Florida football: Gator recruiting is as strong as ever

Dan Mullen and his staff have done one of the best jobs during their time at Florida football. I know that is a vague statement but that is for a reason.

The Florida football staff has done a great job in all aspects of the job. There has not been one thing this staff has had to contend with that all coaches at UF have had to deal with.

The difference is they are doing it at a higher level. One area they have excelled at is recruiting. They have brought the talent that Florida football has been used to, and they are stronger than ever.

Social Media Went Crazy

Lately, it seems that social media has taken to the thought that Gator recruiting has stopped or suffered as of late.

Over and over I see things either on Facebook or Twitter or whatever the platform is, saying, what happened to Florida recruiting? Being a person who follows recruiting on a daily basis I found this confusing, so I dug a little deeper.

What I found was a big orange culprit that is making some Florida football fans wince.

And now it seems if you even see a mention of Gator recruiting there is a mention of Tennessee recruiting right with it. Can it be so?

Are we in Gator Nation really starting to worry about a Volunteer? Even if we give the credit of having a pretty good year, NEXT year, they are still the Volunteers. They are still way behind the likes of Florida football in the talent acquisition over the long haul.

So let us put this nonsense aside that there is even a close comparison between a national contending team in Florida football and at best the fifth-best team in SEC: Tenessee.

Gator Recruiting is Strong

The Gators are coming off two straight years of top ten recruiting classes in 2019 and in 2020 and moving into the top five with a number four ranked 2021 class.

That is the difference between good teams heading in a direction of national championship goals and teams that have a good year. Recently Florida football handed out offers to a few offers to some of the best HS talents out there.

2021 Offensive lineman Jake Slaughter

The 6-foot-4, 300-pound offensive lineman out of Ocala Fl. He is big and strong and fits the mold of what Mullen and company have been after. He possesses good pass blocking skills but can also handle the run and creat that quick hole.

He has been committed to FSU but as always I call it a soft commit. Now that he has gotten the call from the Gators the game may have changed;

"“I was real excited about it,” he said on what the offer means to him. “It means a lot, being 30 minutes from Gainesville, watching them growing up, it means a lot. I really and truly didn’t think it was going to come but we started talking more after I committed and then they offered.”"

It is easy to see that some times a guy may commit to a place they feel is the best place until the place they know they want to go comes a calling.

Nothing wrong with keeping the options open for a player as what is best for them is the goal. We will welcome him to Gator nation with a big Chomp Chomp.

2021 Defensive end Kelvin Gilliam

The 6-foot-3, 250-pound defensive end from Virginia has all the skills you could ask for in a DE. He is quick off the line and his instincts for the ball are intense.

By the time he hits the backfield, the offense is not prepared. He could fit right into the Florida football defense.

https://twitter.com/Gourmetcasanova/status/1258060617065336832

He has a lot of offers on the table but the one from Florida had him excited;

"“I was very excited, Florida always has a great defensive line,” he said on what the offer means to him. “They had a lot of sacks this year and were very disruptive on the defensive side of the ball.”"

If he wants to be on the right side of a natty then he better put on that orange and blue. What all these guys have in common is they are being sought after by Florida football.

Mullen and crew have not slowed down and they have not let up on recruiting. Sure a team can run-up in rankings for a year.

But to be a contender year in and year out you must put in the works. Mullen and his coaches put in that work. Go Gators!!