Dan Mullen Talks Recruiting, Virtual Tours, Transfer Portal, and Last Dance Doc
As the offseason rages on into June, Dan Mullen and his Gators are re-focused on getting back to campus and working towards becoming a better football team for the 2020 season.
Despite the constant bustling schedule, Mullen found time to sit down with world-renowned punter and now the host of his own podcast, Pat McAfee. McAfee and Mullen chopped it up for over 20 minutes, going over many topics relevant to current society, football, and more.
McAfee was fascinated with the ESPN Last Dance Documentary based on Michael Jordan, and Mullen also found it compelling as he said he wants recruits to come to him with that killer instinct that the greatest basketball player of all time had.
"I want Jordan's on my team, you know, I want those guys, but then as a coach, your job is to manage the team and make sure [to] balance everybody within that organization. I want that guy that is gonna go out and I mean - wants to win"
Mullen continued on to say, "I want a guy to sit in my office when I'm getting ready to recruit him, I want him to say what Jordan was saying then to me and I'm gonna say 'hey, we want you to be a Gator' - those ultimate competitors."
Shifting gears, Mullen was asked about the difficulty of conducting virtual visits during the pandemic. No player may physically visit the program during the NCAA's mandated dead period which has extended to July 31st. While Mullen did indicate the virtual visits have been a "very, very different experience", he and his staff have come up with innovative methods to showcase the University of Florida campus.
Mullen explained to McAfee that the team was using software to show off the campus. "We're flying around campus on google maps and other stuff, 'hey, let's go over to this building and virtually talk to these people. So I think it's kinda crazy, " Mullen admitted.
Making a switch to the topic of the transfer portal, Mullen explained how he has coached players who made a "major impact" on his program from the portal. Players such as Jonathan Greenard, Van Jefferson, Trevon Grimes, Adam Shuler, and more have been assets for the Gators over the past couple of seasons.
Although the rules and waiver forms have been inconsistent, Mullen stated plainly, "it is what it is" and described how his staff has continuously adapted to the changes.
Mullen goes on to explain how there were more athletes in the transfer portal than scholarships available, which did not include any freshman taking up scholarships on that statistic. Those are a few of the issues Mullen has with the portal itself, stating it actually "hurt" the players involved in some aspects.
Mullen elaborated, stating he would like a "one for one" type system. For instance, if one player from Florida enters the transfer portal, he should be able to sign someone out of the transfer portal as a replacement. Mullen continues on to explain how this would be best for both the players and the programs without hindering high school recruits.
To end the interview, Mullen made sure to mention one of the most interesting points he's made to parents of prospective students, including how successful the last two seasons have been for the Gators.
"In each of the last two seasons, we're the only school in the country that was a top-10 public university academically and top-10 in football. I don't have to put spins on things, it's a great point. We don't get the credit academically out there - we're the 7th ranked public school in the United States."
