Florida head coach Jim McElwain is ready to close on his second full recruiting cycle at Florida. (Photo: Kelly Streeter/UAA Communications)
Carter's Corner: Gators Can Finish Strong on NSD
Tuesday, January 31, 2017 | Football, Scott Carter
The recruiting websites have taken notice of the Gators' recent surge.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – For some fans, National Signing Day stirs the emotions more than a rivalry game between ranked opponents.
The Internet and social media allows diehard recruitniks to stay connected 24/7 in the most fanatical subgenre of college football. And that fanaticism peaks from the end of the bowl season to National Signing Day, which is Wednesday. Check out our coverage on FloridaGators.com starting bright and early.
If you follow Florida recruiting closely, you know the emotions have been zany these past three weeks. That's life when you hitch your heart and mind to the whims of 18-year-olds.
This is where this story gets sort of tricky. As an official member of the University Athletic Association, I am not allowed per NCAA rules to comment publicly on recruits until their National Letter of Intent is signed, sealed and delivered to the compliance office. No different than coaches.
Instead of referring specifically to players who may or may not have inspired those ChompChomp and Swamp17 tweets from UF head coach Jim McElwain and his staff, my focus is on the overall tone of the recruitniks regarding Florida's efforts toward National Signing Day.
This is McElwain's third recruiting cycle at UF, and second full cycle. You may recall his main task in 2015 after replacing Will Muschamp was to build relationships quickly and try to maintain the class and round it out in the few weeks he had to work.
In wake of the perceived negative attitude toward the Gators' 2017 class, I was a bit shocked to be reminded that at the start of NSD two years ago, Florida's class was ranked 57th by Rivals.com, 52nd by Scout.com, and 42nd by 247Sports.com. And then a wave of late additions such as running back Jordan Scarlett, offensive lineman Martez Ivey, linebacker Kylan Johnson and receiver Antonio Callaway provided a significant boost in the rankings of the four major recruiting websites.
"We were able to get some things done,'' McElwain said at the end of the day. "The momentum that we've gained has been fantastic."
In McElwain's first full recruiting cycle a year ago, the Gators added a school-record 12 early enrollees and 13 more players on NSD. Once again, late additions boosted the class and Florida finished the day in the rankings at No. 10 (Scout.com), No. 12 (ESPN.com), No. 13 (247Sports.com) and No. 14 (Rivals.com).
Fast forward to today.
As of this writing, the Gators' current class will be ranked significantly higher than at the start of NSD two years ago and above or on par with 2016 based on which recruiting service you prefer.
Currently, ESPN.com has Florida's class ranked No. 20, Rivals.com No. 17, Scout.com No. 16, and 247Sports.com No. 19.
That's a composite average of 18th with definite room to climb if the Gators get some players left on their board Wednesday.
So, while many fans have appeared ready to hit the panic button the past two weeks, McElwain and his staff continued to plug away. This isn't their first rodeo.
"I love this time of year. Because we had an opportunity to add some new guys to our family, to our team, to Gator Nation. I know we had a great recruiting class."
That was McElwain a year ago. Don't be surprised if he expresses a similar tone Wednesday afternoon once all those NLIs are signed, sealed and delivered to the compliance office.
The Internet and social media allows diehard recruitniks to stay connected 24/7 in the most fanatical subgenre of college football. And that fanaticism peaks from the end of the bowl season to National Signing Day, which is Wednesday. Check out our coverage on FloridaGators.com starting bright and early.If you follow Florida recruiting closely, you know the emotions have been zany these past three weeks. That's life when you hitch your heart and mind to the whims of 18-year-olds.
This is where this story gets sort of tricky. As an official member of the University Athletic Association, I am not allowed per NCAA rules to comment publicly on recruits until their National Letter of Intent is signed, sealed and delivered to the compliance office. No different than coaches.
Instead of referring specifically to players who may or may not have inspired those ChompChomp and Swamp17 tweets from UF head coach Jim McElwain and his staff, my focus is on the overall tone of the recruitniks regarding Florida's efforts toward National Signing Day.
This is McElwain's third recruiting cycle at UF, and second full cycle. You may recall his main task in 2015 after replacing Will Muschamp was to build relationships quickly and try to maintain the class and round it out in the few weeks he had to work.
In wake of the perceived negative attitude toward the Gators' 2017 class, I was a bit shocked to be reminded that at the start of NSD two years ago, Florida's class was ranked 57th by Rivals.com, 52nd by Scout.com, and 42nd by 247Sports.com. And then a wave of late additions such as running back Jordan Scarlett, offensive lineman Martez Ivey, linebacker Kylan Johnson and receiver Antonio Callaway provided a significant boost in the rankings of the four major recruiting websites.
"We were able to get some things done,'' McElwain said at the end of the day. "The momentum that we've gained has been fantastic."
In McElwain's first full recruiting cycle a year ago, the Gators added a school-record 12 early enrollees and 13 more players on NSD. Once again, late additions boosted the class and Florida finished the day in the rankings at No. 10 (Scout.com), No. 12 (ESPN.com), No. 13 (247Sports.com) and No. 14 (Rivals.com).
Fast forward to today.
As of this writing, the Gators' current class will be ranked significantly higher than at the start of NSD two years ago and above or on par with 2016 based on which recruiting service you prefer.
Currently, ESPN.com has Florida's class ranked No. 20, Rivals.com No. 17, Scout.com No. 16, and 247Sports.com No. 19.
That's a composite average of 18th with definite room to climb if the Gators get some players left on their board Wednesday.
So, while many fans have appeared ready to hit the panic button the past two weeks, McElwain and his staff continued to plug away. This isn't their first rodeo.
"I love this time of year. Because we had an opportunity to add some new guys to our family, to our team, to Gator Nation. I know we had a great recruiting class."
That was McElwain a year ago. Don't be surprised if he expresses a similar tone Wednesday afternoon once all those NLIs are signed, sealed and delivered to the compliance office.
Players Mentioned
WR
/ Football
OL
/ Football
LB
/ Football
RB
/ FootballUp Next presented by UF Health 11-14-25
Friday, November 14
Florida Women's Basketball | Nyadieng "Nidi" Yiech Scores Career-High 18 PTS in 14 MINS 🔥
Friday, November 14
Florida Cross Country | ON SITE for NCAA South Regional 📍
Friday, November 14
Florida Women's Basketball | Postgame Press Conference | Samford
Friday, November 14
