Tuesday's Take: Tim Brewster Will Push Florida Over The Hump
It was December of 2013.
Five-star running back out of Miami Central High School, Dalvin Cook, was firmly committed to his favorite team growing up, the Florida Gators. But the No. 2 running back in the nation received two visits that month from an assistant coach from UF's biggest rival.
Then-FSU tight ends coach and assistant head coach Tim Brewster visited Cook's home in Miami twice, once on Dec. 9 and once on Dec. 15. Sixteen days later, the prospect flipped from the Gators to the Seminoles. Cook went on to have one of the most decorated careers in FSU history, rushing for over 4,000 yards and over 40 touchdowns.
And make no mistake, this doesn't stop at Cook. Brewster has recruited some of college football's most elite athletes of all time to whatever school he was at at the time. He helped get quarterback Vince Young to Texas before getting Cook to Tallahassee.
He also has proven an elite ability to develop talent. While at FSU, he turned Nick O'Leary into an All-American. During his small stint in the NFL, he is largely responsible for finding and developing future NFL Hall of Fame tight end Antonio Gates.
And don't forget about this past season, when Brewster helped lure quarterback Sam Howell away from his former school, FSU, to come to his new school, North Carolina. Howell was sensational in his true freshman season for the Tar Heels, throwing 38 touchdowns to just seven interceptions, and over 3,500 yards.
Now, Brewster, with all of this decoration to his résumé, is a Gator.
This is the biggest staff hire coach Dan Mullen has made since he arrived back in Gainesville to be the head man of this program. Brewster will push UF forward that extra distance to get to where Mullen and the fan base so badly want to go. Here is how.
Mullen and Co. have been sensational in their first two seasons in orange and blue. When you take over a 4-7 program, it is hard to churn out two New Year's Six bowl wins and two double-digit winning seasons. It is hard to squeeze good quarterback play out of a QB room that has provided nothing to its fan base in a decade. It is hard to win big-time games against teams that appear to have more talent than you do.
Yet here we are.
Mullen has done all of those things. And he has given Gator fans every reason to believe he will continue to, and get even better at it. However, throughout his two-year tenure, what has been the one complaint about Mullen and most of his staff?
Recruiting.
And not just recruiting, but closing.
UF is at the point now where its on-field track record is good enough to reel in top-10 classes annually. There is no reason to think that won't be the norm for years to come. However, those guys on Early and National Signing Day with multiple hats on the table?
For the most part, they haven't been choosing the orange and blue one.
With Brewster? They will. He could be the difference between running back Jahmyr Gibbs staying committed to Georgia Tech or flipping to Florida. He could be the difference between safety Avantae Williams choosing Miami or Florida. He could be the difference between wide receiver Sam Brown choosing West Virginia or Florida.
He could be the difference between top 10 and top five. And that could be the push for a College Football Playoff berth.
