All I'd love to add to this class is another DT and either a TE or ATH.
That said, if we stopped now, I'm ecstatic to say the least.
Never understood why so many harped and whined last year over a concensus #5 class anyway.
Look, the reality of college recruiting is that you're not going to get 'em all. Most of us understand that. What made last year frustrating, was that we were coming off a 7-6 season, the offense was probably the saddest product we've seen on the field in a long time for the Gators, and there were critical positions we needed to address going forward.
The one thing we KNEW we needed were playmakers. Agholor and Diggs both favored UF at some point during the recruiting process, as did Howard, Harvey-Clemons and Williams. Florida lost all them before, on and after signing day.
Now, think about what Diggs and Agholor could've done in an orange and blue uniform this year. That would've been pretty sweet, huh? Probably sweet enough to beat Georgia in Jacksonville, and who knows what else after that.
But all is forgotten now. This is a monster class Muschamp is bringing in. It's almost a perfect class, in terms of talent across the board, balance, and the fact that the staff has addressed every need. We know Muschamp can coach, and the future in Gainesville couldn't look any better than it does.
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"I can shoot threes now. I can finesse you. I can dunk on you. I can guard anything, and I'm rebounding better. When I block shots I catch the ball. I can post you up with my back to the basket and hit you with a post move. Or I can face you up and use my quickness to blow by you." - Chris Walker
The one thing we KNEW we needed were playmakers. Agholor and Diggs both favored UF at some point during the recruiting process, as did Howard, Harvey-Clemons and Williams. Florida lost all them before, on and after signing day.
Now, think about what Diggs and Agholor could've done in an orange and blue uniform this year. That would've been pretty sweet, huh? Probably sweet enough to beat Georgia in Jacksonville, and who knows what else after that.
Harvey-Clemons wanted to go to UGA at least months before Signing Day and probably all along. His family wanted him to go to UF pretty much all the way through and I don't think they knew nearly as much as his friends at school did about his intense desire to go to UGA- this is what led to the Signing Day drama I believe- but his mind was likely made up all along and he refused to budge. He told a cousin of mine who had a classes with him a few weeks before 2011 Thanksgiving that he was going to UGA. There was no "leaning to," or "probably going to," or anything like that. He told her flatly that he was going to Georgia. Exactly why he was so set on UGA no matter what I have no idea but he was completely sold on UGA for a long time. Missing on Diggs was a serious bummer though and considering how little we had at receiver in 2011 and how little we signed in the 2012 class it was a major whiff in an otherwise very good class.
Diggs was close to Weis. He attended FNL, he and his mom thought very highly of UF, and he was expected to sign with Florida. After Weis left it became a bit more open, but (Gatorsports) Zach Abolverdi thought we'd get Diggs. About a month before signing day Abolverdi also reported that we led for Agholor, and that he was merely waiting on an offensive coordinator to be hired. I know NA had been to UF several times. I honestly don't know how accurate that info was, but I remember both being considered Florida leans at some point. However, maybe I'm wrong. Howard came away from his visit to Gainesville a Gator, I clearly remember that.
But who really cares? It's a new year. Florida has five WR prospects in the fold. We're in great shape, Muschamp has a roster full of elite talent, and Florida is about ready to rock the SEC. Our last class was good; this one is even better.
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"I can shoot threes now. I can finesse you. I can dunk on you. I can guard anything, and I'm rebounding better. When I block shots I catch the ball. I can post you up with my back to the basket and hit you with a post move. Or I can face you up and use my quickness to blow by you." - Chris Walker
Diggs was close to Weis. He attended FNL, he and his mom thought very highly of UF, and he was expected to sign with Florida. After Weis left it became a bit more open, but (Gatorsports) Zach Abolverdi thought we'd get Diggs. About a month before signing day Abolverdi also reported that we led for Agholor, and that he was merely waiting on an offensive coordinator to be hired. I know NA had been to UF several times. I honestly don't know how accurate that info was, but I remember both being considered Florida leans at some point. However, maybe I'm wrong. Howard came away from his visit to Gainesville a Gator, I clearly remember that.
But who really cares? It's a new year. Florida has five WR prospects in the fold. We're in great shape, Muschamp has a roster full of elite talent, and Florida is about ready to rock the SEC. Our last class was good; this one is even better.
The USC people said they had Nelson the whole time and they never wavered. I bet Zack talked to Nelson zero times (could be wrong), Nelson rarely gave interviews. Nelson had been out to USC multiple times and his head coach is really good friends with Monte. People would just say they thought Nelson was going to UF because it was closer.
One point I've wanted to make for awhile. My biggest concern with last year's recruiting class was on the offensive line, where, for the third straight year, we signed only two linemen, albeit two exceptionally well-regarded linemen. I was really worried about the long-term holes that might leave.
But Muschamp has done a fantastic job improvising this year and making up for the lack of bodies in the last two classes. Trenton Brown, the JUCO, was nice, but I especially love getting Moore and Garcia as transfers. Those guys really help fill out the lines and balance things out.
Would still like to have Avery Young, obviously, but the proven transfers and the JUCO lineman really make last year's o-line misses hurt less. Every coach makes mistakes or just has years where the recruits don't line up as well. The measure of the coach is how he responds to the disappointment, and Muschamp responded by ably scrambling. That's impressive.
Receiver is a different question, but I don't know that we had similar JUCO/transfer options at that position.
I love linemen on both sides of the LOS, and I firmly believe that's where the real meat of a team's success lies, along the LOS.
Five OL in this class was a superb haul, and all of them quality guys, but from now on, we just need to haul in no less than 3 - 4 a year, and sometimes on rare occasions, 5 - 6, but keeping a good rotation of 10 - 12 OL ready to play is vital to a team's success, especially in the SEC.
__________________ Resistance is futile. Schedule is irrelevant, opponent is irrelevant... We are Gator, you will be assimilated.
We have a terrific incoming class and I don't want to hear how Robert Nkemdiche, selecting Ole Miss at the end of the process despite having a Gator offer is a "coaching disgrace" by Muschamp's team to see him go to a lesser program, or something to that extent.
Oh geez. If we sign a full class we won't need to close anyone on NSD. Last year was totally different; we desperately needed to close on many NSD signees because our class was smallish (22 signed, with 6 EEs counting back toward 2011, meaning the class could have fit 9 more guys) at a time where we were sorely lacking depth.
So that class, as good as it was, failed to adequately address our three biggest needs - OL, WR, and overall team depth. Its a fair statement and Im not sure why you would want to discourage people from those kinds of nuanced discussions. OTOH, if you are just trying to police the message board for the idiots who will always find a way to make unfounded criticism of the coaching staff...well, good luck, because they are always going to be there.
Oh geez. If we sign a full class we won't need to close anyone on NSD. Last year was totally different; we desperately needed to close on many NSD signees because our class was smallish (22 signed, with 6 EEs counting back toward 2011, meaning the class could have fit 9 more guys) at a time where we were sorely lacking depth.
So that class, as good as it was, failed to adequately address our three biggest needs - OL, WR, and overall team depth. Its a fair statement and Im not sure why you would want to discourage people from those kinds of nuanced discussions. OTOH, if you are just trying to police the message board for the idiots who will always find a way to make unfounded criticism of the coaching staff...well, good luck, because they are always going to be there.
If you look back at last year who did they miss on the Oline?
The players we "missed" on were S, CB, DT, 2WR. The team was and is fine at S CB and DT. We red shirted kids at S CB & DT so we obvilosly had some depth at those positions. Lets not forget we landed a DE on signing day which was a huge need. Keeping all your committed players show and ability to close.
If we can get all these horses to the barn, I'll be ecstatic
Me too.
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Coach Muschamp: When I saw that we hired you I was very upset due to your clinics while you were at Auburn on "How to stop Florida's offense." Yes you did stop our offense very well while there but yes I was holding a grudge. From the day you got here and every time I hear you speak and your excitement about coaching our Gators, working your tale off and being a straight shooter, you are now one of my all time favorite coaches. Thanks coach.
I think we will lose 3 or more along the way due to grades or fear of competition or peer pressure. Here is who I would like to close with.
1. Montravious Adams
2. Mackensie Alexander
3. Alex Anzalone
4. Alex Collins
5. Robert Nkemdiche
6. Jalen Ramsey
7. Durham Smythe
8. Kennard Swanson
9. Laquon Treadwell
10. Laremy Tunsil
11. Demarcus Walker
If Florida had won the battles on 50-50 guys like williams agholor and diggs uf would probably be undefeated right now. Thats the reality of recruiting. That being said, the whining last year was ridiculous.
This is a much better class in regards to filling needs. But the lost battles from last year really sting. Especially when you consider how williams could have slid right in for floyd and how we still don't have impact wrs.
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How many legs does a dog have if you call the tail a leg? Four; calling a tail a leg doesn't make it a leg.
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