Florida Gators Thoughts of the Week: February 3 – February 10

With the close of National Signing Day last Tuesday, the 2014-2015 football year is done…finally. We can close the book on a four year failed Will Muschamp experiment, we can close the books on the continued cliff jumping of folks regarding how the recruiting class would finish, and we can finally look forward to spring practice, a new coaching staff, and a new energy surrounding the Florida Gators football program.

National Signing Day Review

Incredible. Four weeks ago the Florida Gators were ranked 102nd in the country with nine recruits committed to the Gators (two of which did not end signing with Florida) and they finished last Tuesday ranked 23rd, with 21 commitments.

While UF lost Derrick Dillion to LSU and Mike Horton to Auburn off of their previous commitment list, and even though they didn’t secure the commitment of Byron Cowart, look at what they did do, mainly in the last two weeks of the cycle:

  • Grabbed the best offensive tackle prospect in the nation – Martez Ivey
  • Pulled in an elite pass rusher – CeCe Jefferson
  • Brought in, in my opinion, the best running back in the state of Florida – Jordan Scarlett
  • Brought in an incredible multi-purpose athlete – D’Anfernee McGriff
  • May have one of the most under-rated prospects in the country – Jabari Zuniga
  • Filled up their offensive line with six offensive linemen
  • Grabbed seven prospects from South Florida, including wide receiver play-maker Antonio Calloway.
  • Grabbed Keivonnis Davis, who in my opinion, is very underrated and could be a playmaker and may be the sleeper in the class.

Further, as alluded to above, the Gators did not lose much on National Signing Day. Sure, losing Dillion hurts, but outside of that – not much. Yes, I know, Byron Cowart chose to sign with Auburn, but compared to previous classes, Florida closed about as good as ever. Compare that to Will Muschamp’s ability to close. Let’s remember who Will Muschamp lost on or around National Signing Day in four years: Adoree Jackson, Damian Prince, Lorenzo Carter, Tashawn Bower, James Clark, Laremy Tunsil, Josh Harvey-Clemmons, Tracy Howard, Jake Meador, Schyler Miles, Avery Young, and Ryan Timmons.

Yikes.

Solid first recruiting class, Jim McElwain.

Finally Building a Support Staff

The Gators are finally catching up with the Jones’ (read: Alabama, Auburn) in regard to building a support staff. The support staff is made up of coaches that watch film, analyze statistics, develop relationships with High School coaches, assist in administrative tasks, and more. These positions are usually called “Quality Control” and are rife in the NFL, and finally, making their way to college football.

Let’s look at Auburn, for example. They have 17 members that make up their support staff, i.e. folks that are not coaches or graduate assistants. The Gators have 9, or so. Auburn has six individuals that are “analysts”, or people that watch a lot of film and break it down. The Gators don’t have any similar individuals. Auburn has three individuals responsible for building relationships with High Schools as their sole responsibilities – the Gators have zero (in title only).

However, we are starting to see some new people being brought into the fold. On January 29th, Kevin Barbay came from Colorado State to become the Associate Director of Player Personnel, a position that did not previously exist. Further, Marc Nudelberg joined as a Quality Control coach, focused on Special Teams – again, a new position.

Can you imagine if you had five staff members dedicated solely on watching game film or film on recruits? Or staff members specifically building relationships with high schools?

Well, its happening in the SEC and Florida is finally catching up. Jim McElwain has consistently talked about building the necessary infrastructure, and this is a huge step forward.

 

Terrell Williams Thoughts

I know a lot of folks were upset that Terrell Williams left the staff, just one month after starting his job at UF – not necessarily mad that he left, because ultimately the Gators got a better coach in Chris Rumph, but that he did it around National Signing Day and did it only after one month.

Many questioned – why did he take the job if he was just going to go back to the NFL?

Well, its tough.

As many of you know, I work in the headhunting space, so my entire work week is dealing with folks leaving old jobs and starting new jobs, so I have a pretty good understanding of the decision making process that goes into moving new jobs. Often times, moving jobs is seamless and easy and both parties are happy. However, there are times that people make mistakes. Those mistakes happen for a variety of reasons, whether it be: missed expectations, misunderstanding of the role, a change of mind, or any number of similar reasons.

With that in mind, perhaps Terrell Williams, previous college coach, had a desire to get back into college football and be around young folks again, and most importantly, have an opportunity to leave the abomination that is the Oakland Raiders. However, once he got back to college, maybe he realized recruiting is more exhausting than four years ago; maybe the NFL allows for more free time in the off-season, maybe it allows more flexibility in coaching, maybe Gainesville wasn’t the right fit for him, or any variety of reasons. All in all, however, the moral of the story is: sometimes things just don’t work out and that’s not always bad. Terrell Williams helped during the one month he was on staff, fulfilled his duties, and moved on to a spot that would make him happier, while the Gators upgraded hiring Chris Rumph.

 

Wide Receivers Coach

The Gators are now one of six programs looking for a wide receiver coach. I know the Gators were turned down by at least one coach, as we shared on our board last weekend. That coach is currently dealing with a very private personal matter and it is completely understandable why he did not accept. Had that matter not been going on, I have no doubt in my mind that the position would be filled.

However, do not fret. Primarily, McElwain has background coaching wide receivers. Second, the wide receiver coaching position is the easiest coaching position, in my opinion, on staff. Third, the Gators have at least three weeks before spring practice to find someone, and not having a coach now is not negatively hurting Florida.

I know you want a coach, but trust the process. The Gators need a coach that will stay at least two seasons. Remember, the Gators have had seven wide receiver coaches in the last seven years. Let’s give the process some time to figure itself out.

 

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Song of the Week

I am heading to Savannah, GA this weekend for a Bachelor Party. So in honor of Savannah, let’s celebrate Tony Arata who co-wrote “The Dance” by Garth Brooks — one of my favorite songs and artists.

Daniel Thompson
Dan Thompson is a 2010 graduate of the University Florida, graduating with a degree in Economics and a degree in Political Science. During this time at UF, Dan worked three years for the Florida Gator Football team as a recruiting ambassador. Dan dealt daily with prospects, NCAA guidelines, and coaching staff. Dan was also involved in Florida Blue Key, Student Government and Greek Life. Currently, Dan oversees the IT consulting practice of a Tampa-based company. Dan enjoys golfing, country music, bourbon, travel, oysters, and a medium-rare steak. Dan can be found on Twitter at @DK_Thompson.

2 COMMENTS

  1. DT, thanks! It is so refreshing noymt to be reading about recruiting. With the confluence of Muschamp negative recruiting, how far behind our program was with only weeks to go to signkng day, no longstanding relationships w/ these young men, the dumpster fire of a recent offense over past several years, and having to hire position coaches & coordinators, great fear existed. It seemed like too much for any staff to overcome. Yet we knew we are not going to make improvement on offense without a decent class! I want to thank Coach Mac and our new staff on a tr