Grading the SEC's recruiting situations: Florida Gators
In the coming weeks, SDS will grade each team’s current state of recruiting based upon the factors listed below. Today we continue the series with one the SEC’s only team with a first-year coach this season, the Florida Gators.
FLORIDA GATORS
HOME-STATE TALENT: B+
McElwain’s hit the Sunshine State hard since taking over at the start of the year, garnering signatures from two five-stars — Martez Ivey and CeCe Jefferson — in February as well as a handful of other instant-impact four-stars. For the 2016 class, an impressive group of 15 ranked inside the Top 12 nationally at this point, the Gators have locked down verbals from 12 in-state prospects — 80 percent of the overall class. The problem lies, at least on the surface, within the collection of talent. The Gators seem to have taken the depth approach in the early going and don’t have many instant-impact players on the way in. Only two of 15 total commits are considered four-star prospects or better. Florida’s had at least five such players in every signing class over the last decade.
RECENT SUCCESS: B+
Florida’s 2015 class, one salvaged at the last minute by McElwain, was ranked 21st nationally and a surprising 10th in the SEC — the first time the Gators failed to secure a Top 15 haul in the 21st century. Will Muschamp recruited beautifully during his ill-fated four-year tenure, bringing in a pair of Top 5 classes over that span. The lack of on-field results with said standouts is the primary reason athletic director Jeremy Foley pulled the plug last fall.
FAN SATISFACTION: B-
McElwain’s made it know that he’s going after his players, guys he believes fit his system and what the Gators are trying to accomplish. With that being said, Gator Nation is a bit miffed at some of the players Florida has offered for the 2016 class. I’ll reserve judgment until the final recruiting rankings are out in February, but as it stands, the Gators need a couple commits from high-profile players (five-star warm target Shavar Manuel would suffice) to appease the fanbase and more importantly, secure a class ranked inside the top half of the SEC.
COACHING STABILITY: B+
Considering the Gators have a first-year staff, I’d say McElwain’s assistants are safe for a year or two before on-field results really begin to matter. Studying the changes and development on Florida’s defense under Geoff Collins will be fun to watch once the new defensive coordinator has his personnel in place. Chris Rumph, one of the team’s top recruiters, put in overtime this spring going after several studs including Manuel and five-star defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence (Wake Forest, N.C.) — guys who will make a tremendous impact if they sign.
SUM IT UP: The Gators usher a new era this season with the offensive-minded McElwain, a respected former SEC assistant who returned to the conference from out West to tackle what he called a salivating challenge in the Eastern Division. Getting back to competing for SEC — and national — titles annually begins with players and the Gators staff is building a roster depleted by the NFL draft from the ground up. Resources are substantial in Gainesville and Florida remains one of the 10 best jobs in the country. There’s no reason the Gators can’t get back to being a perennial Top 25 team, possibly as early as 2016.
Editor’s note: Any reference to recruiting ratings in this series – team or individual – are to 247Sports’ industry composite ranking.
At the end of the series we will rank the SEC’s recruiting situations from 1-14 based on the grades we assign each program. Here are last year’s recruiting situation rankings:
