The first full week of officially being Florida’s head coach is almost over for Jim McElwain and it was a week full of one thing — recruiting.

“We’ll hit the road next week, get to as many places as humanly possible from the recruiting standpoint because it’s one of those things recruit daily or die now. We’ve got to make sure we secure a great class,” McElwain said during his introductory press conference.

Although decisions still have to be made in regard to what his coaching staff will look like, it appears that McElwain has a put recruiting as his biggest priority for now, at least until the dead period begins on Dec. 15. McElwain has been out on the road all week visiting recruits throughout Florida, some committed and some still up for grabs.

McElwain’s recruiting strategy should be no surprise to Florida fans.

Shortly after McElwain was hired, we spoke with former SEC head coach John L. Smith, whom McElwain was an assistant coach under at Louisville and Michigan State.

Smith said McElwain understands that recruiting in your own state is top priority.

“He’s a believer in get out and work your backyard. Recruit your backyard first,” Smith said. “I think he’ll do that without a doubt because you have the best kids in the country [in Florida].

Judging from the response of recruits via Twitter, it seems that recruits are responding well to McElwain and the assistant coaches, despite the state of flux that Florida football is currently in.

With his offensive background, it’s no surprise that offense is the area he has focused much of his attention early on in recruiting.

McElwain may be focusing more on offensive recruits, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t addressing the defensive needs. The new UF head coach made it a point to reach out to key five-star defensive end recruits CeCe Jefferson and Byron Cowart this week.