Others pursued Mike McFarland until the very end

Blake’s Mike McFarland was a difficult person for us to reach as national signing day approached.

The reason?

He doesn’t have a cell phone.

“I’m getting one soon,” McFarland said Thursday night.

He also cleared the air about his recruitment.

As the Gainesville Sun first reported in late January, the Florida Gators, whom he eventually signed with, did in fact ask McFarland, a 6-foot-6, 240-pound right end, to grayshirt, meaning he wouldn’t enroll until January 2011. They later changed their minds, requesting once again that he enroll this year.

Nonetheless, after the news of the grayshirt request broke, McFarland said his recruitment picked up.

His main pursuer: Auburn.

“Oh my gosh,” McFarland said. “They knocked on my door.”

Even though Florida wavered with him, McFarland said he never wavered with the Gators.

He can't wait to get to Gainesville in June.

We’ll have more about McFarland in Sunday’s Times.

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