Jim McElwain responds to Bret Bielema comments

In a way that only he can, Arkansas Razorbacks head coach Bret Bielema stirred the pot on Wednesday during an interview with ESPN.

“Florida, kind of the new Ole Miss, they’re doing some things in recruiting that just kind of shocks you a little bit.”

Ole Miss was just formally notified by the NCAA of upwards of 30 allegations spanning multiple sports and, even though most of the violations are not believed to be football related, head Coach Hugh Freeze’s has been loudly questioned by others for his recruiting tactics. Just last season starting left tackle Laremy Tunsil received a seven game suspension for “receiving improper benefits.”

Freeze told a reporter that Bielema reached out to him and said his remarks were meant as a compliment, but Florida Gators head coach Jim McElwain doesn’t see it that way.

“You got to get a kick out of it a little bit because obviously this guy doesn’t know who the heck I am,” McElwain fired back when asked about the comment. “I sure as heck don’t know who he is. I’m not sure we really ran into him on the recruiting trail.”

Florida and Arkansas don’t often go head-to-head on the recruiting trail but they did square off this cycle. Both teams missed out on talented cornerback Kristian Fulton when the Louisiana product chose to stay home with the LSU Tigers. Florida was able to pull Tyrie Cleveland into their class after Arkansas tried to make a late push and they flipped JUCO defensive back Joseph Putu, who had committed to Arkansas last week.

“I know what the University of Florida is all about and I think if you were to poll anybody in college football I think that they’d know that Mac does it right. I have no idea what this guy was talking about to be honest.”

The two may not have crossed paths on the recruiting trail but they will cross paths on November 8 in Fayetteville, Arkansas when the Florida Gators travel west to take on the Razorbacks.

 

UPDATE: Florida Gators Athletic Director Jeremy Foley commented on the situation through FloridGators.com senior staff writer Scott Carter.

“Obviously Bret clarified his remarks as he should have. We know what Coach Mac stands for and what our standards are here at the University of Florida.”

Nick de la Torre
A South Florida native, Nick developed a passion for all things sports at a very young age. His love for baseball was solidified when he saw Al Leiter’s no-hitter for the Marlins live in May of 1996. He was able to play baseball in college but quickly realized there isn’t much of a market for short, slow outfielders that hit around the Mendoza line. Wanting to continue with sports in some capacity he studied journalism at the University of Central Florida. Nick got his first start in the business as an intern for a website covering all things related to the NFL draft before spending two seasons covering the Florida football team at Bleacher Report. That job led him to GatorCountry. When he isn’t covering Gator sports, Nick enjoys hitting way too many shots on the golf course, attempting to keep up with his favorite t.v. shows and watching the Heat, Dolphins and Marlins. Follow him on twitter @NickdelatorreGC