The Florida Gators will end its regular season on Saturday afternoon against Florida State but while other schools are getting ready to hit the road to recruit on Monday the Gators will be looking for a new head coach.
Jeremy Foley and his staff will have to work quickly to get a new head coach so that the staff will have time to recruit before the dead period starts on December 15th and that has Gator Country members asking questions about this class.
In this week’s recruiting mailbag I’m going to answer everyone’s question about the Class of 2015 and more.
Gator_nica: We are hoping you have some good news on the recruiting end. Do you?
AS: I wish I could say so and so just committed to the Florida Gators but that will have to wait a little bit longer. The good news is that December and January should be fun for recruiting as a lot of new names will pop on the board plus the current names we already know.
Swampie: Which prospective coach or coaches do you think would make the biggest impact in recruiting at Florida?
AS: Hugh Freeze and Jim Mora Jr. would both be huge for recruiting because of their track record of recruiting the state. I think both guys could salvage this class and make it a good one.
Ol2ange: I guess I’ll ask the obvious question (and guess the obvious answer)- Any news on Cowart, Ivey, Jefferson, and Holland? I’m guessing they are all taking a wait and see approach (just like every other recruit out there).
AS: Yep you guessed right but the good news is that those guys are waiting to see. CeCe and Byron Cowart are hoping that Brad Lawing stays on staff but they will be interested in Florida no matter what.
Ol2ange: With the coaching transition, we’re likely going to see many juniors leave early along with some transfers, allowing us to take a big class (if desired). With only 9 recruits right now, do you think the new coach will take many ‘plan B’ guys to fill the class and get some bodies?
AS: It depends on what happens with the big names. I think a new coach will be create some buzz so that some of the guys that have committed elsewhere will at least look at Florida again. At the end of the day though every school has to take some plan B guys to fill depth.
Ol2ange: To build on question 2, are we going to change up our recruiting a bit with the leaving juniors and potential transfers? Meaning, since we see someone like DJ Humphries + Tyler Moore leaving, are we going to take an extra OT this year (than planned)? Or maybe it’s just a decision for the new coach (Love answering my own questions, let’s see if this is right lol..).
AS: I think you will see Florida try and get at least one JUCO offensive lineman now or maybe even two. I think you when you look at the current roster now, you have to think that Florida would like to get a JUCO guard in this class and hope that he can play early next year. I also think with Matt Jones possibly leaving early that Florida has to take at least one running back in this class now.
Juggernautz: How much impact will the FSWho game mean to recruiting this year?
AS: Not much because Florida doesn’t have a coach but it could put a damper on FSU’s recruiting efforts some.
Juggernautz: Does having a coach @ HS level that went to one of our rival schools have an impact on our recruiting players from that HS?
AS: To some affect yes but not as much as some people think. For instance Jonathan’s Bullard coach was a big Clemson guy but the Gators were able to pull two guys out of that school but no it doesn’t help the efforts at that school and it makes it harder to pull kids every year.
Juggernautz: If you were Muschamp, would you pursue a job as a DC or HC?
AS: I would go be a defensive coordinator somewhere for a couple of years and then try again as a head coach. I do believe that Will Muschamp will be a successful head coach one day.
BCNGator99: Based on recent history, when there has been a change at OC, the new coach typically goes out and recruits a QB that fits his system, ie Weis with Brissett & Roper with Harris. If Roper is not retained by the new head coach: Do you see this happening, and if so, would that affect Jones’ commitment?
AS: Sheriron Jones is already shaky and the Gators have been hard after Louisville commit Lamar Jackson for a few months now. I think the key to remember is that it depends on the system. If the new coach runs a spread offense (like I think he should) then keeping Jones will be perfect.
74gator: What recruits who we are recruiting want to enroll early? It seems like not hiring a coach at least one week before the dead period will hurt recruiting. Your thoughts on when we need the new coach to be on board.
AS: Ray-Ray McCloud and Deon Cain have talked about early enrolling but I haven’t heard anything for sure. There isn’t a ton of early enrollees this year so that’s a good thing for Florida but I believe they need a coach in place by next week sometime so they have one week to get out and recruit before the dead period starts.