Like every SEC head coach, Jim McElwain plans to prioritize a tight radius near the University of Florida in recruiting.

Keep the local talent at home. There’s nothing earth-shattering about that declaration. But the interesting thing is that McElwain’s stated five-hour driving radius includes a good portion of Georgia.

Five of the 22 players in McElwain’s first class call the The Peach State home, compared to zero in Will Muschamp’s last Florida class in ’14. (To be fair, Muschamp did sign nine players from Georgia in four years, all in ’12 and ’13.)

Three-star CB Chris Williamson, a late riser with “last-minute offers from more than a dozen big schools,” according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, chose the Gators. Florida also flipped three-star offensive tackle Nick Buchanan, a Cal commitment that appeared ready to switch to Georgia after visiting Athens.

“It’s recruiting and you never know what the decision-making part is,” McElwain said when the AJC asked him about beating out UGA.

“Yet in our case, we don’t look at necessarily as we beat somebody. We kind of look at it as whatever the fit is for that particular player. We felt that the things at the University of Florida are going to help Nick be successful in life. Believe me, we’re excited that he chose us.

“There were pre-existing relationships with some guys on our staff who recruited that area in the past. That obviously helps. But for us, our thought is a five-hour radius of Gainesville. And with that being said, that (radius) goes up into Georgia, and that will be something that we’ll try to continue to make Gator Country.”

McElwain and the Gators almost don’t have to leave the two-state area to collect enough recruiting talent to win championships. In 2014, Florida (1 in 104 players) and Georgia (1 in 133 players) produced the most FBS football talent per capita of any state in the country. It’s the primary reason ESPN recently ranked the Florida job as the best in the SEC. (“Location, location, location,” Edward Aschoff wrote.)

In the ’15 recruiting cycle, Auburn played Florida’s biggest recruiting adversary, as Muschamp and Gus Malzahn went head-to-head with McElwain on several five-star players. The competition for recruits will vary each year, but if McElwain’s philosophy is any indication, the Gators and Georgia Bulldogs will be fighting over talent on an annual basis.