretty much it."

During the visit, Prestwood hit it off with a former foe, offensive lineman Matt Patchan, who he squared off against as a freshman when Patchan was at Seffner (Fla.) Armwood. Prestwood said he spoke at length with the sophomore offensive lineman.

"I talked with (offensive lineman) Matt Patchan for a while in the locker room because he was out, he was injured and not playing," Prestwood said. "That was pretty cool. He told me everything. He said it is great to be a Gator. He told me he likes everything about it and why he picked there. He said he likes everything about the coaching staff and he feels comfortable there."

As for upcoming trips, Prestwood plans to visit Florida State when they host North Carolina and Notre Dame for their post-season banquet. One of those visits is likely to be an official visit, at this time.

"I think the Florida State visit, I think we are going to make that an official visit," Prestwood said. "I don't know yet about the Notre Dame visit."

At this time, it is a three-team race between the Gators, Seminoles, and Fighting Irish to land his signature.

"Like I have told other people, it was nothing against Notre Dame, that is still an awesome place and I love the coaching staff there, everything about it," Prestwood said. "It was just one of those things where I felt I rushed into it a little bit and didn't really think everything out. So I want to take a look at the two other schools (UF and FSU) that I really like."

At the conclusion of his Florida visit, Prestwood says he doesn't have a leader because he still needs to visit Florida State. He said he may be able to name a leader following his trip to Tallahassee, but that he does not intend to rush to any decisions this time around.