Gators Sprint Toward Early National Signing Day

Gators Director of Player Personnel Drew Hughes has faced a unique -- but not unfamiliar -- challenge over the past month in helping new Gators head coach evaluate recruits quickly with Wednesday's early National Signing Day on the schedule. (Photo: Courtney Culbreath/UAA Communications)

Gators Sprint Toward Early National Signing Day

Tuesday, December 19, 2017 | Football, Scott Carter

While Dan Mullen and his staff hit the road, Drew Hughes, Lee Begley and others worked at a frenetic pace behind the scenes to secure a strong recruiting class.

By: Scott Carter, Senior Writer

GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- On Wednesday afternoon, once the smoke clears on the first college football National Signing Day held in December, Gators head coach Dan Mullen will hold a press conference to discuss the inaugural group of Gators signed since he took over the program Nov. 26.

Mullen, his assistant coaches, and the 10 to 15 players expected to sign serve as the face of NSD for Florida fans.

Drew Hughes and Lee Begley are not as prominent in the public consciousness, but make no mistake, their fingerprints will be all over Florida's signing class Wednesday and in February on the traditional NSD.

Hughes is in his fifth season -- and third head coach -- as Florida's director of player personnel. Begley is in her fourth week as Florida's director of recruiting operations.

The two have worked closely together along with 10 or so other behind-the-scene staffers in UF's recruiting office to secure Mullen's first signing class. While Mullen and his assistants have crisscrossed the state and country, UF's football offices have served as the epicenter of the Gators' recruiting efforts.

Hughes arrived at UF in January 2014 to work for Will Muschamp. He stayed on when Jim McElwain was hired in December 2014, and when Mullen's hiring was announced 23 day ago, Hughes grabbed an important notebook and got to work.

"Transition is difficult for everybody,'' Hughes said. "I remember the first time, going from Muschamp to Mac, after it was over I sat down and wrote down six, seven, eight things that I knew I was going to have to have if this ever happened again. This time I pulled out the list, got evaluations on the current roster, had the board ready. They were going to have immediate information available."

Mullen arrived in town with his wife, Megan, their two kids, and Begley on the morning of Nov. 27 for his introductory press conference. Mullen hired Begley seven years ago at Mississippi State to help recruiting efforts once she finished graduate school at Alabama.

She did not hesitate to join him at Florida.

"He didn't really offer me the job,'' said Begley, on the right in her tweet below. "He said, 'you're on the plane tomorrow, right?' I guess so. Let's go."

Campus tour.. Enjoying some December Florida weather.???? pic.twitter.com/9qMvK6qeJ9
— Lee Begley (@leewdavis17) December 6, 2017

Mullen spent a majority of his first couple of days watching film of more than 100 potential UF targets, whether they were already being recruited at Florida, Mississippi State or newcomers introduced from a large pool inspired by the coaching change.

"It's just a gigantic puzzle piece,'' Hughes said. "It's like 72 hours of trying to put a puzzle together. What may have fit in the past regime may not fit now. That's the scramble."

Meanwhile, Begley flew back to Starkville with Mullen's family for an overnight stay and then made the nine-hour drive back to Gainesville the next day. She has lived out of suitcase in a local hotel as the Gators raced to sign a strong class.

She spent the past two weekends hosting recruits and their families on official visits. That was after Mullen told her to come up with a plan to sell recruits on a place she had never been.

"It's been whirlwind, for sure, especially coming into a new place,'' she said. "When we were at Mississippi State, our class was set. We had most of the class signing on Signing Day. Coming here and you have to learn our new recruits.

"When you've been somewhere, you've been recruiting the same players for a year, you know everything about them. Having to learn all about a new class in a week -- because they are coming in the next weekend -- it was a whirlwind. But it was good. Everybody has been great and it's like a family."

As the days unfolded, Hughes worked with Mullen on roster management and fed the coaches as much information as possible as some recruits decommitted and others showed renewed interest.

"So they could hit the road running,'' he said. "That's the main thing. You are constantly contingency planning and looking ahead."

In the world of college football, nothing compares to NSD. A year ago when Hughes finally retired for the day, he noticed his Fitbit had tracked 22,000 steps during the day. That amount really registered when soon afterward, on a trip to New York with his wife, Hughes walked 33,000 steps touring one of the world's largest cities.

Still, this month is unlike any other for Hughes. Besides the coaching change, the NCAA's introduction of a Dec. 20-22 signing period has played havoc with traditional schedules around the country.

"You have staffs that are still being built, and in some cases, kids who don't know who their position coaches are going to be,'' Hughes said. "All that stuff, you've got to figure out. It's really all about prioritizing. It takes a village."

That has never been more true than the past three-plus weeks. Usually, a new coach has at least a couple of months to finalize his first signing class. Mullen is one of a number of coaches from around the country who had to recruit at warp speed once the coaching carousel slowed down.

Hughes and Begley have yet to pump the brakes.

"I tell people I know how to get from my hotel to the office, and that's about it,'' Begley said. "It's kind of funny. When I'm with these recruits, I apologize, but I have to turn on m GPS to drive around Gainesville. We're touring together. We're seeing everything together for the first time."