In his first season as head at Florida, Dan Mullen has turned the Gators into a top-15 program that just competed in a matchup of top-10 teams that generated interest from not only SEC Nation but also College GameDay.
This time last year the Florida Gators were 3-4 coming off of a 42-7 beat down at the hands of Georgia. Now the Gators are 6-2, ranked number 13 in the country and one of the surprise teams in the country.
Mullen and his staff hope all this work on the field will help them in recruiting, as the Gators currently sit with 15 commits in the class of 2019. On Monday Mullen says he believes that the interest in the program is definitely back from the top players in the country.
“Guess we’ll find out in mid-December and early February,” Mullen said on how the season has helped in recruiting. “I think there’s a lot of interest in our program right now. I think a lot of young players around the country are looking and saying, ‘Hey, Florida is going to be back and competing for championships in the very, very near future.”
The Gators first sign of this improved recruiting showed when you were able to see how many top tier prospects showed up to visit Gainesville for the LSU game and walked away raving about the visit.
Mullen and his staff have several things already etched into recruits minds about Florida and what they can get from the Gators but it was all about showing improved play on the field.
“When you combine that with the history and tradition here, the opportunity to play in the Swamp, to be a Florida Gator, and the academics that are second to none in the SEC and really in the South, combine that all together and it’s certainly sparking a lot of interest from players,” Mullen said on things helping in recruiting. “But we’ll see how that pans out not just on signing day, but two, three years down the road in not just getting top players, but the right guys, and their performance on the field.”
Mullen and his staff have been criticized for their slow start in recruiting but since the season has started the Gators have picked up two big recruits and have prospects that had before eliminated Florida now thinking about the Gators.
The number one prospect in the country by many, defensive end Kayvon Thibodeaux, is one of those guys who have renewed interest in the Gators and is scheduled to visit Florida for the South Carolina game.
Defensive back Chris Steele is another top 100 prospect that recently decommitted from USC that has renewed interest in Florida.
The Gators are not where they want to be in recruiting just yet but things are definitely improving on and off the field for the Gators program.