Jim McElwain knew the moment he was hired back in December to be the head coach of the Florida Gators football program that he had the incredibly difficult task in front of him of improving a recruiting class in the high 80’s and only a very short time to work with.
Coach McElwain found himself firmly behind the eight ball with only a short period of time to build relationships with recruits and try to convince them to buy into his vision to rebuild the program. Other coaches across the country had months and years to build these same relationships.
McElwain had about a week on the job before the “recruiting dead period” began, which prevents all contact from coaches and schools to recruits during the thirty day period that overlaps the holidays. Once that dead period ended, McElwain and his staff had exactly two weeks to swing for the fences and build the best class possible.
McElwain was also left with next to nothing from previous head coach Will Muschamp in terms of verbal commitments when he accepted the job, with only eight recruits declaring their intentions of attending the University. This allowed McElwain to target his own group of players and start a foundation for the type of recruits he’d like to bring in when allowed more time to locate and target talent.
Not only was McElwain cleaning up Muschamp’s mess in the program, he also had to deal with recently fired Gators head coach Will Muschamp accepting a job to be the defensive coordinator at Auburn and directly recruit against many of Florida’s top targets the McElwain remained interested in. Muschamp has undoubtedly focused on the negative areas of the program, including facilities that have fallen behind, unrealistic expectations of the fan base, and his extremely negative experience as a whole at the school to try and sway these young men who he has built relationships with over a great deal of time into following him to Auburn. This was a big hurdle for the Gators recruiting staff and defensive end Bryan Cowart and linebacker Jeffery Holland were swayed to leave Florida and join Muschamp at Auburn. Muschamp was also able to lend a hand in obtaining Javarius Davis and Ryan Smith for the Tigers as well. Muschamp made his presence known for Auburn and it’s a painful blow, but hopefully this will be the last blow he delivers to Gator Nation and the program will finally be able to finally move on.
McElwain knows he needs to build a team from the inside out. The defensive line is a talented unit with Bryan Cox Jr. returning, but will be dealing with the early departure of Dante Fowler Jr. to the NFL. One of the crown jewels of the entire nation, CeCe Jefferson is a great get for McElwain and should help ease the transition. Florida would’ve liked to have paired the duo together, but if they could only get one, they probably would’ve picked CeCe anyway. If he didn’t get injured in his third game during his senior year in high school, he may have very well been the number one ranked defensive end, if not player in the nation.
The Gators are looking at multiple departures on the offensive line, including D.J. Humphries to the NFL. With only eight scholarship players remaining they will likely be blowing things up and start rebuilding from the the ground up. McElwain was able to land the top ranked offensive tackle in the nation, Martez Ivey to help anchor the new look offensive line. Ivey is 6’8”, 275 pounds and is a sign that McElwain will be looking for extremely big, physical offensive linemen. Ivey should compete for a spot right away as the Gators try to make a quick transition to having a powerful offensive line.
Florida is bringing in six new offensive linemen to the 2015 class allowing for the coaching staff to create a highly competitive environment with the returning players. McElwain and Nussmeier had big, physical offensive lines at Alabama that would overpower the opposition to pave the way for several massively productive running backs. They are looking to re-create that success in Gainesville. The emphasis on the run may be even stronger in year one with no Quarterback being brought on board or an established starter. That could also be a sign of McElwain’s confidence in either Treon Harris or Will Grier to be his guy for the next few years. The quarterback position battle will be one to watch throughout the spring and early fall practices.
Jordan Scarlett is a 5’11”, 222 lbs running back from Miami who will join the the Gators. Florida got a small token of revenge on Muschamp and Auburn by snagging Auburn running back de-commit D’Anfrenee McGriff. Jordan Cronkrite completes the new trio of incoming backs that will come in to push Kelvin Taylor and Adam Lane.
Its pleasurable news when you receive the commitments of highly ranked young men such as CeCe Jefferson and Martez Ivey, but it’s the 16 three star athletes that will make or break this class. Coach McElwain will take great pride in coaching them up and getting the most out of them while putting them in the best position to succeed.
There is no doubt that the opportunity to fight for early playing time was something that appealed to many of the recruits making their way to Gainesville. McElwain is going to want to play as many of his own players as he can justify, continuing to lay the foundation for the future and building a long-term winning program. The very best performers from last years team will all need to go into spring practice ready to fight for their positions.
One of the biggest positive signs from National Signing Day was McElwain’s success in the school’s home state of Florida. The Gators picked up 15 in-state commits (5 from neighboring Georgia, 1 from Texas) and will need to continue to expand their in-state foot print. Jimbo Fisher has been very successful in-state and the Gators have lost out on a number of recruits to Florida State in recent years, including Dalvon Cook last off-season. They want to change the narrative in the state of Florida and supplant Florida State at the top, the quickest way to do that is to win on the field.
The Gators took a direct shot at the Miami Hurricanes. The Gators have five players from Miami, due in large part to the contributions of new linebacker coach Randy Shannon. Shannon is a former head coach of the Hurricanes and has strong ties throughout high schools in not only the Miami area but the entire state of Florida. His contributions paid off in a big way for the Gators and he will likely continue to be a thorn in the side of both the Hurricanes and the rest of the SEC. His presence gives the Gators a bigger reach into Miami and may pay bigger dividends than they are used to seeing from the area.
Here is a full list of the class:
2015 Florida Gators Football Recruiting Class
Martez Ivey OT Apopka, FL *****
CeCe Jefferson DE Glen Saint Mary, FL *****
Jordan Scarlett RB Ft. Lauderdale, FL ****
Jordan Cronkrite RB Miami, FL ****
D’Andernee McGriff RB Tallahassee, FL ****
Daniel Imatorbhebhe TE Suwanee, GA ***
Kalif Jackson WR Neptune Beach, FL ***
Antonio Callaway WR Miami, FL ***
Tyler Jordan OC Jacksonville, FL ***
Chris Williamson CB Gainesville, GA ***
Jabari Zuniga DE Marietta, GA ***
Brandon Sandifer OG Warner Robins, GA ***
Camrin Knight TE Tallahassee, FL ***
Andrew Ivie DT Dade City, FL
Keivonnis Davis DE Miami, FL ***
Richerd Desir-Jones DT Ft. Lauderdale, FL ***
Kylan Johnson S Dallas, TX ***
Fredrick Johnson OT West Palm Beach, FL ***
Nick Buchanan OT Atlanta, GA ***
Luke Ancrum DE Sebring, FL ***
Rayshad Jackson OLB Miami, FL ***
Now that National Signing Day has come to pass and the dust has settled, the Gators have to be happy with their recruiting class. They made the best of a poor situation, with a coaching change very late in the recruiting process. However, their staff made the most of the time they were given and were able to sign a good looking class on paper. It will be their job to put in the work to try and make them better and get the most out of them possible. They are off to a good start.
* All rankings come from 247sports.com
* CeCe Jefferson committed to Florida, but as of this writing has yet to send in his Letter of Intent.
Thank you for reading. Please take a moment to follow me on Twitter – @CTaylorLWOS. Support LWOS by following us on Twitter – @LastWordOnSport and @LWOSworld – and “liking” our Facebook page.
Have you tuned into Last Word On Sports Radio? LWOS is pleased to bring you 24/7 sports radio to your PC, laptop, tablet or smartphone. What are you waiting for?
