In this uncertain year of the flip in college football
recruiting, not only did Will Muschamp manage to hold onto all of
Florida's committed prospects, he managed to add two more top-flight
players on National Signing Day on Wednesday.
The result is another highly rated class for the Florida Gators, who announced the signing of 28 players.
“It
says a lot about the young men, first of all,” Muschamp said, when
asked about being able to hold together his class during the
high-pressure closing weeks of the process. “Secondly, our staff staying
on them and understanding that crazy things get said right before
signing day. Sometimes you can sway people pretty easy.
“A
lot of time when you're recruiting a young man, it's a commitment or
it's a reservation. You make reservations at a Marriott, but you change
and go to the Hilton.
“Unfortunately, some people make reservations, not commitments.”
The
Gator Inn is full following signing day. The 26 players who committed
to UF earlier followed through and signed with the Gators. Two more
prospects — defensive tackles Jay-nard Bostwick and Jarran Reed — signed
with Florida on Wednesday.
“I'm
proud of our staff,” Muschamp said. “Today's a culmination of a lot of
hard work, effort, sometimes two or three years put together on a young
man. You come down to signing day and you sit at that fax machine until
that thing (a national letter of intent) comes through.
“You hope it's signed right, it's date and all that kind of stuff.”
No
problems in that regard Wednesday. A long national signing day came to a
promising end for the Gators, who appeared to fill their most pressing
needs.
They needed wide
receivers, and they signed five, including Demarcus Robinson, a former
Clemson commitment and four-star prospect who is already on campus and
expected to challenge for immediate playing time.
They
needed help in the secondary, and they signed four defensive backs,
including the nation's consensus No. 1 cornerback, Vernon Hargreaves
III.
They needed linemen
on both side of the ball, and they signed five offensive linemen and
seven defensive linemen (four tackles and three ends), including two
junior college tackles (Reed and Darious Cummings), who could provide
instant depth and playing time.
They
needed linebackers, and they signed four, including early enrollees
Alex Anzalone, a former Notre Dame commitment, Matt Rolin, a former
South Carolina commitment, and Daniel McMillian.
They
wanted to add a dynamic tailback, and they signed a potential one in
Kelvin Taylor, another early enrollee who is the state's all-time
leading high school rusher and the son of former Gator great tailback
Fred Taylor.
Like all
schools, the Gators didn't sign every top prospect they targeted, but
Muschamp seems pleased with his third UF recruiting class.
“We
had a deep signing class this year, which means you have to have a
larger board as far as the numbers are concerned at each position,”
Muschamp said. “Which also has to be very appealing at some positions.
“We
signed five wide receivers. Those are five guys that want to come in
here and compete, because sometimes when you get some numbers you start
getting guys looking at that depth chart and numbers, and they aren't
real sure about coming and competing for the Gators.
“We
want guys that have got a lot of confidence that they can come and play
in the SEC and play in The Swamp and play at the University of
Florida.”
Muschamp said
the Gators not only targeted top players, they went after high-character
guys who might be less likely to back out of a UF commitment and sign
somewhere else.
“This
class is very balanced,” he said. “It's a high-character class with
toughness. All of the position criteria we looked for as far as size and
speed and all the off-the-field things we're looking for.
“It's
a very committed class. A lot of these guys were guys that have been
committed to us a long time and never took other visits. There wasn't a
lot of flash in their recruiting process, and that's the kind of guys
you want.
“Certain guys
may not be a good fit in your locker room, and you just move on and
recruit the right kind of guys. You look at the transcripts. You see the
character, and that's where we're headed.”
In
the year of the flip, the Gators managed to hold on to their committed
players, many who made their pledge to UF many months ago. UF, however,
did enjoy some of the benefits of the year of the flip.
The
Gators signed five players who had been committed to other schools at
some point — Robinson, Anzalone, Rolin, Reed and linebacker Jarrad Davis
(Auburn).
“These guys
have to go through a lot,” Muschamp said. “You see guys going back and
forth. There is a lot of pressure on these young men to make decisions
with the different factions pulling them different ways.
“You've got to respect that.”
