Florida Gators Recruiting Mailbag October 23rd

The Florida Gators are going through a rough stretch not only on the football field but also on the recruiting side of things and our members had a lot of questions about the status of the Gators in the recruiting world.

A number of questions also have to deal with whether or not the Gators will be able to have a good class despite the uncertainty around Will Muschamp and the coaching staff.

With that being said here’s this week’s recruiting mailbag

 

Swampie: We can’t be in a very good position now recruiting wise. I think our biggest hope would be for Treon Harris to play well and hopefully add a spark to our recruiting. What do you think?

AS: That’s definitely something that would help but right now things aren’t going to pick up until a decision is made on Will Muschamp after the season.

 

Macbgator: Who on our recruiting board that is left, do you think we will end up with?

AS: Right now this question is impossible to answer because of the coaching situation that Florida is dealing with right now. I do think that things can still end up very good with the right hire or with Muschamp staying if things work out for him.

 

Gator_nica: Do you still think we fill all of our needs in this recruiting class? If so, will they be top players, or players we might have wanted to wait for a little longer?

AS: If Muschamp stays or a new hire is made the first thing that they will have to do is assure these guys that things are moving forward but I think the Florida Gators still have a shot at a lot of top players despite who coaches the team. For example CeCe Jefferson and Byron Cowart love Florida not just the coach.

 

Juggernautz: How do we clean up this train wreck?

AS: Right now we all have to wait on Jeremy Foley to make a decision on Will Muschamp. After that, whomever the head coach will be, they have to hit the recruiting road extremely hard and try salvage this outstanding 2015 class.

 

Juggernautz: If we put a fairly good product on the field in our remaining games will that be enough to get back the recruits that we recently lost?

AS: I think you can forget about Jerome Baker coming back to Florida since he flipped to Ohio State. Ohio State was always going to be tough to beat no matter how good the Florida Gators did this year.

 

Juggernautz: How would you handle the current coaching situation if you were Jeremy?

AS: Let me start by saying this is just my opinion so please don’t think this is what’s actually going to happen because I don’t know at this time. I think that a fresh start is needed right now to get everyone back on board and to create some excitement that has been lost around the team. Will Muschamp is a great person and someone that knows the game, but right now things are just too dismantled for him to fix them, in my opinion. The talent is there at Florida in some spots but they just need a direction and some hope that they can win ball games and recruits need a coach to believe in and trust that he will be there long term.

 

Gators81: Do we have plan C, D, and E kids that are dying to be Gators if this class falls apart, or do we finish signing day with a painfully small class?

AS: Florida will fill the class because they have to for depth purposes.

 

Topher96: With Cowart a lean to Alabama,and CeCe leaning towards ole miss, what is a logical explanation for keeping Muschamp now? He’s clearly driven the program into the ground. And I was his biggest supporter until I saw only two players singing the alma mater.

AS: I know someone said those two things were true but neither Cowart or CeCe are leaning anywhere right now until things settle in Gainesville and you can take that to the bank.

 

Gatordon: You have stated that our performance this year would have a real impact on recruiting, what does your gut say at this point?

AS: That this team is painful to watch right now on offense and that something has to be done as I said above.

 

Gatordon: How much of the dismal performance on the field causes recruits to be attracted to early playing time?

AS: Every kid believes they are the answer to the team so that does play a part in things but also the direction of the program is big and right now the direction of the program is unknown.

 

Ufgator84: Can the right hire of a new head coach (if that happens) cause Baker or Javarius Davis to commit to Florida?

AS:  It will be tough to get Baker back but I think the right hire could get Javarius Davis back and also think the excitement could help with others as well.

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.

6 COMMENTS

  1. This article underscores the need for some type of action, now, by Foley. Waiting to see if Boom can turn things around 180 degrees is, frankly, misguided hope. I’d love to be wrong, but the past is the best predictor of the future.

  2. It’s just a waiting game now. I can’t imagine being a Florida coach and going out recruiting right now. The kids aren’t dumb, they know that the chance these guys will still be at Florida next year are slim to none, and slim will leave town if UF loses to Georgia. It will be interesting what guys like Merrick and Ryan Davis do. It seemed like they were going to soon commit to UF, but it ain’t happening now. One good thing going for UF is that FSU is close to being full and may not have room for guys like Davis even if they want to go there. They are probably in a position to to pick and choose now. It does behoove UF to have a new coach before January. It’s going to take an extreme sales job to convince guys that have no relationship to the new regime. The biggest hope is he, and his assistants, can bring some players with him. Right now UF is in a self imposed ‘dead’ period, ain’t nothing happening on the recruiting front for a long time.

    • P.S. One other question for Andrew. If Muschamp accepts commits from players now that are accepted because the guys they had higher on their board are not coming, does the new staff have to honor that commitment? What if the new coach doesn’t think that this or that player fits into what he wants to do? If UF loses to Georgia, even if it’s not announced, if Foley has made the decision to fire this staff, does he instruct Muschamp to not accept any commitment from any player that is not someone that is at the top of their board. It would not be fair to the new coach to have the incoming class filled with guys he would not have chosen to play for him. As my priest would say, it’s something to think about.

    • First off no players are going to commit right now IMO so I don’t think he has to worry about that. To answer your first question, I think that the new coach has freedom to do whatever he wants with the current commits but I also believe that he will probably honor the current commits because they committed to the school not the coach. Florida’s current commits are good players.

    • I think prospects will wait around to see what happens at Florida before they make a decision. Right now that’s what the coaches are telling the kids