Nick Waisome committed to UF in August, but he’s not done with the recruiting process quite yet.
No, the four-star cornerback out of Groveland South Lake High isn’t considering other offers. He ‘s trying to recruit an old friend to join him at Florida next season.
Waisome, the No. 11 cornerback in the nation according to Rivals.com, and Ha’Sean Clinton-Dix, the top safety in this year’s class, both attended Lockhart Middle School in Orlando, where the two were best friends.
Clinton-Dix, from Orlando Dr. Phillips High, committed in April to play at Alabama. But that hasn’t stopped Waisome from trying to lure him to Florida before National Signing Day on Feb. 2.
“I’ve been talking to him, trying to get him on board,” Waisome said after his team’s 44-7 home loss to Apopka Olympia High on Friday.
In that game he had three tackles and one pass breakup in the end zone — the only time Olympia threw the ball in his direction.
Early in September, Clinton-Dix said he was 95 percent committed to the Crimson Tide, but his one-time close friend has been in his ear since committing to the Gators in August.
Since then, Clinton-Dix has softened his solid verbal, even if just slightly. He told the Orlando Sentinel last month he was only 85 percent committed to Alabama.
“I’m still ‘Bama, but the Gators are on a run with me,” Clinton-Dix told the Sentinel at the time.
Waisome, who said he is 100 percent Florida, isn’t giving up on his former schoolmate just yet. When the two were in middle school together, they used to play sandlot football after classes and were close until Waisome moved and they lost contact with each other.
The two highly-touted recruits reconnected at tryouts for the Central Florida All-Stars 7-on-7 team earlier this year and were teammates on the Southeast team that won the ESPN RISE Gridiron Kings tournament this summer.
Now, with their senior seasons in full swing and college approaching, Waisome is hoping the friends can once again be schoolmates and reunite on the field.
“I’m just trying to get him over to the Gators and be part of the family,” Waisome said.
That family includes three-star defensive back De’Ante “Pop” Saunders, as well as four-star linebacker Ryan Shazier and four-star quarterback Jeff Driskel, the nation’s top pro-style passer.
All of them are UF commits with whom Waisome has built strong relationships. He said they all talk on a regular basis and exchange text messages to get to know each other better before they enroll at UF.
While Clinton-Dix is the only one Waisome is trying to recruit right now, he said there’s a chance he will “get on a couple of other cats later,” and try to get them to commit to UF — a role similar to the one freshman Trey Burton played in last year’s class.
“There ain’t nowhere else to go,” Waisome said. “The Gators is where it’s at.”
