McElwain’s 5 biggest rivals for recruiting within the state of Florida

When Jim McElwain took over as head coach at Florida, he immediately addressed the need to recruit. In one of his earliest press conferences, he discussed his plan to focus recruiting within a five-hour radius from Gainesville.

While that radius covers pieces of Georgia and Alabama, it was clear that McElwain was placing a premium on recruiting in the state of Florida, from Pensacola to Miami and everywhere in between.

Here are UF and McElwain’s five biggest rivals for recruiting the Sunshine State:

5. South Carolina – Gamecocks coach Will Muschamp spent four years recruiting in the state of the Florida as head coach of the Gators. It’s no doubt that Muschamp and his new staff, including many former UF assistants, will work the Sunshine State hard in search of the best players, and be willing to go toe-to-toe with the Gators. If one chooses to believe the gossip that comes from the recruiting rumor mill, it’s been said that Muschamp used his inside knowledge of Florida’s problems, caused by the coach’s failed tenure at UF, to try to convince recruits to choose Auburn over Florida.

4. Alabama – The Crimson Tide do plenty well with in-state recruiting, but that doesn’t stop Nick Saban’s staff from coming into Florida to pitch Alabama. The obvious setting for Florida-Alabama recruiting battles would be in the panhandle region, but as a national brand, the Crimson Tide have a solid statewide presence. Former Miami Hurricanes player and FIU head coach Mario Cristobal, UA’s offensive line coach, has particularly strong South Florida ties.

In losing to former Florida high school standouts like Calvin Ridley (Coconut Creek) and Derrick Henry (Yulee) in the SEC Championship Game, McElwain was certainly reminded how important it is to get the state’s finest to stay close to home and play for UF.

3. Georgia – Similar to Alabama, the Bulldogs have a premium in-state talent pool to recruit from, but that won’t stop them from coming into Florida to battle for the best of the best. First-year Georgia coach Kirby Smart’s recruiting profile features commitments primarily from Georgia and Alabama, but he’s credited with a few commitments from Florida during his time as an assistant. McElwain should expect his former colleague to take a Saban-like approach to recruiting in Florida.

2. Miami – In the hotbed of football talent that is Florida, South Florida produces the cream of the crop. UM coach Mark Richt will be battling with McElwain for years to come trying to convince South Florida’s finest to stay close to home instead of taking a five-hour ride up to Gainesville. When the Hurricanes are doing well, or have momentum as is the case with the Richt hire, recruiting for the Gators becomes that much harder.

1. Florida State – Even though Tallahassee is tucked away up in the panhandle, a decent drive from the I-4 corridor, FSU is still the team to beat when it comes to recruiting up and down the state of Florida. Seminoles coach Jimbo Fisher has been pitching the garnet and gold since 2007, and has developed relationships with Florida high school coaches and players long before McElwain became the Gators coach in December 2014. It’s likely going to take a few more years of McElwain and his assistants pitching UF before they gain even footing with FSU’s staff when it comes to recruiting.

Andrew Olson

Andrew writes about sports to fund his love of live music and collection of concert posters. He strongly endorses the Hall of Fame campaigns of Fred Taylor and Andruw Jones.