Almost quietly, Florida has put together an outstanding recruiting class during the 2016 cycle.

As things stand today, the Gators have the No. 2 class in the Southeastern Conference and the No. 5 class nationally per 247Sports recruiting media industry-generated team rankings.

This is a large class and one that should from a macro standpoint impact Florida football for the years to come. With that, here are some burning questions and answers surrounding the Gators efforts this recruiting cycle.

What are your general impressions of Jim McElwain and his staff during their first full recruiting cycle at Florida?

I have been impressed. With 12 prospects enrolling early, this class is certainly poised to make an early impact on the Gators program as a whole. Florida has filled immediate needs at running back and wide receiver with two junior college transfers (both are already on campus) in Mark Thompson and Dre Massey. Plus some of the high school early enrollees like Freddie Swain and Joshua Hammond have a shot at getting on the field and helping this coming season.

I also think that McArthur Burnett, the all-purpose back from Pahokee, Fla., has a chance to make some noise, along with quarterback Feleipe Franks. The Gators have done an excellent job of stockpiling defensive linemen, too. I absolutely think that Antonneous Clayton (Vienna, Ga./Dooly County) is one of, if not the, best pure pass rushers in the entire class nationally.

Can Florida finish strong this cycle? It seems like they are nearly finished.

Well, the Gators have 26 right now overall and have their eye on a few prospects down the stretch.

What could make the defensive line class even better is if Florida is able to land defensive end Brian Burns from Fort Lauderdale. It looks like the Gators are in excellent shape heading down the stretch, but they have to close the deal. Burns is an upside guy, but when you project the future of the Florida defensive line and can imagine Burns on one side and Clayton on the other, it can be downright terrifying if you are an opposing offense.

That may not happen right away as both prospects have developing to do, but the potential for it to happen is there.

What do you think about the quarterback recruiting?

I think that at that position you have to be resourceful and by signing Franks and adding Purdue transfer Austin Appleby, that gives Florida and offensive coordinator Doug Nussmeier some options with Luke Del Rio and Treon Harris already on campus, plus a fifth quarterback out of Manvel (Texas) who enrolled early in 6-foot-5 Kyle Trask.

This gives the Gators plenty of options heading into next season as opposed to last year where it was only Harris after Will Grier was suspended and subsequently transferred out. Make no mistake about it: McElwain and his staff’s tallest task since taking the job is to rebuild the quarterbacks and wide receivers and they are on their way to doing that.

Did Florida add enough playmakers on offense this cycle?

Again, just like with the quarterbacks, it’s time to be resourceful. Antonio Callaway this past season was outstanding as a true freshman with limited fanfare and star rating hype and though I had him pegged as the “big sleeper” in Florida’s class, he surpassed even my expectations.

That’s why the Gators historically have been good at receiver — there are Antonio Callaways all over the Sunshine State in every cycle, you just have to figure out which ones you want and go and get them.

Massey is extremely intriguing. As a high school football player at Mauldin (S.C.) High, he was a legend with the ball in his hands and perhaps the best athlete ever to come out of that school (which BTW is where Kevin Garnett played basketball through his junior season back in the mid-1990s). Massey was equally-impressive from scrimmage at Holmes Community College.

What is the biggest thing about Florida’s recruiting class that nobody is talking about, but they should?

To me, it’s that the Gators have four prospects out of the state of Alabama committed.

Because of the recent success Alabama and Auburn have had, those two programs are able to go beyond the state. The Crimson Tide for going on seven cycles now, has a straight national approach. The Tigers are better-equipped than ever at raiding Georgia and Florida and being competitive for top talent in the pockets of those two states. Auburn has always done well in those places, but the Tigers are even more of a factor now.

That leaves plenty of talent in-state that both in-state programs would have taken 10 years ago. It’s also not something that a lot of schools have figured out. Before the Gators took four from Alabama this cycle, it really was just Mississippi State and Louisville landing the “low-hanging fruit” out of the state with South Carolina and other programs having some success spot-recruiting.

Every player Florida took out of Alabama this cycle, regardless of rating, has a chance to be a major contributor. I particularly am high on linebacker Jeremiah Moon from Hoover. He’s 6-foot-4, 205 pounds with excellent length and athleticism. Give him a year or two to develop and he can be a monster.