The Florida Gators hosted a dozen official visitors this weekend for the last official visit weekend of the 2017 cycle.

One of those official visitors was defensive end LaBryan Ray (6-4, 260, Madison, AL. James Clemens) who says the visit was a successful one.

“The visit was great,” Ray said of his official visit. “Me and my family had a great time. I’m not going to lie; I enjoyed myself down there this weekend. We all enjoyed it down there.”

Ray was joined in town by many family members and the defensive end says the family liked the visit as well.

“It was good because they treated me well,” he said on how his family liked it. “The people down there are great and they’re passionate about the university.”

The defensive end had two hosts over the weekend including one from the state of Alabama.

“The first night it was Jawaan Taylor and the second night it was Lamical Perine,” Ray said on his host. “He [Perine] was telling me that I can be different and be somebody from Alabama that went to Florida and did great. He pointed that out and said they’re going to be better in the future.”

Defensive line coach Chris Rumph had the chance to sit down with Ray and explain the need for him in Gainesville.

“He said there’s a chance to play early and a lot there,” he said Rumph’s message. “He says that he thinks that I can be a great player for them and that he wants me.”

Head coach Jim McElwain also had the chance to speak with Ray before he left the visit this weekend and the message was simple.

“Coach Mac said that I fit in there and that would play early,” Ray said of McElwain’s message to him. “He was saying that I could be a good player for the university and that he was going to look after me there.”

Now that Ray has finished his visit, he’s done with official visits and he says the Gators improved their chances.

“They helped themselves, it was a great trip, all of my visits were great,” he said. “It was a lot of fun and I definitely enjoyed things. This visit was different for me and it’s going to be a tough choice.”

Florida has one thing helping them out and that’s that Ray has family in the Gainesville area and he says that’s a plus.

“It’s good to have them there,” Ray said of his family there. “I think it would make things easier because you would have someone else there for you to talk too and be around.”

The only thing left for Ray to do now is to make a final decision and he knows when he will let the coaches know of his decision.

“I plan to let the coaches know the night before signing day,” he said. “I’m going to announce at 11:15 or 11:30.”

INSIDERS TAKE: Ray says he will decide between Florida, Alabama, Ole Miss and Tennessee. The feeling I’ve gotten is that this is a Florida/Alabama battle heading into signing day.