The Florida Gators recruiting efforts have pick up some momentum after Friday Night Lights and that momentum looks to continue as the season is getting underway.
With the dead period underway as fall camp starts, recruiting talk is slow but the Gators are still in good shape for several top targets.
Gator Country’s members have a lot of questions about how the 2019 class will shake out and who are the top prospects that the Gators are still after.
We answer your questions in this week’s Florida Gators recruiting mailbag.
Well let’s dive right in to this week’s recruiting mailbag:
TebowNut6: Our recruiting momentum seemingly went from zero to 60 overnight after FNL. Was the previous criticism of the staff unfair, or did we just get “lucky” and do a better than average job with FNL to gain that much needed steam to now have a couple commits… with a few more on the way?
AS: I don’t think the criticism was unfair to say because recruiting was slow but I do think that it’s unfair to say the staff couldn’t recruit. They can recruit and have shown that in years past and are starting to show it now. I think the staff will finish strong and FNL was just the start of it. They definitely pushed for more guys to go public than they have in the past because they knew they needed to get the momentum going.
Blake_usmc: What happened with Mycah Pittman? I hope there’s more to the story than the depth chart. Something just doesn’t seem right
AS: Oregon sold Pittman on being the guy on campus compared to coming into a receiver room that had more guys. Depth chart was huge there but also Oregon being closer to home helped and they were able to get him on campus more.
MrB-Gator: Offensive line…who are the strong possibilities and how many more do we take?
(in addition to our current commits….Wilson, White, and Simonds).
AS: Kamaar Bell and JUCO OL LaQuinston Sharp are the guys talking about Florida the most. This is the one position that I expect you will see more names pop on visits and on the board as the season gets underway.
Hagerp11: Any more defensive line targets this year? Feels like we need 1 more
AS: Florida is in the mix for Khris Bogle, Lloyd Summerall, Nathan Pickering, Derick Hunter, Quashon Fuller and D’Von Ellies. Right now I would say Florida has the best chance with Summerall and Hunter with Summerall being the most likely of the two.
Irgator12: Who is Diwun Black really targeting? Are they players on our board?
AS: Black is after a lot of guys but he has been mainly recruiting Kaiir Elam, Chester Kimbrough, Jaydon Hill and Nathan Pickering. All guys they met at Friday Night Lights or already knew.
KHC_DAD: What is your opinion of why it’s taking this staff longer to get rolling in recruiting than it does other new coaches at top schools?
AS: The brand at Florida is something that had to be repaired and that’s something that all guys are taking a watch and see approach with. Also the California kids all deciding again coming to Florida hurt them but that was a strategy that the staff took and they got them on campus but didn’t get a commitment. Also it didn’t help that Mullen and his staff didn’t have as many connections in the state as others did but that’s something Mullen is fixing and fixing quickly because his staff worked every school in the spring.
StuckUpNorthGator: Evey year there is a recruit that comes out of left field. Do you see that happening again this year?
AS: Absolutely and I think that’s something you see every year with every team in the country. Coaches talk to guys behind the scenes and just offer them late so that other schools can’t get in on them. Also this staff likes to recruiting JUCO’s and those guys often pop up later in the process so that’s a possibility to.
FormerGatorGreat98: Any update on Trey Sanders?
AS: Right now, Alabama is the team trending and the favorites to land him. Sanders should visit Florida for some games with his brother on the team and that could help Florida get back in the mix.
Joaqui: 1. I am guessing we are reseting the board on a couple of positions. With the new signing day in December does that then make Florida extend more offers with less evaluating players just to get them to think about us or so you sense that the staff will prefer to complete evaluation after the season?
AS: Mullen has a lot of guys in the recruiting department who watch and evaluate film on a daily basis and that’s something they will continue to do as they will watch games once the season start as well some practice video. This staff won’t just offer a guy to offer him.
Gatordon: Are some recruits on the board still in a wait and see mode regarding the product on the field?
AS: This is 100 percent the case and that’s something that Mullen himself has admitted to hearing from kids. Guys want to see improvement and see the Florida brand back to where it once was.
Gatordon: Do you expect offensive line recruitment to improve under this staff?
AS: I think as guys around the country see John Hevesy’s work on the field with linemen it will improve. Hevesy is what he is on the recruiting trail but he makes up for that and more on the field with his coaching. Hevesy has had one of the top lineman units in the country for a long time and that attracts guys.
Gator_nica: It looks like we need some cornerbacks. How are we looking in this area?
AS: The Gators are strongly in the mix for Chester Kimbrough, Jaydon Hill and Kaiir Elam at this time. Those are the top three guys and at this time Florida has a good shot at landing all three which would be a great haul.
74gator: How much interest do the Gators have in OL Deyavie Hammond and Howard Allen?
AS: Florida has offered both guys but haven’t pushed for either. Both of those guys are worth keeping track of going forward as the Gators are still looking to add one-two more lineman to the class.
Jmike131014: Hearing anything on Jalen Perry and JD Bertrand ?
AS: Florida and both guys are still talking but beyond that nothing new to report. Both guys seem very solid in their commitment to Georgia.
G8trGr8t: Will Mullen take advantage of the cluster at OSU to target some of their recruits or is he going to be the only one that doesn’t?
AS: Mullen will absolutely try to take advantage of the situation and let the guys know that Florida still want them and they he plans to be at Florida for the long haul. Mullen and his staff have already reached out to several of their commits including St. Thomas safety and Ohio State commit Jordan Battle.
KHC_DAD: So far it seems like we’re focusing more on kids from Florida/Southeast for the 2020 class than we did in 2019. Have you noticed a shift in our recruiting strategy after we got burned by 3-4 kids in the 2019 cycle?
AS: Mullen and his staff are always going to recruit nationwide but they will get back to recruiting more instate and local guys going forward simply because they’re building those relationships. Those relationships are still being built but recruiting within the five hour radius is something Mullen has talked about wanting to do more of.
BCNGator99: What is the likelihood that Diwun Black is able to attend IMG this year? It would be great to get him out of Mississippi for his senior year.
AS: Right now I’m told that he’s staying in Mississippi and that looks to be the plan for him going forward.