It’s early, but Florida’s 2020 class is shaping up to be one of the nation’s best.
The Gators landed a commitment Monday night from four-star wide receiver Leonard Manuel out of Vanguard High.
110%🧡💙🐊 IM A FLORIDA GATOR!!
No Interviews (everyone) pic.twitter.com/LjSlO36TI6
— MoZac™️🔮 (@Begreatliltone2) January 15, 2019
— Dan Mullen (@CoachDanMullen) January 15, 2019
Manuel, ranked the No. 36 overall prospect in the 2020 class by 247Sports, isn’t the only top-ranked prospect out of Vanguard committed to the Gators — five-star defensive end Bryce Langston and four-star wide receiver Trevonte Rucker committed to Florida’s 2021 class at the conclusion of UF’s 9-3 finish to the regular season.
With Manuel’s commitment, the Gators have eight commitments in the 2020 class, which is ranked No. 3 overall by 247Sports.
We have to start locking up Florida and dislodging the out of state powers from their stranglehold on the state. It looks like 2020 may start that process in a big way. For the state of Florida football sake FSU and Miami need to do it too. The demise of the Big 3 has seen the ascension of OSU, BAMA, Clemson, and UGA. They have pillaged our state. Need to take it back.
What difference does it make if a recruit goes out of State or goes to FSU or Miami? We gain no advantage by having kids choose FSU or Miami, on the contrary that is a disadvantage for us. If we lose a recruit might as well have him go out of State and not make our direct competition better.
Florida State can kiss my !@#$%^&*. I would love for them to have the worst recruiting class in the country and go 0-12 every year. We do not need FSU to be in the top 25 any more for us to reach our goals. Our SEC schedule and the SEC Championship game is more than enough. As for Miami, I would love to see them do better than FSU, like winning one game per year and that game would be the FSU/Miami game. I hope all 50 Miami fans celebrate by getting naked on South Beach and losing their watches after the game.
MKF, I sure like the way you think. Are you sure we weren’t separated at birth, 12 or 15 years apart? No — forget I said that, I wouldn’t wish that on anybody!
You and Jaws should, however, collaborate on a book about Florida’s foes. Keep up the good (and colorful) work!
FSU 0 – 12
Miami 1 – 11
I like it!
With Willie, we may get our wish! Now, I don’t know about Manny, but it’s sure scary that he turned down a power house like Temple for a team that perpetually plays in a half filled stadium.
Actually, when f$u plays away, I root for a plane crash.
Wow.
I hope thats a joke!
Of course Daz, exaggerated dislike for the holes? Humor? Pick one.
Mkfgator:…howling!
I just have a different way of looking at it. We can easily win the SEC title and even the National title if we lose to FSU or Miami. We probably won’t win either if we lose to BAMA or UGA. So I’d rather FSU or Miami be strong than UGA or BAMA because they have a greater impact on our season. If we are talking strictly recruiting, then I guess I want UGA or BAMA to be better because they don’t hand our trophies for recruiting. While we want everybody to be horrible that’s not usually the way things work. Everybody can’t be a sub .500 team. I want trophies not congrats. No moral victories here.
It’s not hard to figure that if FSU and Miami suck, some other team(s) is going to reap all the recruiting rewards and potential titles that matter. UGA and BAMA are the most likely recipients plus they will dominate there own states. One of the reasons BAMA is so good is because most of their best running backs and receivers have come from Florida over the last 6 years. Historically UF has never EVER done better than signing 8-10 of the top 20 Florida players. Those other 10-12 players have to go somewhere. I don’t want to them going to UGA or BAMA and they didn’t when Meyer and Spurrier where here. They went to FSU or Miami.
Chris Steele has the personality and the leadership to be a great recruiter when recruits visit the campus. The kid just has that “it”. Look forward to him being on the team for at least the next three years. The recruiting ball is now rolling fast down the 2020 and 2021 lane.
Looks like Mullen is finally learning how to recruit, took him a couple of years to get the hang of it but seems 2020 and beyond he may finally be on par with Master Kirby The Great.
How do “year 2” and “finally” not cancel each other out?
He cancels himself out before he starts typing on here.
💩💩💩💩💩💩💩
Swampy…LOL!!!
I think he recruited well from the very beginning. he came in late in a fiasco of a year and saved the class.That was remarkable. And this year’s class is shaping up to be an excellent class. Kirby has the advantage when you have boosters who cheat like they do. Justin Fields wanted to come here bc of Mullen. He went to Georgia bc of money. Short term gain, long term suffering for them.
Those boosters need to exercise caution, if that’s actually the dirty little secret. It has happened before, and it surely can happen again.
You wouldnt believe how much money is going to athletes families thru boosters. Dan Mullen had a very good article(interview) while at MsSt that explained just how and what was being done elsewhere and he would have none of it! He also explained just how hard it was to compete against it.
Mkf…I see it the same way, I think he has done a magnificent job, saving the 1st one and elevating the 2nd one.
I still don’t get the criticism of Mullen’s recruiting. The guy had a higher winning percentage and went to more bowl games than anyone in the history of MSU football. You don’t accomplish those feats without great recruiting. The problem he had was he was recruiting to a program that’s historically impossible to recruit to. A program no elite recruits wanted to even look at, so his class rankings weren’t at an elite level and thus people just assumed he wasn’t a great recruiter. The critics don’t even realize he brought in some of the highest rated classes that program has ever seen. The fact that he was able to find hidden gems and have success on the field speaks volumes for what a great recruiter he actually was/is. Now he’s at a program that elite players want to play for and his recruiting skills are showing. This 2020 class has the potential to be one of the best ever and 21 could wind up being even better. Now he’s going to be able to use his skills of finding hidden gems and combine them with elite talent and these classes are going to be special. People need to realize Meyer wasn’t the only coach recruiting those champion Gator teams. Mullen had a hand in bringing in a lot of those guys.
You have to speak fluent sarcasm to know that CO agrees c both of you guys, but I will say this: MKF and Joe, your assessment of CDM’s innate recruiting skills are the stone cold truth. This thing needs to be put to bed once and for all, but it probably won’t until he signs every 5* available on the planet.
I sensed the sarcasm, that’s why my comment was directed at Mullen’s critics and not at CO.
Just to clearly state my views on Mullen’s recruiting. I have never been critical of Mullen’s recruiting. But I have clearly and repeatedly stated that Mullen and his staff have to recruit at a very high level to consistently compete for and win SEC and National titles. All else falls under the category of alternative facts and opinions on here. But some fail to comprehend that concept.
TampaSwamp why do you feel the need to explain yourself? Feeling guilty about something? You know the saying, if the shoe fits…………..
Word
Word up.
Triple OG Word Up!
CLARIFICATION: For life long civilians, or veterans of the Air Force or Navy, what Gator Ed is saying translates as follows: “Hey all you %$@# REMFs, I’ll see your word and raise you by three Army Olive Green ones”.
That’s OK, you can thank me later.
Gator-6, OG means OLD GANGSTER…LOL. The way it is supposed to be said is thusly: OG Triple OG! GO GATORS!!!
Joe with you on that one. Mullen was a huge part of recruiting as the of.
Hey man, he just started CO, it’s working well.
Sad what has happened to this blog.
Lighten up, Francis.
Sad, very sad………………….NOT!
Agree gelco, just being sarcastic to make fun of the numbnuts that were so “concerned” and “shocked” about how far behind we were from UGA, FSU and others
CDM is not only a very good recruiter, but look what he did with the prior regimes recruits. There aren’t many coaches out there that could successfully utilize all of his available players that he didn’t recruit. Look at how throughout the season how the team played better. I, for one, have a feeling the Franks just may be the QB he was projected to be. The chemistry is melding and these young men are playing for each other. We fans couldn’t ask for better. GO GATORS!!!
Naw, Patrick. I think I will go be an adult elsewhere.
So now Patrick, gelco and GatorEd are also a bunch of silly juveniles bringing down the collective intelligence of this blog?
Good, now I don’t feel as bad as I did when it was only me and 6, or is it 6 and I? Either way, thanks.
Geez, CO — I hope you’re not asking me! I’ve always had problems with the 1st person plural, it just all gets so confusing once you add one or more to the existing “we”. Patrick was only calling for somebody to lighten up, so his sheets are pretty clean. And Sparky? I’ve already said he’s an innocent bystander, his only sin being having the unmitigated temerity to actually know something the rest of us didn’t know — much less having the gall to take offense at being called a liar. Now Gelco and Gator Ed are pretty good old boys who have no doubt paid their dues and earned the right to have whatever sense of humor they so desire — believe me, I know that for a fact — so that just leaves you and me. You and I — we, as the case may be — have on the other hand earned the right to nothing…..as purveyors of so called alternative facts and opinions. That is to say, expressing unapproved opinions. But I will nonetheless defend with my dying breath your right to be “silly”. This I swear on Nick Saban’s grave, using all the money I can borrow from Gator65! So help me Ray Graves.
Dag-nabbit!
“you and me”. Just say it without the “you” and you’ll know right away if it should be I or me and as you stated it, the other person always goes 1st, so CO, thats “6 and me”. Class dismissed.
We is duly thankful you straightened that out, Daz, CO and us. 👍
Seriously, the older I get the more I forget! Or maybe it’s just laziness…..
Now that’s something I will drink to 🍺🍺🍺🍺🍺
It sucks that lost a commitment from a 4* DE for ’20 earlier today…..but I suspect that Mullen will have to pick and choose by the end of that recruiting cycle. Its fun watching the recruiting turn around. Go Gators!!
I don’t think it will turn out to be a major blow either, Sparky — but all indications were that he was a pretty good catch while we had him. You’re right on tho, we continue the trajectory in 2019 (or even better) and 2020 will be the Year of the Gator in the lunar new year. I don’t care if I need artificial respiration every 10 minutes by then, I’m not missing it for the world!
This is going to be the standard for Mullen, to have top 10 classes every year.
I believe it. As Joe points out above, look what he did with little. Some smart people about 13 or 14 months ago said once he got to the big stage, it would show up — and it has.
He did wonders with little at MSU just imagine what he can do with much more in Hogtown. We saw a glimpse of it last year, it ‘s just the beginning of our return to Glory, to paraphrase something Jaws would say in more flowery terms.
Go Gators!