Life ‘a lot less stressful’ for Fletcher Westphal since Florida Gators commitment; house hunting on deck
It’s safe to say life for Fletcher Westphal is much more simple now that he is committed to the University of Florida.
Throughout the recruiting process, the 6-foot-8, 330-pound offensive tackle has logged 70-plus visits and landed scholarship offers from some of the premier football programs across the map. Those include obviously Florida, Clemson, Georgia, Tennessee, Oregon and Michigan among many others.
However, following this month’s pledge to the Gators, Westphal is not checking his phone as much and now simply relishing his time as Fletcher the kid, not the highly-regarded recruit. Being able to turn the page on the recruiting process has been quite pleasant for the four-star prospect.
Representing Leesburg (Va.) Tuscarora, Westphal is the No. 19 offensive tackle and No. 249 prospect overall in the On3 Industry Ranking.
“Everything has definitely been a lot less stressful. I haven’t had to worry about calling college coaches every day; I can be a high school kid right now, not really having to worry about working calls into my schedule and whatnot,” Westphal told Gators Online.
“I probably call coach (Rob) Sale about once a week. I’m just hanging out in bed when I give him a call, so life is a lot of easier right now actually. There is nothing else to say, really.”
The Gators went all in but were not overwhelming
Speaking of Sale, Westphal’s relationship with the Gators’ offensive coordinator and co-offensive line coach played a pivotal role down the stretch. That is who extended the scholarship offer last October.
And although there were additional coaches who contacted him more frequently, Westphal says Sale’s approach ended up being everything he was looking for. Those personalities gelled from the get-go, especially when having face time in Gainesville.
“I think it was definitely a big thing,” Westphal said. “He never went overboard and there was always that space. I would be talking with Sale and it feels like I’m talking to him as much as I am talking to my parents. Throughout my recruiting journey, there were some coaches I was talking to literally every day. It was definitely good to kind of have that (with him).
“I’m not a very good texter; over the phone is fine, but I’m not really good over social media, texting and all that stuff. Half of the time when someone texts me, I might not respond either because I don’t know what to respond with or because I’m not in my messages app.
“I shoot (coach Sale) a call once a week, but it doesn’t feel like I’m shooting him a call from across the world every day. They did a great job of speaking with me in person. I like talking to people in person and seeing them in the face, so I had a great time with them.”
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What separated Florida from Arkansas, Clemson and others?
“Really, out of my top five, every school had the facilities and I loved the coaches at all the schools, but Florida had the best academics out of all the places. I liked the coaches at Florida and blended the best with the players. I got along the best with the players at Florida,” said Westphal.
“Even though the transfer portal is a thing, the players are more likely to stay than the coaches. Even if somehing happens and let’s say coach Napier has to go somewhere, hopefully I can look to my right and my right guard is still there. It’s one of those things where you can kind of prevent your own players from going.
“The players are the people who you are going to be around the most at college. Them, the weight-room coaches and your positional coach; that is who you are going to be around the most.”
Will Westphal transform into a top recruiter for the Gators?
This weekend, Florida’s offensive line commit will be in attendance for the Gators’ Grill in the Ville cookout. It will mark his fourth trip to Gainesville overall.
However, with Westphal now in UF’s class, this trip should produce a much-different feeling. All the attention will not be on him as a top prospect who has yet to make a decision, and he will also be able to grow closer to the majority of his classmates.
With top targets expected to be present, will Westphal have his recruiting cap nearby too?
“I haven’t really even dug into all of the recruiting yet. I haven’t figured that out yet. At the Grill in the Ville though, I know there will be some recruits there and will probably be recruiting them,” said Westphal.
“Like I said, I’m an in-person type of dude. I’m not going to be the guy who sends them a DM on Instagram or Twiter saying, ‘Go Gators!’ When someone would send me that to me for any of the schools, it really had no substance to it.”
If all goes as planned, Westphal will be flying into Florida on Friday morning. He will be in Gainesville that day and then attending the cookout before leaving for Tampa to help his parents with house shopping. If that does not highlight how strong Westphal’s commitment is. I do not know what will.
Westphal is planning to become a mid-year enrollee as well, so recruiting is now an afterthought.
Stay tuned to Gators Online.
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