Florida Gators: Recruits react to McElwain hiring

News broke on Thursday  that the Florida Gators have hired Colorado State head coach Jim McElwain as their next head coach to replace Will Muschamp who was let go shortly after the South Carolina game this year.

McElwain, who is credited for recruiting some of the offensive weapons to Alabama during his tenure there, is a name that not many recruits know but they do know his body of work.

Gator Country talked to several prospects and commits from around the country to get their reaction on the McElwain hire and to also find out there interest in the University of Florida.

 

2015 Prospects

Florida defensive end target CeCe Jefferson-” I think it’s an awesome hire.”

Florida commit George Brown-“I’m excited about the hire but I have to get to know him and I want to know who he’s keeping.”

Linebacker target Roquan Smith-“I don’t know much about him but my interest will go up if the defensive staff stays like Coach Lawing, Durkin and Coach T-Rob.”

Florida commit Tyler Jordan-“If you’ve done your research on him, he’s a great hire. He’s a good offensive mind who has coached at the highest level before.”

Florida commit Kalif Jackson-““I don’t know much about him but I’m excited to see what’s to come in the future.”

Georgia receiver commit Van Jefferson-“That’s great, I can’t wait to meet him and get this going.”

Clemson commit Ray-Ray McCloud-“That’s good for the the Florida program.”

Miami running back commit Jordan Scarlett-“It’s a great choice.”

Tight end Daniel Imatorbhebhe-“I’m not too familiar with him to be honest but I trust Jeremy Foley made a great choice.”

Florida commit Brandon Sandifer-“I don’t know anything about him.”

Notre Dame linebacker commit Tevon Coney-“I think that it will be a big help for the Florida Gators.”

UCLA running back commit T.J. Simmons-“Nice hire, I’ll be taking an official visit to Florida soon.”

Mississippi State linebacker commit Darrien McNair-“It’s really great hire and I can’t wait to meet him.”

Running back Jordan Cronkrite-“Good hire. I hope for the best.”

Offensive lineman Mirko Jurkovic-“Good hire, I hope to meet him soon.”

2016 prospects

Florida commit Tre Jackson-“Sounds like an interesting hire. I look forward to talking to him.”

Tight end Jacob Mathis-“I haven’t looked into it much but I’ve heard he’s a good coach.

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.

1 COMMENT

  1. TJ Simmons and other running backs should definitely be excited. Mac was OC at Alabama with Mark Ingram and Trent Richardson. I mean, any offensive player should be excited by this hire, but especially the running backs…