GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The won-loss jury won't deliver a final verdict for at least a couple of years. Such is the arc of life for a recruiting class.
Nevertheless, as first impressions go, the Gators' inaugural haul of recruits with head coach
Dan Mullen making the phone calls and eating mom's homemade pie has the look of a winner. In charge of a program in complete transition mode the past two months, Mullen and his staff crossed the finish line late Wednesday afternoon with their arms raised.
A closing flurry of activity -- Florida officially signed receiver Jacob Copeland, offensive lineman Richard Gouriage and defensive lineman Malik Langham in the hour prior to Mullen's press conference –
increased the final tally to six players signed Wednesday.
Multi-purpose athlete Justin Watkins, offensive lineman Griffin McDowell and linebacker Drew Chatfield joined the fold early in the day, leaving the Gators guessing at some other players still on the board.
They missed on defensive tackle Malcolm Lamar (Florida State) and defensive back Noah Boykin (Notre Dame), but rebounded nicely with Copeland, Langham and Gouriage late.
"Signing day is always a fluid situation, but a good day for us,'' Mullen said. "Excited about the guys that are coming to join our family. I think our coaches did a really good job of identifying guys that are going to fit what the 'Gator Standard' is and what our expectations are of guys coming into the program."
More than anything, Wednesday proved to be a sturdy bookend to what the Gators accomplished in December during the early national signing period, which halved one of college football's biggest events for the first time. The Gators added 15 players in December, highlighted by the addition of quarterback Emory Jones and a pair of talented transfer receivers in Travon Grimes (Ohio State) and Van Jefferson (Ole Miss). Team doctors declared defensive back Randy Russell medically ineligible during pre-participation exams due to a heart abnormality. He remains in school on scholarship.
Despite the loss of Russell and the fact national recruiting rankings do not account for Division I transfers such as Grimes and Jefferson, Florida placed in the top 20 of all three major recruiting services as of Wednesday evening: 14th (
247Sports.com), 18th (ESPN.com) and 18th (
Rival.com).
Is it where Mullen wants to be? No. Is it a good place to be considering the circumstances? You bet.
The Gators finished 4-7 last season and hired Mullen less than a month before the early signing period. Some recruits stayed. Others left. Mullen scrambled to fill the holes and hire a coaching staff.
A little more than two months into the job, Mullen bounced with energy from his press conference to the team's indoor practice facility to speak to a group of more than 500 fans.
His excitement spilled into the crowd.
"I don't expect an empty seat for the spring game,'' he said.
Regardless of the final verdict on this class, Mullen has re-energized a program that needed a double shot of espresso. They got another dose Wednesday when Copeland, considered one of the state's top receivers, announced on national television his plans to come to UF.
His mother, seated next to him wearing a Tennessee beanie and Alabama sweatshirt, walked away when he announced his intentions. You had to feel for Copeland, his shining moment awkwardly tainted. Fortunately, cameras showed he and his mom embraced shortly thereafter, and within the hour, his NLI had arrived at UF.
Drama is part of what makes National Signing Day one of the most special and cringe-worthy days on the American sports calendar.
"I think he's had a lot of stress put on him, a lot of people trying to pull him in different directions, and you know, the one thing I always told him is just say, 'hey, you've got to block that out. You've got to see and know what's best for you and your future,' " Mullen said. "When he sat down and he did a lot of soul searching and a lot of praying, and he found that he knew in his heart this is where he belonged, that's what you want out of this process."
The Gators got some of what they wanted out of the process Wednesday. Mullen wants more. He knows the Gators need it to get where he wants to take them.
"I have really high expectations for the program," he said. "Hopefully we continue to grow and continue to build, and every year we have a better signing class than we had the year before."
The last time the Gators had a coaching change in 2015, those same three major recruiting services ranked their recruiting class 23rd, 21st and 20th.
They are making progress.
