Gators get 15-year-old's verbal pledge for 2010 class

Florida has a reputation of snatching up recruits shortly after their last and biggest camp of the year – Friday Night Lights.

This time around, the coaches didn’t have to wait until the end of camp.

Shortly before the camp began, 2010 offensive line recruit Ian Silberman gave a verbal commitment to the UF coaching staff.

Silberman, a tackle out of Fleming Island, is the first 2010 commit for the Gators. And here’s a twist: he’s only 15. He also stands at 6-foot-5 inches and weighs 257 pounds.

"He's a tremendous kid," said Fleming High football coach Neal Chipoletti, "a hard worker, good student, very involved parents. His mom and dad are both tremendous people.

"Believe it or not, he's only been playing organized football for a little over a year. We snatched him off the basketball courts when he was a freshman and from there he's gone from the JV to varsity.

"I've never seen a kid pick up as much from one year to the next. When you're playing tackle, and you don't execute, the quarterback can get killed. We didn't expect him to contribute as much as he did as a sophomore. Obviously, he has great size but he's worked very, very hard.

"Just based on what he's done through his sophomore year, the kid is one of the best around. It's not just what I think but it's also the recruiters because he's received offers from about 15 of the major programs throughout the country. If he continues to work I think he has a chance to be one of the best to ever come out of here."

Silberman says he eats everything he can these days, and while his body might be young, he’s old enough to realize that Gainesville is right for him.

“I’ve known (that he could commit) for about two or three weeks now and it was great because now I feel I have a home at Florida and all the coaches love me and I love the coaches,” Silberman said. “It just feels like a big family environment right now.”

Silberman, who was offered by the staff during the spring, said he delayed his commitment until Friday because he wanted to do it when the coaches returned from their vacations so that the entire staff could hear it.

Even with such an early commitment, Silberman said he’s seen enough and has no plans of visiting other schools this year or next year.

To current 2009 offensive lineman commit Jon Halapio, of St. Petersburg, getting a commitment from a player like Silberman is a great thing for UF because of Silberman's age and potential.

“I didn’t expect that anytime soon,” Halapio said of Silberman’s commitment. “He’s 15 years old and he’s that big for his age? That’s great. Good job for him. He’s set; he doesn’t have to worry about anything anymore.”

But all of this is still kind of a blur to Silberman. He said he never really gave UF much thought when he was first offered. In fact, he was a “die-hard LSU fan” growing up.

“I’ve spent so much time with the coaches,” he said. “They're great. It’s just a loving environment. The education is crazy, and I’m staying in the state of Florida, and Gator Nation – you just can’t beat it.”

Silberman looked like one of the more polished linemen at the camp Friday, prompting offensive line coach Steve Addazio to use him to display proper technique before for many of the drills players went through.

There was even a chance to see to future Gators go at it when Silberman lined up opposite 2009 commit and defensive tackle Gary Brown.

“Gary’s great,” Silberman said. “Gary’s the best defensive lineman in Florida and I hope to have some great battles with him in the future.”

With his commitment out of the way, Silberman now turns his focus to school, his football career at Fleming Island High and also helping to get more prospects on board the UF bandwagon.

“(The coaches) said I’m going to pretty much do what Tim Tebow did recruiting his class and (what) the Pouncey twins did recruiting their class,” he said. “I’m hoping to start out and go recruit.”

Sun staff writer Kevin Brockway contributed to this report.