How Florida closed the gap on Georgia and Alabama with a strong Signing Day finish
For the second consecutive season, Dan Mullen and the Florida coaching staff finished a recruiting cycle with a Signing Day flourish.
A year after Florida closed with what on paper was the best transition class in school history, Mullen and the Gators added four critical pieces on Signing Day 2019 to help secure what 247’s Team Rankings Composite rates as the program’s first top-ten recruiting class since 2014.
Here’s a breakdown of the class:
The Haul: 25 players, 17 4-stars, 8 3-stars
For the first time since the inception of recruiting rankings, Florida’s football roster will lack a 5-star recruit in the 2019 season.
Still, the Gators penned 17 blue-chip recruits (4- or 5-stars), a number only exceeded nationally by Alabama (25), Georgia (22) and Penn State (18). And Florida cracking the Top 10 after spending most the cycles in the 20s is a testament not just to the staff’s ability to close, but to the improving perception of the program as a national power again after Mullen’s outstanding first season.
What we liked most: The Close of Khris Bogle and Kaiir Elam
The two largest coups of Signing Day — and two of the biggest “gets” in this class for Florida — came on defense.
First, Florida secured the signature of 4-star defensive end Khris Bogle out of Fort Lauderdale. Bogle recorded 22 sacks in his final two seasons at South Florida power Cardinal Gibbons, where he won a state championship. He was a surprise flip from Alabama.
The main reason for Bogle’s decision?
The chance to play in Todd Grantham’s Steelers 3-4 scheme, which values Bogle’s speed on the edge as either a stand-up outside linebacker or a hand-in-the-dirt jet end, always moving downhill.
Bogle will need to add strength and muscle to deal with the down-to-down rigors of the run game and life on the edge in the SEC, but Grantham sold the young man on a chance to play for the top program in his home state and contribute quickly as a pass-rushing specialist. The fact he chose Florida with Tennessee in hot pursuit, Nick Saban in-home late in the process and Florida rival Miami getting the last visit speaks volumes about the connection Bogle felt with Florida’s coaching staff.
It also marked the second consecutive season Florida had won a high-profile Signing Day battle over an in-state recruit with Alabama (Jacob Copeland last season), a trend that must continue if the Gators are to close the gap with Georgia and the Tide in the SEC.
Florida’s second big Signing Day victory came just after lunch, and might be even more impactful than Bogle.
Four-star cornerback Kaiir Elam, the nephew of former Florida All-American Matt Elam, decided to stay home and play for the Gators.
In late November, we wrote that we felt Elam was Florida’s most important recruiting battle, for a few reasons.
First, he’s a sensational football player who can come in and immediately help a Gators secondary that was precariously thin in 2018. The nation’s number six cornerback in the 247 Composite rankings, Elam is the second-highest rated recruit in a Florida class that contains 16 blue-chip players.
Second, he’s another South Florida kid, hailing from Palm Beach County, a prospect-rich area that Florida has struggled to recruit consistently this decade. The reasons for Florida’s Palm Beach recruiting issues are complicated, but the backdrop illustrates why Elam’s recruitment was so essential for Mullen’s staff.
Elam played at the private Benjamin School, in Palm Beach Gardens, but his uncle Matt played at nearby William T. Dwyer, the county’s most consistent program and one led by a Florida alum, Jack Daniels.
Will Muschamp signed a record haul of Dwyer players early in his tenure, but Daniels and Muschamp’s relationship soured when Florida’s staff opted to continue playing the struggling Jeff Driskel over Dwyer product Jacoby Brissett, and when Florida’s staff appeared less than interested in playing other Dwyer talents like Gerald Christian and Robert Clark. Both Clark and Christian transferred, the latter becoming an All-ACC player at Louisville. That misstep, coupled with Jimbo Fisher’s mastery over the Gators and Florida’s passive recruitment of fellow Palm Beach County star Lamar Jackson, opened the door for other programs in an area that historically was kind to Florida. Elam, then, was a vital recruit in reversing that trend.
Finally, this was Mullen’s most high-profile head-to-head recruiting battle with Kirby Smart and Georgia to date.
Elam was at the top of Georgia’s January board, and Smart wanted him so badly he paid over half-a-million dollars to lure Florida DB coach Charlton Warren, who had been a key recruiter for Florida in the push for Elam, to Georgia. Smart and the Georgia faithful will argue, with some merit, that a hire is never about one player, but the narrative at the time of the Warren hire was that Elam would be part of the package. That narrative crumbled Wednesday, giving Mullen and Florida a huge recruiting victory and depriving Georgia of a huge talent at a position of need for Smart.
@GatorsFB locked up Kaiir Elam. #GoGators pic.twitter.com/N0iF822hL5
— Dennis Johnson (@DennisPatJohn) February 6, 2019
Best Player: Mohamoud Diabate, LB, Auburn, Ala.
There’s an argument for Elam here or the class’s highest rated player, 4-star corner Chris Steele. Both will play immediately for Florida, and Steele, who hails from California and flipped from USC, is huge optically because of what he says about Florida again establishing a national recruiting footprint under Mullen.
But the player who stands out consistently on video is Diabate, the 4-star outside linebacker from Auburn. Diabate is in between ideal linebacker and defensive end size, but plays fast and physical in a way that fits perfectly with Grantham’s scheme. His explosive first step and lateral quickness will compensate for his lack of size as a freshman, and he’s more physically ready to play on day one than class counterpart Tyron Hopper. He’ll need to add mass to be every down linebacker in the SEC, but Grantham is masterful at putting players in a position to succeed and Diabate will contribute from day one on campus.
Biggest Misses: Edge-setting DL and Trey Sanders
Florida’s close of Bogle gives Grantham another pass-rusher as he tries to replace likely first-round draft pick Jachai Polite, but the Gators failed to land an edge-setting defensive end in the mold of departed Cece Jefferson in this class. Florida wasn’t great against the run in 2018; the failure to address this specific need is a blemish on a very good class.
Florida also landed the 4-star Lakeland three of Keon Zipperer (the nation’s second-ranked tight end), defensive end Lloyd Summerall and massive offensive lineman Deyavie Hammond. The latter fills a vital position of need as John Hevesy reconstructs Mullen’s offensive line this offseason. Landing this in-state trio was immense, but the Gators did miss in-state on IMG Academy lineman Evan Neal and the jewel of the class, running back Trey Sanders. The Neal miss was anticipated; the Sanders miss feels more like a staff whiff, especially considering Sanders’ brother, Umstead Sanders, plays linebacker and special teams for the Gators.
It’s progress that this staff won in-state recruiting battles with Alabama and Georgia for the second consecutive cycle. Florida should also benefit from the discord under Willie Taggart at Florida State and the general perception that despite Manny Diaz’s early momentum, the Hurricanes are behind in the aftermath of Mark Richt’s surprise departure last month.
But Florida needs to start landing program-changing superstars like Sanders if they want to make their College Football Playoff ambitions a reality.
They can start by inking Zipperer, Hammond and Summerall’s high school teammate, 5-star running back Demarkcus Bowman, in the 2020 class.
Final Class Grade: A-
The Gators closed strong and maintained their Peach Bowl momentum on Signing Day by winning head-to-heads over the two SEC programs they are chasing: Georgia and Alabama.
They also added depth at positions of need, especially filling out the offensive line and linebacker positions. The signature of three of the nation’s top corners is immense, as is the addition of quarterback Jalon Jones, who gives the Gators a quarterback room filled with blue-chip talent.
Florida didn’t do as well as it needed to on the defensive line, but Bogle’s signature made it a slight blemish, as opposed to an obvious shortcoming.
This class makes Florida immediately better and the map says things will improve even more in 2020.
BOOM!!!!!!
Can we call it a ‘closed” gap if they are still only ranked 9 in recruiting and Bama and UGA are 1 and 2? It seems like there’s still a gap but I never was good at math.
You can only put 11 men on the field at any one time. Unless of course you are FSU.
“Challenge accepted”
Right but when one of those 11 gets even just a little tired if you can put someone else in who is fresh and just as good, you are at an advantage.
The thing is, the second round are never quite as good as the first round. Not even at Bama and Georgia. Will Florida beat Georgia or Alabama in 2019. I don’t think so. But it’s going to happen soon.
Mullen is a far superior coach and developer of players than Smart, so yes we can call the gap between #2 and #9 closed when factoring that in. As far as Bama is concerned, there’s still some work to do.
Where is the proof that he is a superior coach? By never beating a Kirby led defense at Alabama or never beating him as a head coach while at MSU or UF? Mullen has made a living on beating inferior teams. Just go look at his records against teams that ended the season ranked.
BT you’ll see the proof real soon. He’s accumulating the talent he’s never had to compete with the top teams. Soon enough you’ll see him coach circles around Smart. Enjoy your little run while it lasted.
I guess when you’ve had multiple 4-win seasons in the past few years, any glint on the horizon is mistaken for being “back”.
“Just wait, punk, our coach wears Yeezies and didn’t sign a single five star, but he’s a far superior coach compared to yours despite being 0-2 in head to head games and never having reached the SECCG before, let alone winning it.”
Fist-year Mullen lead Florida to a higher year-end ranking than third-year Kirby’s Bulldogs (tied AP/higher in Coach’s). First year record better than Kirby’s first year by 2 games, despite Kirby inheriting a 10-3 team and Mullen a 4-7 team.
^^ Doesn’t realize Mullen lost to Kirby by 19 and Georgia just signed better players this year. You can read all the hype you want, the gap got BIGGER, it didn’t come close to closing and it certainly isn’t completely closed.
Come on, look at the players he developed at Florida the first time around and what he did with much less at Miss St.
Yea that isn’t true.
2020 and 2021 class will be better than Georgia, LOCK
Nope
Good luck with UF pulling in better recruiting hauls than UGA in the foreseeable future. Mullen has almost no pull in the state of Georgia. Georgia puts out more talent than Florida (only CA and TX outrank GA’s talent), and those kids want to stay home. Moreover, UGA has multiple coaches with significant ties to Florida, which is why we land more top-rated Florida kids than UF. So, explain to me again, how is Mullen going to out-recruit Smart?
Urban, hope springs eternal.
Okee Dokee, Urban. Alrighty then….
I think so also. Well said gatoRay77.
This is idiotic. By no means am i saying UGA is on Bama’s level but if there’s still work to do with Bama there is still work to do with UGA. UGA has the talent across the board to compete with Bama. UF has a solid class, but one *barely* top 10 class closes no gaps.
Mullen who has never beaten UGA as a head coach is “far superior coach…than Smart” You just spew out whatever comes into your head regardless of fact?
You, sir, are living in a dream land….. What data do you have for this asinine comment?
According to 24/7 sports:
2018 UGA recruiting class- #1
2018 UF recruiting class- #14
14-1 = 13
2019 UGA recruiting class- #2ish
2019 UF recruiting class- #9ish
9ish – 2ish = 7ish
I know you’ve got an UGA emblem by your name but quick math would yield 7 < 13 which, in case you are still confused, means that the recruiting gap was indeed… "closed".
No. You just proved that your still falling behind UGA, just not falling behind by as much this year. Gap is still growing.
VolTrashCanGuy,
Stop using logic with these morons. Let them think they closed the gap. I will enjoy the pathetic excuses that come after another embarrassing loss for those idiots the last Saturday in October.
VolTrashCan and UGAFlyfisherman…
I just used math (real logic) to prove that the recruiting gap was closing and you both somehow found a way to unite in ignorance. We all know the real gap is the lack of academia at UGA and Tennessee compared to Florida so I’m not too surprised. “Idiot.”
Hey “BrahMane” if you think UGA lacks academia you’re as misinformed as those you are trying hard to insult. I guess when you can’t talk about on-field results, you resort to misguided attempts at insulting a rival’s academics, huh?
Boxter- your reading comprehension only furthers my statement. I said “compared to Florida”. As far as “on-field results” go, I don’t think our on-field results were anything to laugh at. I didn’t even have to “try” to insult anyone… you guys did the work yourselves.
Well when you factor in the number of UGA signees are just getting cars for their uncles before they hit the transfer portal in a year, yeah. And of course big game Kirby Shart doesn’t know what to do with the talent anyways, unlike Mullen.
At least Smart knows how to get to the big games. What has Mullen ever won as a head coach? A top 5 ranking before facing a semi-legit opponent and falling back into the land of irrelevancy? His record is terrible against ranked opponents. UF is now the red-headed step child of the SEC East… deal with it.
Now this comment is just stupid in so many ways. First off since Mullen is the coach of Florida let’s look at his record against top 25 teams this year. He beat LSU, Msst, and Michigan. His only top 25 loss was UGA and I guess you can count UK since they finished in the top 25. So in his first year after taking over a 4-8 team he went 2-1 over top 10 teams and 3-2 over top 25 teams. So winning records vs both. And to say that UF is the red headed step child of the east after finishing second in the east and winning a NY6 bowl plus winning the east twice in the last four years, makes that comment beyond stupid.
I’m not saying UF is better than UGA at all but please don’t be an idiot when replying
Yeah, i mean i think closING would’ve been a better word here. UF pulled off some pretty big signings, this much is true but to catch up to 1 and 2 i think more is required. Bama is consistently the top ranked class and under CKS, UGA has had all top 3 classes, with a number 1 class. One 9th ranked class doesn’t CLOSE the gap.
Florida improves from Top20 the last few years to Top10, plus Dan Mullen is a better player developer and play caller than Kirby Smart. So I think the gap is indeed closed.
Kirby smart doesn’t call plays homie. If you want to see examples of Kirby “calling plays” why don’t we look at the vast successes of MSU against Bama when Kirby was DC. Oh that’s right, Mullen has never beaten Kirby while Kirby was a DC or HC. Mullen only beats sorry teams. Check his record against teams that finish ranked.
UGA way over-paying Warren $600,000 a year when UF was only paying him $200,000, for the purposes of trying to get a recruit, and then Florida hiring a far superior coach and still landing said recruit, is absolutely priceless.
Well, just take away from it that Charleton Warren just tripled his paycheck AND got to move back to his home state. Kudos to the man cause he’s the real winner here. (Other than being stuck at jortgia and having to wear red and black).
UF is stuck with Todd Grantham as DC!!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA HAHAHAHAHA
I love how much Gators have been lying to themselves about losing Warren. He’s not coached a single minute at Florida yet, but by the magical powers of your collective fantasies he’s already better! Newsflash, UGA needed a very good DB coach for reasons other than a recruit.
Correction, Chris Steele IS a 5* player, and 2019 is not the first year we’ve gone without, we haven’t had a 5* rated player in a recruiting class since CeCe Jefferson and Marcus Ivey in 2014.
Antonneous Clayton was rated a 5 star by Rivals in 2016
Rivals rankings make no sense and is losing ground.
They only use composite 5-star rankings. Fromm was listed as a 5-star by Rivals as well, but we don’t claim him as one of our 20+ 5-star players.
What I took it to mean was that there were no five-stars on the entire roster for the first time, not that this was the first five-star-less recruiting class.
But as far as I know, Clayton is still on the roster.
Steele is a four-star per the 247 Composite (aggregate of all major services). Clayton was too. Florida will not have a single 5 star player on its roster next season with Ivey and Jefferson gone. There were no errors.
I think Elam is a stud and I hate that UGA didn’t get him, but how has UF closed the GAP?
UF last 4 classes rank 9, 14, 11, and 12
Bama last 4 classes 1, 5, 1, and 1
UGA last 4 classes ranke 2, 1, 3, and 6
that Gap between Bama and UF is still just as big
and the Gap between UGA an UF hasn’t closed yet!
Who cares, everybody thinks all the 5* & 4* players will make them the best. Its more about the synergy of the team, each player being placed where they fit best & the having great coaches. Example from the Patriots! FL finished 7th in the AP rankings…same as Georgia
The gap has closed based on percentages of players on roster who are/were blue-chip recruits.
Even with Georgia’s amazing class, the number of “total” blue-chips per scholarship is still at about 80 percent (78.5).
At Florida, it was 41 percent heading into 2018. The Gators will enter 2019 with 58 percent of the roster as “blue-chip talent.”
Hence why my editors chose the headline “close the gap.”
I don’t see any way Florida has 58 percent blue chip ratio. Are you using the 247 composite or picking and choosing from each site?
That’s literally not how Math works, Neil. The gap between Florida and Georgia GREW this recruiting cycle. It just grew by a little less than before. The only way Florida begins to “close the gap” is by recruiting more blue chip players than Georgia in a single year, which with Kirby in Athens, isn’t likely to ever happen.
So the gap actually widened. Georgia signed more blue chip players than Florida (including 5/6 5-Stars where Florida again had NONE).
How is that “closing the gap?” The gap literally widened. You fail at the maths, Neil.
Isn’t the gap getting bigger? UGA and Bama have better classes this year than UF.
Exactly, especially from a guy that hates all three teams mentioned. This article just sounds so fanboy
this is why Tennessee is a loser fan base… they are OBSESSED with Florida… they are barely in the top 20 but come on here (fresh off 13 of 14 losses in a row to Florida.. let that sink in Trash Man)… to downplay a great day… Mullen is building depth and the elite classes are coming in the next 2 years… go vandy!
Was something I said wrong or did I just trigger you with the truth?
You are correct. The gap is actually bigger. I don’t know much about the writer of the article, but as someone else said it sounds like a fanboy article written to make gator fans feel good about falling further behind. These numbers i believe were taken from rivals. Florida right now is closer to last place Vandy than they are to UGA. The gap isn’t closing at all.
#UGA- 6,524 (11 5*, 30 4*)
#UF- 4,566 (1 5*, 28 4*)
#TN- 4,221 (1 5*, 22 3*)
#SC- 4,112 (1 5*, 17 4*)
#UK- 3,328 (0 5*, 7 4*)
#MZ- 3,170 (0 5*, 3 4*)
#Vandy- 2,864 (0 5*, 5 4*)
There’s not a huge gap between any of the top teams if you can develop the talent. Clemson’s last three classes were ranked 11, 16, 7 – and they’re currently ranked 10th for the 2019 class.
As long as you’re consistently signing classes somewhere in the top 15ish, you’ve got a shot.
If ur signing the 15ish class u need a top flight QB and UF doesn’t have that! Clemson had Desuan Watson the first time they beat Bama and Trevor Lawrence this year. When Clemson had Kelly Bryant couldn’t stay on the field with bama
So Trevor Lawrence and Deshaun Watson singlehandedly beat Bama? None of the other players held their own or outcompeted their Bama counterparts? That’s remarkable!
Clemson’s run of success has depended heavily on one of the most elite defensive lines in college football, and one that has to be completely restocked next year.
I know that about their D line. They may have three first rounders on it that are leaving for sure this year. My point was that simply stating their QBs won those games is a gross over exaggeration about a well coached and honestly talented team.
No what I’m saying is that having a great qb is an equalizer. Yes clemson’s d line was great but they had that same great d-line last year when they were beat by bama. Look at the teams that beat bama the last few years! They all had playmakers at QB!
Florida had a nice day lol. Closing gap talk is insane. Not only did they not really close much on uga or bama, we forgot that they have to jump some other teams like lsu, aTm, aub, etc. Makes it sound like theyve cemented 3rd in the pecking order or something. aTm and lsu still ranked higher this class as of now, and id wager have better on the field products next season too. Mullen is doing great. But pump the breaks on the gator hype train lol
^^^ All of this
The only team on that list: LSU, A & M, Auburn where Florida has “less” blue-chip talent is LSU.
A & M and Auburn both have less than 50 percent blue-chip players on their current rosters. Florida is now at 58. Three programs in the SEC are higher: Bama, Georgia and LSU.
I applaud Florida having a good signing day but no 5 stars for the first time since rankings came out…its not necessarily a step on the wrong direction but it hardly sounds like bridging the gap. Heck UGA got a 5 star today they were hardly even in the conversation with in George Pickens. Florida is definitely recruiting in the right direction, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves.
The Gators are hated again! WE BACK BABY! MULLEN!!!!!!
You’re conflating those two concepts. Also, Florida was never not hated.
Hated again? It never changed even when you were ranked 98th in the country or somewhere down there.
Pretty sure they broke triple digits and thought it was a good thing.
C’mon Urban! You gonna keep “Mullen” over that!
Urban, where have you been, bruh?!?!? You chompers have always been hated by us Dawgs!
The Gator Hater clock has been running, FYI.
Congrats to all the sec teams. Almost all the teams did pretty well. Bama and UGA still lead the way but I believe the gap is closing with some other teams. UGA had a nice close with Pickens. Florida also closed nicely and has a great class. I thought Arkansas faded just a little, ole miss did well, LSU losing out onSopsher hurts but they still have a nice class. Just heard we got tootoo and hoping no surprise from wright so we will have a nice class. Many say the best O line class in the nation. Lord knows we needed that perhaps worse than anything else.
I dont think this site could keep its viewers with all of its click bait. Thats why you dont trust national “journalists”, subtlety and specifics always escape them. Theyre so big picture they suck at analyzing the small picture. I like to come here and laugh t the crappy writing.
The gap is closing and that’s all that matters, history shows UF beats UGA with lower rated recruiting classes, just ask Spurrier about that. One more thing, what good is it for UGA to get all these 5* kids today only to see many of them in the transfer portal next season, just ask Justin Fields about it, and Jacob Eason before him.
Oh wow, another UF fan citing history as why the Gators will start winning again. The delusion runs DEEP. Which is doubly true if you extrapolate Eason and Fields leaving as an indicator of what Georgia does with its 5-star recruits.
That’s cool and all but the past doesn’t affect the future that way. Spurrier is no longer the coach, nor is Richt. You’re correct, the gap may be CLOSING as in UF is closer to being real contenders but it’s definitely not closed. As far as transfers, that happens when you have elite talent in front of you. These kids want to play now and nobody can really blame them. I’m sure you wouldn’t have the same argument for all the 5 stars UF signed. Oh, wait ….
Ah, yes, the 2 five-stars we’ve had leave at one position…that definitely translates to an image of multiple five stars at every position leaving in droves.
It’s not like they wanted to start at a one player position or something, or they were injured, right?
And it’s not like two five stars left at that position and we are left with just a 2 star playing qb. Theres still a 5 star back there playing QB for UGA.
Repeat after me: the gap is closing, the gap is closing, the gap is closing. Then click your Florida orange slippers three times and close your eyes. Presto, it will be so!
Florida gets all those good players and I just don’t know what happens to them.
Funny that is true about Ritch and Smart but most definitely not about Mullen
But go ahead and enjoy your 2 year “dynasty”
Great Spurrier quote except that was about your boy Ray Goof.
I think that was the point…Hear that “wooosh”? That was the sound of the joke flying over your head.
The joke is having all those good players and not winning a natty since 1980.
Fair enough. You know what’s also a joke? Having multiple 4-win seasons in the past few seasons.
First off I want to say this is a poorly worded heading. That being said my take is the idea is florida is closing the gap on head to head matchups vs Georgia and bama on Fl high school players which is still i big deal. I don’t really get how UGa fans can trash UF or Mullen right now. I mean compare Mullen’s first year to Smarts first year and then through in this is UF least talented team in a while with the worst QB in a long time at UF which is saying something. Granted UGA is outrecruiting UF and I believe they will continue to do so but I’m not completely sold on Smart yet. Not saying he’s a bad coach but I think he’s more so just out talenting teams then beating them with superior coaching. Coaching only goes so far when you don’t have decent talent. So to that aspect I think UF will close the gap on UGA as our recruiting improves. Mullen did lose handily to Smart and will coninue to do so I believe until we upgrade at QB but Smart did also lose to McElwein who was a terrible coach who also just benefited on having a very talented team his first two years. The point is as UF improves I believe the talent gap will close more with UGA. Especially with in state schools FSU and UM doing down. The one thing UGA benefits from is not having to worry about in state schools stealing their recruits. Where as UF has to fend off every SEC school plus FSU and UM making more difficult for UF to recruit.
Being down not going down
I know that there are quite a few errors on my post but being that I quickly typed it on my phone and can’t edit it there’s nothing I can do
This is a logical post. Mullen did an impressive job in recruiting this year, and he’s probably the best fit for UF right now. Have they totally closed the gap yet? No, of course not, but his improvement is definitely ahead of schedule.
CDM doing work…
Yet another Florida class passes by silently into the night with nary a 5-star prospect to be found, and Neil Blackmon proclaims, “We’re closing the gap!!! Wooooooooo! Chomp chomp chomp!” or some such other foolishness.
The delusion runs deep here. Almost as deep as Coleman Rudolph tweeting today that Georgia Tech has “obviously” had better coaches than UGA over the last 30 years and Collins will be better than Kirby, too.
Florida is so far behind that you cannot even see the gap, nonetheless begin to close it. Come back to us when Mullen actually beats some ranked teams.
Like winning three of four ranked contests in 2018?
You mean like LSU…the team UGA lost to?
Or like Kentucky… the team UF lost to?
Man are you delusional. Keep enjoying your 2 year “dynasty”
Soon it willbe over
The only gap closed with UGA and Bama is the one between UGA and Bama. Everyone else is a distant second. Florida had a decent class this year but still a little below expectations. Nevertheless, congrats to CDM on a remarkable turnaround.
Yay! Finally one of them can see without orange and blue lenses.
Seeing an article light up with trash talk in the comment section from opposing fanbases is great. Also makes the offseason more entertaining.
First-year Mullen lead Florida to a higher year-end ranking than third-year Kirby’s Bulldogs (tied AP/higher in Coach’s).
First year record better than Kirby’s first year by 2 games, despite Kirby inheriting a 10-3 team and Mullen a 4-7 team.
For you who want to say “oh, but look at head to head”, I say Jim McElwain beat Kirby his first year. Did that prove he was a better coach?
Mic drop
A single season comparison is meaningless. By your logic, what will happen when Mullen fails to take Florida to the national championship in his 2nd season like Smart did in his? And your last point contradicts the underlying assumptions in your first two. “Mic drop”… LOL
You can tell it’s the offseason… UGA fans beating their chest while putting down a team that finished ahead of them in the polls. It’s all good till something has to be proven..
On a serious note, Mullen has done well at UF so far. He took a horrible team and turned them into a 10 win team with. NY6 bowl win his first season with them… If he can’t build on that UF may be a threat going forward…
I’m happy we both agree that the polls, not the CFP rankings, matter more. Sarcasm aside, I think you have to compare where the expectations lay before we talk about where teams finished.
Sure. Florida finished ahead of Georgia in the polls, but (not using excuses because an L is an L) we should be able to agree that after the loss in the SECCG, nothing else was going to make it seem like a successful season based on expectations. Meanwhile, even if Florida lost their bowl game it would still have been a successful season.
That being said, I agree with your final paragraph. (Side note i chose you to comment with because even though I loathe your subjective takes on fanbases, I do appreciate your football commentary most of the time)
Let me add, the assumption is that after Georgia lost the SECCG there was no way they were getting in the playoffs.*****
The CFP poll doesn’t matter because they don’t drop another poll after the bowls. The winner of the NC game is the NC, so using the CFP poll prior to the bowls when UGA lost their bowl and UF won is stupid don’t you think? That’s not sarcasm, I’m pointing out how dumb your opening comment is…
You can tell it’s just another day on SDS because bamatime has UGA on his mind. It’s a d@mn shame that you have nothing better to do than keep track of anything UGA on this site. Saban’s time is almost over. Enjoy it while you can.
This article is actually on the Florida page and is about Bama as much as it is UGA… UGAs time has never started. Keep crying dumba$$…
And yet you only mentioned UGA in your comment…
That isn’t true at all… did you actually read my post? It was more about Florida than UGA. I mentioned UGA fans….
Maybe read the comment before you try to interject…
Funny you say that when so many Georgia fans are on a Florida page.
30014… You tired of pretending to be a UT fan now?
Mullen 2-2 against teams ranked at end of this season. Kirby 2-3. Might want to find another argument.
Georgia played more teams ranked at the end of the season? That’s an important stat. The comparison is moot, regardless because Georgia won the East and Florida didn’t
It’s not a moot point when the argument UGA fans are using is that mullen doesn’t beat ranked teams.
He doesn’t, see overall record. How in the hell are so many Florida fans talking trash when we have smoked them on the field the past two years and smoked them in recruiting. The gap is WIDENING. I love bama douche who is white knighting.
He has been at UF one season. You mention the Richt era at UGA for comparison and UGA fans like you start crying so what does Mullen’s time at MSU have to do with his success at UF?. It sure appears he beat ranked teams at UF. .. I love a UGA dumba$$ trying to put down another program after a successful season…
The whole thing started with this article and every other Florida fan saying the gap is closed. That is so far from the truth. We beat them by 19 this year and signed better players. Where did the gap close? If losing to Kentucky, Georgia and Missouri is a successful year then enjoy finishing third in the east from now on.Where was the Richt era mentioned and he was the head man at MSU, pretty sure he didn’t magically change schemes when he showed up at Florida.
Considering he took UF from 4 wins to 10 in one season and a top 10 recruting class the gap has closed compared to before he arrived. Nothing said they’re equal and to act like just because UGA won Florida hasn’t improved is stupid…. Tell me what the gap is between LSU and UGA? They beat UGA by 20…
and LSU has what to do with this? Not surprising, given the amount of posts ive read from you on here
I understand that you’re having trouble flowing along and looking at your posts in this thread it’s clear you’re reading only part of what’s said….
You used the win over UF as proof that the gap hasn’t closed… I pointed out that LSU blasted UGA but that doesn’t mean LSU is recruting better or surpassed UGA…. Unless you believe LSU has now surpassed UGA?….. The same thing ealier when I brought up Richt. I did that because you bring up Mullen’s record at MSU like that means something now that he is at Florida… You don’t want people to talk about the Richt era when making UGA comparison but you use old stats for UF……
Following*
Is losing to Kentucky for the first time in thirty whatever years, also at home a good thing? Is losing to your main rival by 19 a good thing? Is losing your homecoming game by 21 a good thing? I’m just waiting for reasons why the gap is closed?
You guys keep saying Mullen is a better coach than Kirby. Where is the proof? Head to head obviously doesn’t matter to you.
You can’t see past the end of you nose… UF went from 4 wins to 10. They signed their first top 10 class since 2014. That alone is going to close the gap some as they improved. Not a single person is saying the gap is closed. To think UF hasn’t improved and brought in more talent with Mullen is a pipe dream from a delusional UGA fan..
We see UGA fans on this site tell us UGA has closed the gap on Bama… Bama has 8 or the 9 top classes while UGA has 1. Bama has also beat them in Back to Back season but do you believe UGA has closed the Gap on Bama?
It won’t let me post my comment for some reason.
Nobody is saying they didn’t improve. All you do is twist words and put words in peoples mouth. They clearly improved in the win column. The article and all Florida people are saying the talent gap closed. That couldn’t be farther from the truth.
Bama 2019 1 2018 5 2017 1 2016 1 AVG class ranking 2
UGA 2019 2 2018 1 2017 3 2016 6 AVG class ranking 3
So yes it is closed. I would wager no other team in the country has the talent georgia and bama do. It’s not close with Florida
Class average last four years
Bama 2
Georgia 3
Talent gap is clearly closed and both widening from rest of the SEC
So UGA has closed the gap on Bama even though Bama has recruited Better and beat them Back to Back seasons….. Yet no way has Florida gained any ground because UGA has recruited better and Beat UF….
GTFOH with your delusional a$$… LMAO
So using your logic, has bama closed the gap on Clemson? Evidently you only use on field results aka wins. You make zero sense. From a talent standpoint, yes, Georgia has equal talent. You are blind if you can’t see that.
Wait so a team who has got 1 top recruiting class in the last 4 years has the same talent as a team with 3 top recruiting classes in the same span but Florida who signed the first top 10 class since 2014 and went from 4 wins to 10 hasn’t improved…. LMAO, you’re a dumba$$ homer.. That can be the only explanation for your stupid take on “closing the gap “.
Dang BamTime you have soooo much patience with these fools.
define “top” we are averaging the second best class in the country the past two years. WTF are you talking about. I’m the homer but you can’t see how well UGA is recruiting,makes sense idiot
Define top? LMAO… The number 1 recruiting classes. You just listed them…. Congratulations to UGA on 1 top ranked recruting class, Bama has 8 or the last 9….
If you want someone to blow smoke up your a$$ you better find a UGA fan to get in a conversation with so you can pump up each other’s ego… You’re lost in this conversation anyway it seems.
So a #2 recruiting class is no where in the same vicinity as a #1 ranked class? Sheesh, how dull can you be
If Bama gets the number 1 class for 8 years and UGA gets it once is that equal talent? Of course not….. I mean UF didn’t gain any ground on UGA by getting a top 10 class and improving to 10 wins right?
UGA beat UF.
LOL go back to your trash can bud.
To all who say Kirby is a better coach, name one play-call that was 10% as boneheaded as that fake punt.
Why can’t Mullen beat Kirby as a head coach?
Why can’t Kirby beat McElwain (other than in a game where McElwain knew he was getting fired the next day)? Obviously getting beat by the Gators in his first year didn’t mean that Kirby wasn’t a good coach, and Kirby beating Mullen in his first year (or one time at Mississippi State) doesn’t make Mullen an inferior coach.
Even a die-hard fan has to admit there were few more bone-headed plays than that fake punt though.
Gato… Kirby inherited a 10 win UGA team and lost to Vandy. Don’t let them get under your skin. UF is moving in the right direction under Mullen. Time will tell how far they can go with him as HC.
Don’t let that distract you from the fact that Mullen is the first gators coach in 30+ years to lose to Kentucky, LMAO
Don’t also forget losing to a 5 loss Missouri team at home by 21
He did go undefeated against the west… UGA hasn’t managed that feat under Kirby and went 1-2 against teams from the west this season… UF 2-0…. Somtimes it’s ok to give another team credit. Especially from a glasshouse like you’re in..
Neil Blackmon please explain how Florida “closed the gap” between themselves and Alabama and Georgia? Florida is nowhere near those two teams in the recruiting wars. Maybe this is a feelgood article, if it is just say so otherwise you need to explain how you came to this conclusion. Alabama number one, Georgia number two. Seems the gap is widening.