Yes. There are people who are freaking out waaaaaayyyyyyyyyyyyy too much about recruiting and not taking everything into context. Including some podcasters.
On Fri, Jul 13, 2018 at 9:01 AM, Oliver Barry <bar...@realtracs.com> wrote: > I read this yesterday and it makes sense. Mullen is shifting the offense > from pro style to spread. So, he needs spread players. That’s why we ended > up with Emory Jones instead of Matt Corral. > These players who are dumping us for other teams were not on our radar > before Mullen. > The article goes on to say Mullen needs time, win some games, and prove to > recruits he can win. > If he could win at Mississippi State he can win anywhere. > > Oliver Barry CRS, GRI > Real Estate Broker > PARKS Real Estate Services > 305 B Indian Lake Blvd > <https://maps.google.com/?q=305+B+Indian+Lake+Blvd+Suite+220+Hendersonville+TN+37075+Office:+615&entry=gmail&source=g> > Suite 220 > <https://maps.google.com/?q=305+B+Indian+Lake+Blvd+Suite+220+Hendersonville+TN+37075+Office:+615&entry=gmail&source=g> > Hendersonville TN 37075 > <https://maps.google.com/?q=305+B+Indian+Lake+Blvd+Suite+220+Hendersonville+TN+37075+Office:+615&entry=gmail&source=g> > Office: 615 > <https://maps.google.com/?q=305+B+Indian+Lake+Blvd+Suite+220+Hendersonville+TN+37075+Office:+615&entry=gmail&source=g> > -826-4040 > Mobile: 615-972-4239 > bar...@realtracs.com > > Begin forwarded message: > > *From:* Woody Bass <gatorrr...@gmail.com> > *Date:* July 13, 2018 at 7:18:16 AM CDT > *To:* gatorn...@googlegroups.com > *Subject:* *[gatornews] REQUIRED READING!! A closer look at Florida's > slow recruiting start, and why it's complicated* > *Reply-To:* gatornews+own...@googlegroups.com > > This is a must read and you must pass it along to other Gators to read. > Then close your eyes. Have a drink or 10. Then breathe again. Relaaaxxxx > > https://www.saturdaydownsouth.com/florida-football/a-closer- > look-at-floridas-slow-recruiting-start-and-why-its- > complicated/amp/?__twitter_impression=true > > A closer look at Florida’s slow recruiting start, and why it’s complicated > 22 hours ago > > Dan Mullen hasn’t even taken the podium at his first SEC Media Days as > Florida’s head coach, let alone coached his first game, and already there > is noise in the system in Gainesville. > > Fans and writers alike > <https://www.readandreaction.com/2018/06/24/recruiting-revisit-is-panic-or-patience-needed-for-the-2019-recruiting-class/> > are on edge about Florida’s sluggish start to the 2018-2019 recruiting > cycle, with many already moving past “on edge” and into full-on “panic > mode.” Rival fans have taken to calling Florida “3-Star U,” with one > notable podcaster comparing the notoriously poor recruiter Jim McElwain > favorably to the affable, engaging Mullen. > > There were rumblings from as early as the spring, when Florida hosted > several big names without securing commitments or future official visits. > The rumblings became louder in late June, when longtime Mullen 4-star DE > target Nathan Pickering opted to commit to the in-state Mississippi State > Bulldogs instead of the Gators, despite a lengthy recruiting relationship > with the Florida coaching staff. > > The rumbles turned to roars last week, when a pair of consensus 4-stars > long considered Florida leans — Jahleel Billingsley (Alabama) and DB Chris > Steele (USC) — committed elsewhere. The Gators also lost former 4-star WR > commit John Dunmore, the Hollywood (Fla.) Chaminade product, who committed > to Penn State. Another 4-star WR, Mycah Pittman, appears set to buck his > mother’s wishes and pick Oregon over Florida. > > There’s no question that’s a tough few weeks for the Gators, who > currently sit at No. 31 in the 247Sports Composite Team Rankings for 2019 > (behind Duke!) > <https://247sports.com/Season/2019-Football/CompositeTeamRankings>. But > is it a cause for panic? And what exactly is behind Florida’s slow > recruiting start? > > Fan is short for “fanatic,” and reason and facts aren’t often considered > when it’s easier to just pile on the panic bandwagon and criticize the new > Florida coaching staff, who are tasked with rebuilding a program that for > the second time in less than a decade has a broken culture to go along with > personnel issues. > > But even fanatics aren’t entitled to their own facts, and the facts of > Florida recruiting are these. > > First, it isn’t all doom-and-gloom. > > Mullen signed the best transition class in Florida history last fall, > rescuing a class ranked in the 20s with a host of signing day commitments, > including coveted 4-star QB Emory Jones, who chose Florida over rival > Florida State, and 4-star WR Jacob Copeland, who ended years of Gator > recruiting futility in Pensacola by picking Florida over Alabama. > > Mullen’s 2019 class, with 4 top 300 players currently committed, also > rates comparably, at this point in the cycle (early July), to Gus Malzahn’s > second class at Auburn (4 top 300 commits), Mark Richt’s second class at > Miami (4 top 300 commits), and Willie Taggart’s second class at Florida > State (5 top 300 commits). It is also twice as good, as of July 11, as Jim > McElwain’s second class was at this point (2 top 300 commits), which seems > to suggest that at the very least, Mullen isn’t making McElwain look like > “Bear Bryant on the trail.” And while Mullen’s second class certainly > behind Urban Meyer’s second class at Florida as of July (10 top 300 > commits), it isn’t terribly behind Kirby Smart’s pace (6 top 300 commits), > although it is entirely fair to suggest that Florida needs a quality *Friday > Night Lights *event this July to bolster the class, stem the negative > flow of publicity and build momentum for the fall. > > Further, while the losses of players like Steele, Pittman and Dunmore seem > permanent, Pickering and Billingsley are among the players who have openly > indicated they’ll take recruiting visits, giving Florida at least a chance > at recouping those losses. And even with Dunmore gone, there are a host of > analysts projecting 4-star WR Elijah Higgins, a 6-2 221-pound NFL > prototype, will commit to Florida before the end of the month. > > Second, Mullen is also dealing with a host of structural challenges his > rivals simply don’t face. > > To begin with, he inherited a program that has had two 4-win seasons in > four years, and hasn’t fielded an offense ranked in the top 50 nationally > since most recruits were in elementary school. > <http://www.gatorcountry.com/feature/recruiting-analysis-dan-mullens-first-eight-months/> > The Gators stitched together two 10-win seasons this decade, but did so on > the shoulders of elite defenses, and even in the seasons when Will Muschamp > recruited well, Florida’s classes tended to be unbalanced, with a > high-number of blue chips (4- or 5-stars) on defense, not offense. > "Maybe it’s a longer rebuild, like Clemson. But Dan will get it built, if > they let him.” > -- Power 5 assistant coach on Dan Mullen's recruiting ability > > Florida’s roster contains 36 blue-chip recruits, only 3 of whom were > consensus 5-star players. That’s more blue-chips than at SEC East rivals > South Carolina (23) and Tennessee (34), but it’s well-behind Georgia (61) > and FSU (56). Much of that is due to unbalanced classes under Muschamp and > the general aloofness of McElwain, who deferred much of Florida’s > recruiting process to associate head coach Randy Shannon. But some of it is > about success on the field too, according to one longtime SEC assistant. > > “Kirby inherited a 10-win roster at Georgia, and schematically, they > didn’t want to reinvent much offensively, which people forget,” the SEC > assistant told me. “That meant Kirby could go and target certain areas > where he felt upgrades were critical, notably on the offensive line and on > the defensive perimeter. But Smart also knew Richt already had a roster > that was close. It’s why he waited on that job. Dan gets a 4-win culture > and probably an 8-win roster. Those challenges are almost entirely > different, and that’s before you discuss scheme.” > > Another challenge Florida faces is consistent coaching turnover, which > impacts recruiting in two ways. > > The first is the obvious one. It’s hard to play catchup against other > staffs when they’ve cultivated longstanding relationships with kids. The > usual rebuttal to this is that “other staffs in transition manage to do > it.” But another longtime Power 5 assistant says it’s more complicated than > that. > > “At Florida, you want to recruit against everybody. You go into a living > room and sell Florida, but you’re doing it in a place where Dabo (Swinney) > has been, where (Nick) Saban has been, where Kirby Smart is or Clay > Helton,” the Power 5 assistant told me last week. “That’s fine, but then > even if you catch up relationship-wise, you’re behind culturally, you > aren’t winning. So, the most interested kids may make you wait.” > > The second challenge of consistent turnover is the more fascinating one, > and far less talked about. Not all staffs want to recruit the same kids, > especially when there is dramatic scheme change, which there certainly is > at Florida as it moves away not just from McElwain’s pro-style offense to > Mullen’s run-dominant spread, but also from Shannon’s vanilla 4-3 to Todd > Grantham’s Pittsburgh 3-4. > > That poses significant recruiting challenges that are compounded by the > relationship issue, according to Florida-based national recruiting analyst > Corey Long, who for over a decade has covered college football and > recruiting for the New York Times, ESPN and Saturday Down South, among > other publications. > > “Mullen and this coaching staff have a plan and they are going after the > players they are comfortable with and feel like they fit into the scheme > and the culture,” Long told me last week. “Maybe they will look to fill > the ‘top end’ of the class during the season and get some bigger names in > before the first signing day, but for now, it’s about crafting their target > list.” > > Long is sympathetic to the criticism among some writers and fans alike, > however, that Florida doesn’t seem to have a specific recruiting strategy > established yet under Mullen. He says a good amount of that has to do with > turnover. > > “I think the problem with four coaches in just over eight years is they > have four different players (they have targeted),” Long said. “Gator > football was different under McElwain than it was under Muschamp and will > be different under Mullen. McElwain’s staff, headed by Randy Shannon, was > very active in South Florida whereas Mullen’s staff doesn’t seem to be > recruiting as much there. So where will their in-state focus be? Tampa? > Orlando? Jacksonville? The Panhandle? What about out of state? Are they > strong in Georgia or better along the Gulf Coast and Mississippi JUCOs? > They need to figure out where they can establish significant inroads at and > start aggressively recruiting in those areas.” > > Long’s point here is supported by the reality that Florida is one of only > 8 Power 5 programs that have had four head coaches since 2010. The others? > Pitt, Minnesota, Illinois, Kansas, Oregon, USC and Arkansas. Of those nine > programs, only Florida, USC and Oregon are considered bluebloods, and both > Oregon and USC hired their fourth coach (Cristobal and Helton, > respectively) from within their prior staff. Of the nine, Pitt made the > largest recruiting improvement from a transition class to second class, > when Pat Narduzzi improved Pitt from 46th to 30th in 2016. The difference? > Pitt won 8 football games under Narduzzi after a losing season under Paul > Chryst. > > Winning matters, according to the Power 5 assistant. > > “Helton and (Mario) Cristobal already had ideas as to who they wanted to > recruit, and an offer list they didn’t need to reshape. That allowed for > immediate momentum. Helton had to win more games, but USC was never in a > situation like Florida where they had multiple losing seasons. Mario is at > a program that has been to a College Football Playoff Championship. He and > (Willie Taggart) made the offer list. Mullen’s situation is a lot more like > Dabo’s was at Clemson, even though Dabo came from (Tommy) Bowden’s staff. > Dabo had a different idea about how he wanted Clemson to play football. > Clemson hadn’t won a conference title in forever. They had to win. It took > awhile to sell that to kids.” > > Long is less sure. > > “In the era of the Early Signing Day period, there’s not really > wait-and-see,” Long said. “I just think there’s too much turnover and > coaching changes in the past few years to establish a consistent pattern of > recruiting. The target list in the 2019, 2020 and 2021 classes changed with > the coaching change, so there are kids that the Shannon-led group of > assistants were targeting over the next three years that Mullen’s staff has > decided not to pursue and in turn they have a whole new group of targets, > some brought over from their evaluations while at Mississippi State. That > and the schematic changes just means they start from behind.” > > Still, it’s Florida, the Power 5 assistant told me. Kids will respond if > Florida plays better football. > > “I don’t know if it happens in *this *class,” the assistant said. “But > the way they are upgrading things, the whole package of tradition and > facilities and the NFL pipeline and academics: maybe it’s a longer rebuild, > like Clemson. But Dan will get it built, if they let him.” > > > > > Woody > > -- > -- > GATORS: ONE VOICE ON SATURDAY - NO VOICE ON SUNDAY! > 1996 National Football Champions | 2006 National Basketball Champions 2006 > National Football Champions | 2007 National Basketball Champions 2008 > National Football Champions | > Three Heisman Trophy winners: Steve Spurrier (1966), Danny Wuerffel > (1996), Tim Tebow (2007) > --- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "GatorNews" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to gatornews+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. > > -- > -- > GATORS: ONE VOICE ON SATURDAY - NO VOICE ON SUNDAY! > 1996 National Football Champions | 2006 National Basketball Champions 2006 > National Football Champions | 2007 National Basketball Champions 2008 > National Football Champions | Three Heisman Trophy winners: Steve Spurrier > (1966), Danny Wuerffel (1996), Tim Tebow (2007) > --- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "GatorTalk" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to gatortalk+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. > -- -- GATORS: ONE VOICE ON SATURDAY - NO VOICE ON SUNDAY! 1996 National Football Champions | 2006 National Basketball Champions 2006 National Football Champions | 2007 National Basketball Champions 2008 National Football Champions | Three Heisman Trophy winners: Steve Spurrier (1966), Danny Wuerffel (1996), Tim Tebow (2007) --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "GatorTalk" group. 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