Florida Gators: Recruiting Mailbag November 20th

The Florida Gators are currently looking for a new football coach now that Will Muschamp has stepped down from the job and with that comes a lot of uncertainty with the Class of 2015 recruiting class.

Gator Country’s members have a lot of questions about what a new hire will do for this recruiting class and while a lot of questions are still unknown the one thing that is for sure is that this is going to be wild ride until National Signing Day.

Well let’s dive right in to this week’s recruiting mailbag:

 

Macbgator: What do we do now in recruiting? We are in a dead period before it officially starts because of no coach, but that’s kind of where we have been all year !!!!!

AS: The assistant coaches are going to continue to talk to kids and make sure that they know that Florida is Florida no matter who the coach is and also some of these assistants could be retained so it’s good to stay in touch with these guys. The fact of the matter is that nothing will happen until a new coach is hired.

 

Macbgator: I like that Byron Cowart, CeCe Jefferson, Jeffery Holland, Martez Ivey and Jeremy McDuffie appear to be more concerned about the school they go to instead of the head coach. However, I do believe these recruits will be more affected by which position coaches are retained !!!!

AS: I agree with that statement for the most part but I think the Florida Gators will still have a good chance at Cowart, Jefferson, Holland and Ivey because they love Florida and grew up rooting for the Gators. Now keeping some of the assistants will help, it will also help having a coach that is stable in the program.

 

Jmike131014: Any opinions on who you think might stay from this coaching staff? T-ROB, Summers, Lawing, Durkin?

AS: I think the new coach will have a decision to make because T-Rob and Brad Lawing have been solid recruiters for Florida and they could lead to several recruits for the Class of 2015. At the end of the day however the new coach has to decide who gives him the best chance to win football games.

 

Gatorteachuf: Are there any possible EE that would be more likely affected by the coaching change? Most want to wait and see, build a relationship, and then commit. Who may we lose because they are an EE and to what extent would retaining of coaches play a role?

AS: There really aren’t too many early enrollees this year that Florida is after, so that’s a good thing. Florida is after a few JUCO prospects that may be affected by this but that is the price you have to pay for a new coach.

 

Gator_nica: I can see where not having a coach affects recruiting., but do you think this anticipation of who will be the next HC has recruits on the edge of their seats? As in, we get someone really good and we start seeing commits jumping on the class. Thanks!

AS: A new coach will always generate buzz among recruits and yes recruits are watching to see who Florida hires and once that happens you will see kids excited about the new hire.

 

Juggernautz: Is Jones(QB) wavering on his commit?

AS: Sheririon Jones says that he may take some visits but as of right now he hasn’t done that. If he does start to take visits than it will be time to start worrying about him a lot but right he says he’s all Gators.

 

Juggernautz: If you were Foley & money was not a option who would be your viable choice for our next coach?

AS: Chip Kelly because his offense would be fun to watch and he could recruit really well in the state of Florida. His offense wants playmakers and Florida is full of guys that fits his style of play to a T but I don’t think he leaves the NFL.

 

Juggernautz: What’s your thoughts on recruits choosing a coach at a school vs choosing a school when it comes to recruiting?

AS: Kids can say they will choose a school for a school but there are very that will actually do that. Most kids want to play for a coach that fits them well and can develop them to become an NFL player.

 

MrB-Gator: Who are the core kids that will come no matter what and which ones want to come but are waiting to see who the coach is?

AS: Martez Ivey, CeCe Jefferson, Byron Cowart and Jeffrey Holland are four guys that I think Florida has a great shot with no matter who the new head coach is. Really the rest of the recruiting class will be determined by who interested the other kids get when the new coach comes in and what style of defense and offense he runs.

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.

7 COMMENTS

  1. It seems that who the coach is, plays as big a factor as the school. The school gets you on the short list, after that it’s the relationships with the staff that will tilt a recruit in a particular direction. And who could blame them. Why would a kid want to go to a school he really liked, but just doesn’t click with the staff. It kills me when fans berate a kid because he falls in love with a coach, then the coach leaves and out come the second thoughts. Relationship building is everything.

  2. I think keeping Durbin, T-Rob and Lawing are all key. There’s no doubt Durkin has been under one of the best defensive coaches in the country the last four years. With our current roster on D, this would mean zero transition on that side of the ball.

    • Why would you want to keep anyone? The firing of Muschamp didn’t happen because things were o.k. The whole team, not just the offense, is not good. The defense, as usual, laid down at the end of the south Carolina game. Don’t spew out stats, they mean nothing. UF couldn’t stop USC from going 34 yards in 39 seconds and didn’t even put up a fight in overtime. This has been a recurring theme for the past two years. When the defense needed to make a stop, they rarely did. All of the coaches need to hit the road. Forget the transition nonsense, UF is a mess. You don’t keep the architects of the mess. Maybe the new coach will have had a previous relationship with one of the present coaches and want to hire them. But I think they all have to go, you don’t change things by doing it halfway, the assistants have justly earned their pink slip.