Coach Meyer Discusses 2006 Signing Class
Wednesday, February 1, 2006 | Football
University of Florida football head coach Urban Meyer spoke with the media Wednesday evening about the 2006 signing class:
“I've been recruiting now for over 20 years, and the longer I am involved, the more I admire and respect the student athletes and what they are faced with. Looking back, these guys are faced with a much different series of issues than we dealt with. You see the anguish that some of them go through in recruiting, and a lot of times the fans are looking to see the final score.
“The decisions are always affected by some unbelievable situations. I have great respect for these young guys. I admire them. It's very easy to not play sports and very easy to not have to make a decision when you are 17-years-old and select a university. I've heard coaches say selecting a university is a lot like buying a car. I thought to myself it's not like that because you can sell a car. I equate it to selecting a bride because you aren't supposed to trade in your bride. You are supposed to be stuck with that person for the next four years of your life. I tell those kids, 'Wait a minute. You are making a decision. Whether you like it or not, you are attached to this university for the next four years of your life.' I think that's when young people sit back and say, 'What did this guy just say? Four years of my life? I'm 18 years old.' So I admire these young people and what they go through.
“It's different now, and we need to know that. I want to be an ambassador for these young guys for the next couple of months and let people know what they are going through. They have all different kinds of pressures on them. They will have three different people calling them telling them different things, and an uncle calls and says, 'You need to go here.' These young men are under a lot of pressure.”
“We are fortunate at Florida to not only recruit premiere athletes but premiere student-athletes, and this class is really representative of that fact. They are high-character people, and this is critical and should be critical to the University of Florida. The coaches and I have a great relationship with these guys. This was a great day for Gator football.
“I am excited about starting up our off-season program on Monday. We have to make sure that all these guys will make it, which they should. This is a really good class. I will not say that it is a great class because you will evaluate that in another three years. If they graduate, if they help you win championships and if they are fortunate if they make it to the NFL - that's how you truly evaluate a class.”
