Gator Country

Florida coach Will Muschamp is set to pull in a top-5 recruiting class heading into his third season with the Gators. / Gator Country file photo by Mike Capshaw

We have it on good authority that Alec Baldwin has been brought in by the football program as a motivational speaker for the Gators coaching staff to hammer home the theme of the last few weeks of recruiting: ABC — Always Be Closing. Of course, the signing class is just the beginning — as I wrote last week, great players are the raw materials, not the final products leading to SEC titles and BCS national championships — but while the coaches work hard to get their hands on the new Glengarry leads, it is a good time to look at what they are chasing. More specifically, what the signing class of 2013 will be chasing. PUT THAT COFFEE DOWN! Having recently witnessed the conclusion of the careers and eligibility of what is regarded as one of the best signing classes in Florida history, and a major part of the senior class that set a school record for wins, it’s a good time to better quantify that title of “the best” in Gators recruiting annals. The winningest senior class in school history — an achievement won by the graduating class of 2009 — is pretty definitive. Four years of empirical numbers serves as a strong basis for comparison. But a signing class has five years of eligibility, so there’s more there. There are also far more metrics than wins and losses: championships, individual awards, individual citations like All-SEC, total contribution in terms of letters and starts, star power, NFL impact, etc. All have their importance and impact in the perception of which has earned the title of “The Best.”

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