FSU commit Matt Elam switching back to UF?

By Adam Silverstein
January 5, 2010

Five-star safety recruit Matt Elam (West Palm Beach, FL), formerly the prize of the Florida Gators 2010 recruiting class, decommitted and pledged to play for the Florida State Seminoles on New Year’s Eve. Elam, who appeared to waiver about his commitment throughout the entire recruiting process, reaffirmed his decision to play for the Gators numerous times over the last few months but changed his mind after learning about Meyer’s indecision on his future. Elam was flabbergasted.

Ignoring two of Meyer’s phone calls following the Florida coach’s decision to take a leave of absence two Sundays ago, Elam eventually picked up and spoke with Meyer sometime after the 2010 Sugar Bowl. “He tried [to sway me back], but it didn’t work,” Elam said of the phone call. Meyer, apparently, persisted.

Adam Gorney of Rivals spoke with Elam Tuesday and reports that the safety may be having second third fourth fifth sixth seventh thoughts about has commitment. Apparently Meyer and Elam had a “long and emotional conversation” with Elam telling Gorney that he “doesn’t think he can leave Meyer,” though he has yet to decommit.

“I talked to Urban last night,” Elam told Gorney. “We were talking about our relationship basically and he told me to have trust, to have trust in him and he asked me a word that really touched me. He said, ‘Do you know what faith means?’ and he told me the definition. It really touched me a lot. It really touched me so my decision might change. I’ve known him for a while. It’s been tough to leave him so I don’t know if I’ll be able to.”

Upon hearing this story, Jason Lieser of the Palm Beach Post contacted Elam and asked him point-blank if there was any chance he would spurn FSU for UF. “No,” Elam said. “Other players are probably telling them that.” If Gorney is sourcing Elam and Lieser is as well, someone obviously has the story wrong.

Elam will make his commitment official on Saturday during the U.S. Army All-American Bowl. OGGOA will have full coverage of the event.

19 Comments

  1. Brittany says:

    Personally, I hope he sticks with FSU. He’s been so flaky from the start and I want people on the team who are soundly commited to the Gators-which Elam never seemed to be. He is no doubt talented but something about him just rubs me the wrong way.

  2. O-town Gator says:

    Like I’ve said before, when it comes to recruiting nothing’s official until they sign on the dotted line. Perhaps he’s evaluating the whole situation and is more willing to listen instead of making a decision in haste that he may come to regret later on – and should he decide to re-commit to UF I have no problem with that.

    It’s like we were often told in school “never ASSUME anything”, and I’m sure you know why that is. There’s a reason why Coach Meyer is taking the leave of absence and it’s only right that he’s upfront and honest with our recruits, but in turn I only hope that they’ll do him the courtesy of listening to him and allowing him to speak directly “from the horse’s mouth ” by explaining what’s taking place instead of their hearing false information from rumor mills, rival coaches who may be up to no good, and other unreliable outlets.

  3. OrangeHulk says:

    I hope he is worth it. These me first guys usually do more harm than good!

  4. Weird news day. Hope you all got your fill because I don’t want to write any more until tomorrow!

  5. O-town Gator says:

    There’s never a dull moment when it comes to Gator football, Adam. 🙂

  6. Gatorfan33 says:

    I honestly could care less with this guy now. If we sign him good, if we don’t good. I don’t care what he says Saturday, until he send in his LOI in February I will not believe anything he says verbally.

  7. ReptilesRule says:

    Unless he is ABSOLUTELY sure he wants to be a Gator, I don’t want him in Gainesville. Meyer’s situation seems to have thrown him for a loop and to an extent, that is understandable. Hell, I think it threw us all for a loop. But now that things are starting to clear up and it’s becoming apparent that Urban will be back, maybe he is just following his heart. Lets not be TOO hard on the kid, there has been alot of indecision going around lately, just look at our coaches…

  8. Cory says:

    Fucking soap opera.

  9. Co-swamp says:

    I really do not blame this young man for the flip-flopping. I think that recruiting is so surreal to the average fan that it is a hundred times worse for these guys. He is in a no-win scenario now with college football fans as either UF or FSU fans will be blasting his character on signing day when in reality all he wants to do is play ball. If he decides to come to UF, then welcome, if not then good luck – except for that one day a year.

    Also, just found this site today so I wanted to say thanks for providing information on the Gators for those of us outside of the southeast!

  10. ReptilesRule says:

    The real question is…does he deserve to be a Gator??

  11. Behind Enemy Lines in Atlanta says:

    You’re either a Gator or you’re not. If he wants to be a part of rampant mediocrity and 7-6 seasons at FSU, let him go. Who cares? We have very solid, four star DB commits in this recruiting class already.

    I will enjoy watching Brantley go deep on him for 6 next year a couple of times in Tallahassee.

    It’s great to be a Florida Gator!

  12. miamigator says:

    This kid has a problem ! I think Elam needs attention & believes he’ll get lots of it at the Girls School. Probably will! When he said he thinks he can play as a frosh at FSU & maybe not at UF, that says alot abt the kids drive & confidence….not much of either. He should probably be a Criminole….likely to be caught running down the street with a TV on his shoulder down the road somewhere. (Or maybe he’ll end up with Bozo Kiffin.)

  13. Brittany says:

    Behind Enemy Lines in Atlanta- Your name made me laugh out loud. I’m in your boat, Georgia is not very Gator friendly. And I agree you are either a Gator or you aren’t.

  14. Tom says:

    miamigator,

    Do you have something against women (“girls school”)? That’s pretty much a slap in the face to every woman you know or have known. Personally, I love women.

    PS For the record, FSU started out as all-male in the 1850s…then went coed…as the oldest campus in Fla (only one that existed prior to the Civil War). It was all-female for less than 1/3 of its history.

  15. gator347 says:

    These kids are very young. We will have a great recruiting year no matter what he decides. But what will he do if he goes to UF and is hit with the realization that he is just one of many? Does he cry if he is playing special team or sitting the bench?

    I like the attitude at Boise State. They don’t care about speed, size, or how many stars a kid is rated. They want heart, character, and smarts; Seems to work for them.

  16. Tom, please use an e-mail address instead of na@na.com – it gets filtered into spam and, therefore, takes long to approve. Thanks for commenting.

  17. Mr2Bits says:

    I wont believe a word from this kids mouth until February. He could say UF on Saturday and I won’t buy it. If I remember correctly, he was already supposed to be in the Gator weight room but got too much sand in his gina. If he wants to be a Gator, then he is going to need to earn his spot. We don’t hand out positions like Tallanasty and their 102/120 ranked defense. I kind of hope he does go to FSU so he can look up and see all those empty seats while the Gators keep running train on that ass and winning championships.

    Elam needs to remember, there are 10 other players on his side of the ball. He is not a team of one no matter how good he is.

  18. Swagga Spear-it says:

    I like roller coasters, but not like this. It’s a big decision and regardless of what homers on either side say/think, there are pros and cons either way. I just wish him success in either case (just not against us if he heads to G-ville). Looks like we just have to wait till ink hits paper.

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