Florida Gators recruiting mailbag: December 8th edition

Gator Country’s popular Florida Gators recruiting mailbag is back to its weekly spot on Thursday’s as we answer your recruiting questions.

The Gators recruiting class is off to a great start in 2017 and look to be setting their selves up for another top class.

This week members had a lot of questions on the status of the Class of 2017 and we answer your questions here.

Remember to get your questions in on Tuesday for the Florida Gators recruiting mailbag each week.

 

 

Hogtown: Are we losing the recruiting wars because of our facilities? Coach Mac mentioned a read-between-the-lines comment recently and it makes it sound like the UAA has handicapped the coaches from moving the program any further than it can currently go.

AS: Mac wants more hands hired, the facilities upgraded and several other things. For example every Alabama coach has access to planes during recruiting but Florida is only allowed two planes. That hurts when coaches are having to drive around the country instead of fly.

 

15gator05: When will we break ground on the football only facility?

AS: I was told 18 months before they broke ground but I know that McElwain is trying to get that done much quicker.

 

Rmss: What do you think is the biggest factor affecting our recruiting right now, the coaches or the lack of upgraded facilities?

AS: They need to get the facilities upgraded quickly and honestly just get some good luck on the trail. There are some coaches they need to improve as well but a lot has went into Florida struggling.

 

Gator_nica: What is the latest on defensive tackles and offensive lineman recruits interested in Florida? How many of each do we need in this class and who is looking hard at Florida?

AS: Florida is after the Gaddy twins, Alec Jackson from Alabama, Tyrone Truesdell and Florida State defensive tackle Cory Durden. At offensive line they’re still recruiting Alex Leatherwood, Navuaghn Donaldson, Kai-Leon Herbert, Tony Gray, T.J. Moore out of South Carolina and watching a few others. I think they need 2-3 more offensive lineman and two tackles.

 

 

Kirkb919: Does Mac close hard in your opinion?

AS: I think he does it the right way but sometimes I think he could be a little more pushy as far as asking for a commitment.

 

Jacobrenda: How are you feeling about Shaun Wade, Devon Hunter, James Robinson, and Alex Leatherwood?

AS: Florida needs a good weekend with Leatherwood this weekend. Florida is in the game with Wade but I believe he sticks with Ohio State. Florida now has a shot at Hunter with him pushing his date back. I think the Gators land Robinson.

 

Lurkingator1: when is does dead period start and end . Key recruiting weekends how are they lining up ?What are you hearing about changes to the staff do you still think there will be some ? If we miss on some of the key recruits do you think Mac will come to the conclusion that he needs some younger more dynamic recruiters ? Thanks

AS: The dead period starts on Monday and ends on January 11th. Florida will have an official visit weekend this weekend and then three in January. I think Mac is looking at everything as far as coaches go right now.

 

Tito22: In your opinion who is our best current commit? Who is the best recruit for the 2017 class that you have seen regardless of what school he is committed to?

AS: That’s tough to say because I think each one brings something different to the class. I’ll go with Zach Carter and Elijah Blades as being two of the best in the class. The best player I’ve watched play in person is Dylan Moses the guy is an animal at linebacker. He’s a phenomenal football player.

 

UFsports24_7: For awhile I thought that we would end up with 25 in this class, with so many decommitments and no recruiting momentum to speak of, what is the # you think actually enrolls at Florida?

AS: I still think Florida ends up between 22-25 in this class when everything is over with.

 

Bamagator85: Can you give us a name that is not mentioned often that is someone to watch for that could be a possible commit in this class?

AS: Defensive back Brian Edwards is someone to watch going forward. He did really well in camp over the summer and will visit in January. The Gators have a great shot with him.

 

Pan: Do you think the strategy we have used to give each coach a territory in lieu of having each position coach focus soley on players that play what he coaches has hurt us or has been part of the reason we seem to lack momentum and commits??

If I was a player trying to pick a school I would want to be building a relationship with my position coach primarily. I noticed we send coaches out to see kids that they won’t coach when on campus.

AS: Florida also puts its position coaches in charge of recruiting their own position too. It isn’t like the position coach isn’t involved at all. For instate Brad Stewart has Tim Skipper has his area recruiter but Torrian Gray also recruits him a lot.

 

Alphagator04: How will the eventual miss on Jarrett Stidham play out? Given our struggles with quarterback play this season and no confidence in our current freshman quarterback’s a quarterback who showed interest long before we did, and missing out to a coach who was on the hot seat earlier this year? In any other business, this would lead to termination of position.

AS: Florida still feels very good on Franks and Trask for next year. This isn’t like Florida doesn’t have another quarterback on campus or anything like that. Stidham was just icing on top of the acke.

 

rajinGator: Is we getting on Jarrett Stidham relatively late in the process justifiable?

AS: Florida felt good with Luke Del Rio being the back-up to Franks and Trask until later in the year when Del Rio went down hill. That’s the biggest reason they went in late on Stidham.

 

Gatorwats: Do we still lead for James Robinson after his Oklahoma visit?

AS: I still feel like Florida is the team to beat for Robinson and the plan is for him to visit in January.

 

Gator_Frank: How concerned are the coaches regarding Jake Allen’s play. Is this why we have opened up the quarterback recruiting?

AS: Doug Nussmeier has been a big fan of Allen’s since he visited but the reason for looking at other quarterbacks is just in case Allen doesn’t work out. The hope is that Allen will improve once he’s on campus.

 

JKgator76: Why are we not recruiting Michael Carter from Navarre?

AS: Florida wasn’t sold him on when they visited him this spring and they moved on to others.

 

Ufgatordad: Devon Hunter pushed his commitment date back to January after a visit from our staff. This has got to be good news for us?
Anything going on with Deangelo Gibbs? Haven’t heard his name in a while..
If today was NSD, who would be the 3rd/4th WR in this class?

AS: Very much good news for Florida because he will visit in January and that will give Florida another shot with him. Hunter has always liked the Gators so they need to convince him to leave home during the visit.

Gibbs isn’t coming to Florida.

James Robinson would be in the class if today was signing day and the Gators are also trying to get Henry Ruggs in the class. Alabama and Florida State are the two main teams fighting for Ruggs.

 

HawthorneGator: Who is the main competition for the Gaddy brothers? What are the so-called academic hurdles? (test scores? GPA?) And is the situation Deanfernee McGriff bad or a little better?

Also, any new names on the running back board? Is Adarius Lemons 100% off the board? Can we really afford to only take 1 last year and 1 this year? (Thompson and Cronk seem iffy)

AS: They need better test scores and no it isn’t as bad as the McGriff situation at all. The main competition looks to be Maryland but you can’t count out Tennessee either.

Lemons is not off of the board and Florida will see him on Thursday. The Gators plan is to sign two guys in the class. Bentavious Thompson out of Southridge is someone to watch as well.

 

RVG: Aside from quarterback, is there a recruit that could announce for UF that would help turn the tide of recruiting momentum? If so, is Florida even close to getting them to commit?

AS: Honestly any recruit committing to Florida would help the momentum for the Gators. The Gators are just in need of anyone announcing for them to turn the attention off of the bad losses to Alabama and Florida State.

 

Nsanta: What’s the latest news with Rahyme Johnson after the firing of Helfrich?

AS: Johnson says he will take a visit to Florida this January. Randy Shannon is very high on him. Oregon will still be a team to watch but the firing of Helfrich helps the Gators.

 

Tleebow: Any news or info on C.J. Henderson defensive back?

AS: He’s setting up official visits and Florida will get one. Florida is still one of the top teams for him. The Gators have been the team with the most buzz around them for some time now.

Andrew Spivey
Andrew always knew he wanted to be involved with sports in some capacity. He began by coaching high school football for six years before deciding to pursue a career in journalism. While coaching, he was a part of two state semifinal teams in the state of Alabama. Given his past coaching experience, he figured covering recruiting would be a perfect fit. He began his career as an intern for Rivals.com, covering University of Florida football recruiting. After interning with Rivals for six months, he joined the Gator Country family as a recruiting analyst. Andrew enjoys spending his free time on the golf course and watching his beloved Atlanta Braves. Follow him on Twitter at @AndrewSpiveyGC.