Florida Football: Having recruits in Jacksonville will have little impact
![The Florida Gators went into the half trailing the Georgia Bulldogs 24 to 0. The Florida Gators were the home team for this years annual Florida vs Georgia college football rivalry game at TIAA Bank field in Jacksonville, Florida Saturday, October 30, 2021. [Bob Self/Florida Times-Union]Florida Fans](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_fill,w_1080,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/shape%2Fcover%2Fsport%2Fa7a2e1e081222e85302f9a670cef13d3953cfe448d0acb4536cfa2107a331246.jpg "The Florida Gators went into the half trailing the Georgia Bulldogs 24 to 0. The Florida Gators were the home team for this years annual Florida vs Georgia college football rivalry game at TIAA Bank field in Jacksonville, Florida Saturday, October 30, 2021. [Bob Self/Florida Times-Union]Florida Fans")
Last month Kirby Smart mused that the annual matchup between Florida and Georgia should be held on campus sites rather than in Jacksonville every year.
Smart’s primary complaint is that high school recruits can’t be brought to the game and that it hurts recruiting efforts.
We here on Hail Florida Hail talked about the pros and cons of keeping the game in Jacksonville.
For me personally, I’d prefer the game be brought on campus because ticket availability is limited and driving to Jacksonville is impractical for those living south of Gainesville.
It doesn’t look like I’m going to get my wish.
Recruits can now be in Jacksonville
News came out on Wednesday that the designated home team for Florida vs Georgia can leave tickets for recruits and their families to attend the game.
On paper, this seems to fix the primary complaint that Kirby Smart had.
Except it really doesn’t.
Beyond leaving tickets, coaches still can’t actually talk to recruits at the game because they aren’t on their own campus.
Georgia will be the “home” team in 2022, so we will let them go first and figure this out.
But in 2023, it does seem a bit silly that Billy Napier can leave tickets for a recruit, but can’t actually talk to them until both parties are 74 miles down the road.
And truth is for all of Smart’s complaining that the World’s Largest, um, Gathering Of People Who Like To Consume A Specific Beverage hurts recruiting, is anyone really buying that narrative?
”Coach I would have committed to you, but I had to visit campus during Florida vs LSU instead of Florida vs Georgia”
Georgia has done just fine in recruiting and Billy Napier appears to be doing very well for himself.
Maybe in the old age of recruiting, having recruits for this game would be a major factor.
But in the age of NIL, the game a recruit attends is a minor factor by comparison.
Having recruits in Jacksonville may satisfy Smart for now, but I don’t expect it to cause any seismic shifts in the recruiting landscape.