Taking Advantage of the Florida's Downfall, UCF Must Strike Now with Recruiting
ORLANDO - When the Florida Gators lose four of five games, sit with an overall record of 4-5, and quite frankly look like a SEC bottom dweller based on their performance against South Carolina, it’s big news.
It’s also a time when UCF can make a move with recruiting against the Florida Football program.
While Florida could be considered the school most people associate with being the top traditional program in the state of Florida, there are going to be recruits committed to Florida looking around, as well as numerous other recruits reconsider their position with wanting to attend Florida with what’s happened in Gainesville this season.
Beginning with committed recruits, this is going to be a really interesting situation for the coaching staff for the Gators as they go into damage-control mode and try to salvage their recruiting class. It’s going to be very difficult, and that’s even the case for local commitments.
With eight in-state recruits committed to the Gators, UCF and many other programs are likely to communicate with those prospects. Will any of them listen? That’s why recruiting tends to be fascinating. These are 17-year olds. Who knows?
The Sunshine State talent that’s committed to Florida is quite impressive, and any one of the eight commitments could certainly jump off the sinking ship that is Florida Football and head for dry land.
Maybe that’s UCF, perhaps that’s another institution. Time will tell the tale. Of course the biggest news regarding Florida happened since their disaster in Columbia, S.C., which will also increase the chances of the Gators losing recruits.
After the unsurprising removal of Offensive Line Coach John Hevesy and Defensive Coordinator Todd Grantham, Florida’s Football program still has several issues to deal with, beginning with how recruits will look at the situation. Consider the following from a 17-year olds' perspective, with any of the following questions possibly impacting a recruit's decision.
For a recruit, which coach(es) will be recruiting me for Florida? Who will my position coach be? Will there be more coaching changes at Florida? Will Head Coach Dan Mullen still be at Florida during my entire four-year career at Florida if I decide to go there?
Recruits have a lot of questions to ask themselves, as well as those people still representing the Florida Football program. It's an uncertain time, and recruits know it.
While visiting with top-notch recruit Matthew McCoy on Monday, Nov. 8, a player previously strongly considering the Gators, it was obvious that he was in shock as to what was happening in Gainesville. Just by his body language and how different he answered questions about official visits, he was understandably taken back by what's transpired at Florida. Here's what McCoy stated about Florida:
“Still thinking about Florida...on the tenth of December (for an official visit).”
Visiting with him roughly a month ago, however, McCoy's message was different. It was obvious that Florida was near or at the top of his prospective choices for a college destination at that time.
Matthew McCoy, Offensive Tackle, Saint Augustine (Fla.) Creekside
The last time he was interviewed by Inside The Knights, he was definitely visiting Florida. To be clear, McCoy could still very easily end up in Gainesville. He simply does not know who the next offensive line coach for Florida will be, just for starters, and it’s a wait and see situation for him with the Gators.
McCoy is a microcosm of the recruits that are likely in wait and see mode with which coaches stay or leave Gainesville, as well as which coaches join the staff. This is not just a class of 2022 situation either.
Recruiting has accelerated. Class of 2023 and 2024 recruits have done their best to get to Orlando and visit UCF. They are probably puzzled with what’s going on in Gainesville, too. UCF will be battling Florida for many prospects in those classes, too.
The UCF coaching staff and recruiting administrative staff have done a tremendous job of bringing in top-notch underclassmen recruits to see the Knights play in person during the 2021 season. That was going to pay dividends to begin with, and now that’s heightened with Florida’s program being unsettled.
Just this past weekend, UCF hosted 2023 defensive end Lamont Green, Jr. and 2023 wide receiver Jalen Brown, two of the top prospects in the country. Both players attend Gulliver Prep in Miami.
Jalen Brown is one of the top recruits in the country for the class of 2023
Brown could pick from numerous top schools and he’s one of the fastest players in the country.
Green’s recruitment is much the same way. He’s committed to Florida State but there’s still time to change his mind with programs like Alabama and Auburn, among many, that would love to see him in their school colors.
Final Thoughts
Will UCF suddenly move past the Gators and become the top landing spot for recruits in Florida? Of course not. Florida is “State U” and it’s in the SEC. UCF will have to earn taht distinction over a period of time, and there will be numerous recruiting battles between the two schools.
With that stated, UCF can certainly strike while the iron is hot and make its mark with numerous recruits from the classes of 2022, 2023, and 2024.
They already beat the Gators for Lakeland (Fla.) High school defensive end recruit Keahnist Thompson, just as one example. With the removal of assistant coaches and all the turmoil in Gainesville, it shall not be a surprise to see more recruits picking UCF over Florida in the near future.