Florida gaining early momentum for 2016

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One week into spring football, Florida is already gaining momentum on the recruiting trail.

Over the last 10 days, UF has landed four verbal commitments and hosted more than 30 prospects on campus, including 10 Rivals250/Top247 members.

The Gators now have seven pledges in their 2016 class, the same number Jim McElwain had for 2015 when he took over the program in December.

A month and a half removed from signing day, McElwain and his staff have already assembled a top-15 class and the momentum from last month has seemingly carried over into the 2016 recruiting cycle.

“There’s a lot of excitement surrounding the program,” said Florida linebacker commit Vosean Joseph, who visited this past weekened. “Recruits are looking at UF now and seeing this is a program that was on top, went down, but with the right players and coaches it’s going to come back up. Right now everybody thinks Florida will be back on top soon.”

If the latest visitors and commitments are any indication, there appears to be a high level of interest from recruits. With five or six wide receivers needed in this class, the Gators have secured a pair of pledges at the position and landed visits from some of their top targets, including Cavin Ridley, Eli Stove, Freddie Swain and Binjimen Victor.

The commitments of Rivals100 cornerback Chauncey Gardner and safety Spencer Perry gives McElwain more talent to stockpile in the secondary. The Gators also seem to have an early edge for several 2016 recruits on both sides of the ball.

“The momentum is going up,” UF defensive end commit Eric Mitchell said. “I actually see people committing to Florida early. I didn’t see that a year ago. Recruits weren’t even really visiting like they are now. With the guys being recruited on offense and defense and the players already there, we’re eventually going to have a great team at Florida.”

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75 COMMENTS

  2. It’s one thing to hear talk of “excitement” and “momentum,” but it needs to translate into results. Of UF’s seven commitments, only one, Chauncey Gardner, is a highly rated player that everyone wanted. It ought to be easy for UF to get some of the top wide receivers, like the one’s named. Not named, but also guys that UF should be the front runners for, are Josh Imatorbhebhe, who has a brother at UF, and Josh Hammond, the brother of a former player at UF. I’d also like to learn who Florida is going to get at quarterback, or has a good shot at. Quarterbacks are usually gone by June, and UF has a huge need for one, maybe two. Why isn’t Rex Culpepper, a legacy, a Gator yet? Who is the quarterback at the top of McElwain’s wish list at quarterback? The quarterback is usually the pied piper of your class, and they commit earlier than any other position. A top one can translate the “excitement” and “momentum” talk into something more meaningful;i.e. top players.

  4. Aux2, keep in mind this staff not only got a late start not the last cycle, they got a late start on this one too. Most other staffs have been talking to these kids for a year or two. The fact that a lot of top guys are looking at them, particularly on offense, is a good sign. Their top receivers are Binjimen Victor and Nate Craig-Meyers, both if whom are considering the Gators strongly. Hammond is not a take and Imatorbhebhe is not a lock. They are also still evaluating qb’s, but one of their top targets will be on campus this weekend, Dwayne Haskins. Relax, it’s still very early in the cycle. Still got a month to go in the early evaluation period and then summer visits and camps. The point of the article is simply that the early returns are promising.

  5. Eric Burdette Thanks for the info. I am surprised that Hammond is not a take, but Wells and Johnson are. I saw that Hammond has an offer from UF, but think the listing of offers is sometimes just propaganda, and some kids that have “offers” from a particular school would find out they are not real if they try to commit. As for UF still evaluating quarterbacks, I think that’s ridiculous, they should know by now who they want because quarterbacks go off the board quickly, and you don’t want to be stuck like UF was last year when they failed to get a quarterback. I still haven’t heard the story of why McElwain didn’t even call Sheirron Jones, who was pledged to Florida when he was hired, at least that’s what Jones said. Was it a case of McElwain looking at Jones and not thinking he was good enough? You’re right about it being early, but at UF the percentage of four or five star recruits is expected to be higher than the current one of seven.

  6. Aux2 we get it you are either the biggest pessimist in the world or you actually have rooting interest elsewhere. The sky is not falling chicken little so give it a rest. Get on board see where the ride takes you. You may actually enjoy it.

  9. Eric – I had previously tried to explain that to Aux2 and Ntcrze. This staff had to focus almost all their efforts on the 2015 class when they first hired, so the have only been working on the 2016 class for a month and a half. Can afford to be patient as we still have over 10 months to go. As far as quarterbacks, they will have no problem finding at least. Also would not be surprised if they end up with a transfer qb coming in.

  10. No Gator on this site owes any defense of our Florida teams to Aux or ntcrze or anyone else trolling. Let’s keep the conversation focused among Gators and not try changing Nole minds. Meanwhile, there is recruiting momentum building and plenty of reason to believe Mac will get his QB in this next class and just about everyone else he needs. And momentum is growing in every phase of the program , from facility improvements to construction of a larger, more seasoned support staff. It’s pretty hard not to buy in with this new coach and recruits are clearly seeing the same.

  11. Gatormac It’s true that all the right words are being said, but I’m not impressed with words because I have heard it all before, the only difference is the names of the people saying them. I have even heard something that seemed like a foreign language in Gainesvile when I heard a “route tree” mentioned. It’s nice to talk, but UIF needs to start winning more battles in recruiting. I think it’s not crazy to think that last season would have had a very different outcome if UF had kept Cook, Lane, and closed on the supposed “big flip,” Travis Rudolph. Unlike you, I’m cognizant of the fact that UF can easily become Tennessee after they fired Fulmer, and it takes more than words to stop that from happening. It takes players, and a ratio of one four star per seven players is not going to help UF catch up to the competition. Words are nice, but like a scene from “Cool Hand Luke” where Luke says that he thinks the guard just said something without saying a word, actions speak louder.

  12. One of us should put up a disclaimer about aux to warn off unwary individuals such as Eric Burdette after every article Zach puts out. “Disregard anything aux2 has to say. He is definitely not a Gator fan. At best he is a troll and at worst he is in employ of the rival out west. He will attempt to sound reasonable at first but will ALWAYS proceed to paint the Gator program/recruiting in a negative light. DO NOT ENGAGE.”

  13. Gatormac – It does seem like the momentum is building in the program. It is great what they have been able to do in such a short time. If they can show progress on the field, they will end up with a great recruiting class.

  14. TJ-Gators You make it seem like you’re a leader of a cult. There is a whole world outside the cult, and articles like ESPN’s Offseason Spotlight on Kelvin Taylor, or what I say, are not blasphemy, they just try to bring a dose of reality.

  15. Zach – Who are the Gators top targets at linebacker and quarterback and who do they have the best chance of signing?

    Will be great when they get the rest of the 2015 class on the field. Especially in the case of the offensive line. The Gators are going to need a couple of the lineman to play right away.

  16. WARNING!!! DONT READ ANYTHING aux2 POSTS ON THIS SITE !!!
    PAY NO ATTENTION TO IT ! HE IS A CERTIFIED TROLL WITH NO LIFE AND HAS NOTHING BUT SENSELESS NEGATIVE WORDS ONLY!!
    IF WE ALL JUST IGNORE HIM, PRAY HE WILL GO AWAY AND PESTER SOMEONE ELSE !!!!

  17. Trolls is not an adequate description of them imo. They are the ugly, smelly TURDS, floating in this Gainesville Sun / Gator punch bowl. With me, there is no real need to positively identify which school’s TURDS they are. The Gator fans have long ago identified them, and any recruit with the brains to get into UF and play for coach-Mc will also have no trouble doing so. What’s griping their azzes right now it how well and how quickly the Gators have turned the corner.
    Gator Spring practice is going GREAT! The 2016 recruiting momentum is building and the Mc-Coaches will have no trouble getting a Top 10 class by NSD. GoooooooGATORS!

  19. BigMac is generating much buzz in Spring practice. The current players are psyched and buying into the new order. The offensive players are finally being taught and developed.
    The potential recruits are feeling the excitement and know it is just a matter of time UF is back at the top of college football again and they all wnat a part of it.
    What a difference a competent coach makes. All is good and well in Hogtown again.
    For those of you new visitors to the blog, like Tim and Eric, you will run into several clowns that post here obsessively. Auxclown you already met. Ntcrze aka nutcase is another of the same ilk. These
    morons are FSU trolls and are to be made fun of and exposed for the losers they are. They are the top 2 of the 5 assclowns that post frequently on our site. Feel free to ignore them, call them out or call them names.
    Go Gators!

  21. “Another nail in the doubters coffins:
    Florida’s Friday scrimmage had some big plays. QB Jeff Driskel looked sharp throughout the closed scrimmage, using his strong arm to throw the ball vertically to an array of receivers. The biggest was a 97-yard TD pass from Driskel to Soph. WR Ahmad Fulwood, who made a double-hitch move down the right sideline and ran under a high-arching pass >thrown perfectly by Driskel.< The 6-4 Fulwood has been one of Florida’s most impressive receivers the first 2 weeks of camp. The receivers, with new WR's coach Leak's help, have made great progress.
    All SEC DE Dante Fowler Jr said; — "The offense is looking really good." Roper considers Driskel ready for the challenge. “I think his command of our offense is really showing itself in camp,’’ Roper said.

    When you say that Driskel is a bad QB, what you're really doing is saying that SB winner and Elite 11 Dilfer, HBC Muschamp and OC Roper are stupid and/or liars, and that Fowler is to dumb to know a good QB when he competes against him every day in practice.
    Personally, I'd not go there myself…. ;~))"
    Here's a blast from the past to demonstrate why I think more than words or "excitement" are needed. It's from our resident guru of statistics. It was about as credible then as the pumpers now who think everything has changed because of words and new coaches. We've been down this road before, how gullible are some of you that you keep drinking the Kool-Aid.

  23. auxclown, everything has indeed changed thanks to new coaches pretty soon your semiholes will feel the wrath of the BigMac Attack.
    Go Gators!
    BTW what kind of loser goes back and digs out old posts, one that has no life maybe?

  24. As most of the posters here have realized, is that UF is now in it’s Dooley years as Tennessee was with him. It will take 3 or more years and another coach before UF football comes out of its fog. If the two QB are as close as they say, that means UF isn’t even close to where the offense needs to be. But the Buck Owens look a like sunshine pumper and throw back from Hee Haw, coach Mac will talk a good game until the hardliner UF fans see right through the car salesman tactics of Mac. Maybe three years at most for the Macster.

  25. Now you guys leave ‘ol aux2 alone…He’s just one of God’s ever-lovin’ children;). And he’s correct in saying “talk is cheap”. But it’s clear we have upgraded our coaching staff and that there is a buzz among recruits and also good signs of a buy-in by current Gators. I’m looking forward to this next season and believe we’ll do quite well. I know I wouldn’t want to be fsu on Nov. 28th. The Swamp will be rocking for the 11-0 Gators, who should be quite hungry after two consecutive defeats to the noles. Go Gators!!!

  27. I too am looking forward to this season and all the good things BigMac will bring to Gator Nation. It seems that all the usual suspects are doing the same as witnessed by the appearance of another of the 5 blog assclowns, Mr oranguntan 60. All we need now is for lil jimmy wisher to show up. BTW orangeclown we have never sunk as low as UT has done, and we continue to pound those silly Vols even in our lean years.

  28. Frank I think my posting of someone’s post from last year was to demonstrate, and it had nothing to do with Driskel, that we’ve seen an “upgrade” in the coaching staff and heard the same “buzz” from prospects about the “new” offense. We also heard the same thing about how much the players were “buying in” to he new system. Perhaps UF will be better on the field this year, although I think the prediction of UF going undefeated is way off. The new coaches and the players are saying the same things they did last year, and you can hear the same claptrap at any school in America. You are never going to hear coaches or players say that there is a big problem, even if they know there is one. They are going to say the same things in Miami, Tallahassee, Athens, etc. It’s also very hard to have a clue on how good you are when you are only competing against yourself. The best thing to hope for is no injuries in Spring. You’ll only find out if someone is not “buying in” if they transfer. The same goes for recruiting, you only hear about the recruit who had a “great” visit, but nary a peep is written about the kid who didn’t enjoy his visit and eliminates the school base on the awful time he had. That’s why I don’t ever believe a word a coach or player says, because they are all only going to tell you what you want to hear. No one wants to hear, for instance, that the receivers still can’t catch a cold, which is a real possibility at UF based on their track record. I’d wait until UF actually plays a game against a ranked team before predicting an undefeated season. That might be a good idea if UF was coming off a season with double digit wins, but coming off a 7-5 season, it’s a little far fetched. I don’t think Vince Lombardi is the new coach of the Gators, at least not until he coaches a game at UF.

  30. “No one wants to hear, for instance, that the receivers still can’t catch a cold, which is a real possibility at UF based on their track record.”

    You are right auxclown, no one wants to hear that. Not because it’s “a real possibility” but because it is plain stupid to say that. Then again stupid statements is what comes out of stupid people.
    BTW you digging out a post from last year only demonstrates you have no life.

  31. A solid group of 2 and 3 stars. Florida again will have a fine top 25 class. There is nothing wrong with 7-5 seasons. If the schedule works out UF will pull off an 8 win season from time to time. Please don’t compare the athletes Florida State is bring in to UF though. FSU ,Bama , Ohio St., and Southern Cal will cherry pick who they want and the rest of the country will fight for the rest…. Which is ok, really.
    I continue to be impressed with Aux2 analysis of the recruiting game. I think he may be Tom Luginbill in real life. I look forward to his work.

  32. Fla seems to have the right coach in place who understands offense, the importance of good assistants, and how to manage a large organization. It may not translate into 10 wins in 2014 due to all the problems Mac inherited from muschamp, but Fla’s program is on the way back.

  33. How good was FSUcks vs a crappy 7-5 Gator team with a weak true Fr at QB?
    Harris was 13 of 32, 0 TD’s, 2 Ints, and it was played AT tallycrappy.
    Result — UF 19 – 24 FSUcks (+5 @ home shows how much better they were).
    Then they got chit-stomped by LAC 12 Oregon to the tune of 20 – 59, (+39)
    Next the azzclowns claim that Int-machine Shameous is a better college QB than Mariota,,, but they won’t put up a stat comparison.
    And they further claim that Shameous is more accurate & reads the defense better than Tebow.
    In 4 years, Tebow threw 88 TD’s to 16 ints vs Top 10 SoS’s including SEC defenses.
    Shameous Windstorm threw 18 Ints in just one season vs their annual All Cupcake Chumps.
    I’d say that Peyton’s NFL Rookie record of 28 Ints ‘has a real possibility’ of being broken in 2015, just going on ‘his past record’ of throwing a very accurate and tight spiral to the other teams players. lmao!

    What UF fans and coaches say is all claptrap, but what some flamin’ criminole turd says is supposed to be taken as gospel.
    “No one wants to hear, (speaking for others) for instance, that the receivers still can’t catch a cold, which is a real possibility (that he treats like it’s a fact) at UF based on their track (stats) record.
    But wait, I thought that every college team is different every year???
    Yep, I’d say that the shameless criminoles are in deep do-do and so are flailing around looking for any lifeboat to crawl into…. I mean heck, ole Jimblow told us that we didn’t have the ‘whole story’ about Shameous Jameous. Of course, that was before ole JW’s ‘back-stabbin’ comments about how ‘crappy FSUcks facilities’ are, and how he’d have liked to have played for a ‘quality’ HBC like Har-blow at meechigan….

    As others have pointed out here, IF UF was so bad, and IF they weren’t moving forward so quickly, then the tallycrappy turds would not spend so much time here with their doom and gloom BS. But with so many turds floating around in tallycrappy, I guess they’ll never be scared chitless…. lol

    Orangutan60, will the tennis-sea dolls ever beat a Gator team again? Football UF 10-0 Tn — Basketball UF 4-0 Tn — Baseball Series UF 2-1 Tn
    Your rubber dollies haven’t had a HBC since Phat Phil, nor a QB since 0-4 pettie-pie. And your own Head-BJ was 0-2 vs a guy that UF had to fire for ‘on the field’ incompetence.

    PS — It’s unlikely that UF will go undefeated, not because they won’t have a good team, but because UF plays in the SEC, not against Cupcakes like the criminoles and the scUM thugs do.
    My two favorite national championship games were UF 52 – 20 FSUcks & Ore 59 – 20 FSUcks.
    PSS – Muschamp’s last 3 recruiting classes were: 4-2-6 – Average = 4, so little Jimmy Wisher is just as FoS as we’ve all come to expect.

  34. da-muddler I’d have thought you would have been humbled by the evidence of how badly you missed with your “wisdom” last year, but I should have known better. By the way, one of your two most cherished games, FSU-Oregon, was not a national championship game, please try to be accurate. The SEC is, I feel, the best conference in the land, but it’s not overwhelmingly so. Other conferences, including the ACC, can play football too. The fact is that the SEC hasn’t been that dominant the past two years. The SEC lost both of it’s BCS games two years ago, while the ACC won both of theirs, including the matchup between the ACC and SEC champions. The ACC had a winning record against the SEC last year. The evidence that the SEC is not as great as SEC blowhards and the media seem to think was demonstrated by the SEC West getting waxed in the post season last year, after we had been told all year that it was the greatest division, maybe ever. One of those supposedly great teams, that the media actually was foolish enough to rank number one, just like an undeserving Alabama, was Mississippi State, who was demolished by Georgia Tech, an ACC school. I remember the narrative being that the SEC West cannibalizes itself from playing each other. It turns out that the truth was that the SEC West was the most overrated division in football, not the best ever. Don’t let the facts get in the way of your pronouncements though, that’s never happened before, and I don’t expect anything different. I’ll just be happy when the real season starts, hat’s when you suddenly become very quiet, as you did last year. The only statistic that matters then is the final score. I find it queer that you bring up the fact that UF lost to FSU by “only” five points, most people take no comfort from losing, even if it’s by one point. Perhaps UF will be better this year, but I am skeptical. By the way, and I know this will draw the ire of many, the offense McElwain is installing is not new, it’s the same offense that Will Muschamp told us that he wanted when he was hired at UF. Think about it: the quarterback is going under center, Taylor has said that it’s a power, one cut, downhill running scheme, and Summers is telling offensive line recruits that UF is going to be a running team. It may work out fine because McElwain’s specialty is developing quarterbacks, and Muschamp was saddled with two of the worst QB’s in UF history in Brantley and Driskel. But the fact is that this isn’t a “new” offense, it’s an attempt replicate the Alabama offense, we’ve heard that record before. The only question is if McElwain is a better DJ.

  35. 305, Gaturd posters ask me to come back on here and give this board some objectivity. Actually the Gainesville Sun pays me a stiepend to post here. I cannot reveal the contract to you. But when Aux2 and Ntcrze comes on here it balances things out. aux caught Bette Muddler on the FSU -Oregon semifinal game… Lol. Bette you are a joke and not in the same league as the anointed ones Aux and Ntcrze…
    I have no idea who they are but I will continue to be educated by there fact based scribe.so no we are not the same person.

  36. 813 , “a great time to be a Gaturd??? Wow what happens when you guys experience a couple down years. Really 813 that was a classic. Scroll back up and reread that and ponder…” Did I really say that.?” Then say that James Fisher guy can call me like he sees them. I’m just trying to help you in future years to not embarrass yourself again.

  37. Lil jimmy wisher there is no way anyone would pay you to come here and post your garbage. “gaturd” “stiepend” “Aux2 and Ntcrze comes on here” “I will continue to be educated by there fact based scribe” Not even a lowly FSU education can produce someone with so many misspelled words and so poor syntax as yourself.
    You are an assclown just like the ones you crow about, auxclown and nutcase. The top 3 as a matter of fact.

  38. 305 you really are a knucklehead aren’t you. And my syntax is just fine. You comprehended just fine.Also, you had a little slip up with the use of “there”in your silly post,now didn’t you..

  39. Clemson strikes it it big again in the state. hey have now picked up Rahshaun Smith, , one of the best linebackers in America. Now there are only three top players left at IMG that aren’t pledged somewhere. UF has one, Spencer Perry. A running back that UF wanted, Tony Jones, has picked Notre Dame. The big fish still available there is Shavar Manuel and a top corner, Khalil Ladler. There’s one more, Malik Barrow, a defensive end, but he appears to be headed to Ohio State. Clemson, again, appears to be force to be reckoned with in the state of Florida this year.

  42. fish mouth..its a great time to be a gator for fans and recruits..the new staff has the program headed in the right direction..cant say the same for fsu..that school has just as many if not more holes than uf to fill on its roster..wat a bum…GO GATORS!!!

  44. Ox-te’s wisdome – “The SEC is, I feel, the best conference in the land, but it’s not overwhelmingly so. Other conferences, including the ACC, can play football too.”
    You’re correct, Playoff Final-4 FSUcks got chit-stomped by a LAC 12, 59 – 20, that then got chit-stomped by tOSU 42 – 20.
    I guess that shows you how weak the criminoles were, since 19 – 24 @ home didn’t do it for ya…. lol

    In the 16 years, 15 BCS-NC were awarded (1 vacated) and the SEC has 9 of them, plus AU and UGA probably would have had 2 more of them if not for the votes of the media-morons. That 9 of 15 with 7 consecutive by 4 different teams is not just slightly better, it’s a quantum leap better than any other conference. The SEC was also the ONLY conference to have BOTH teams in a BCS-NC game. While the bowl records for the rest of the conference teams confirms how much better/tougher the SEC is.

    The long list of ACC teams that even played for a BCS-NC:
    1) FSUcks went 2-1 in BCS-NC games, 1-1 vs SEC teams with a 7 pt loss and a 3 pt win.
    2) scUM went 1-1 in BCS-NC games, beat Neb, lost to tOSU.
    The ACC’s 2 teams were 3-2 in BCS-NC games, the 10 dwarfs never even played for one.
    The SEC’s 4 teams were 9-1 in BCS-NC games, with 2 more that should have been imo…
    Between you crimitrolls and shameous, I can understand why most decent FSU fans are either staying at home or wearing bags over their heads….

  45. Guess you must have missed this, huh? “PSS – Muschamp’s last 3 recruiting classes were: 4-2-6 – Average = 4, so little Jimmy Wisher is just as FoS as we’ve all come to expect.”
    Little jimmy-wisher, I’ll make 20 points in my posts and then get called on one minor technical error, while you turds attempt to ignore or gloss over my other 19 correct points. Then you’ll claim a debating win over me with your one little short-stroke. HYSTERICAL!!! Shameous = Major Embarrassment, but they’re too stupid to understand why the whole country is mostly laughing at Clown-U.
    Neon Deion – Academics (Florida Deion Rule)
    Darnell Dockett – Sportsmanship (hand stompin’ and knee twistin’)
    Shameous Jameous – Morals/Character (the list is long)
    And those are for what they did while AT FSUcks, not for something that they did down the road later.
    The World — LAUGHING THEIR AZZES OFF at CRIMINOLE CLOWN-U !!!

    Notice that these trolls yap about the SEC-w doing poorly in their bowls, but also notice that they never mention that the supposedly ‘weak’ SECe went 5-0 in their bowl games, or that the SEC as a whole still went 7-5 in their bowl games, with only 5-7 UK and VU missing out on a bowl game.
    11-3 Mizz 33 – 17 Minn – Big Ten/12
    10-3 UGA 37 – 14 UL – ACC
    7-6 Tenn 45 – 28 Iowa – Big Ten/12
    7-6 SCa 24 – 21 Mi-Am-I – ACC
    7-5 UF 28 – 20 ECa 8-5 – AAC
    ——–
    8-5 aTm 45 – 37 WVa – Big 12
    7-6 Ark 31 – 7 Tx – Big 12
    And review the injury lists for the rest of the SECw at the end of their cannibalized SEC seasons.
    Or just keep on looking biased/ignorant/stupid, whichever applies to the All Cupcake Critics….
    “Don’t let the facts get in the way of your pronouncements though, that’s never happened before, and I don’t expect anything different.” — Ox-tu kettle….
    I find it ‘typical’ that you don’t think that the point spread means anything concerning opponent strengths or weakness. While one game may or may not matter, a pattern certainly does imo.

    Hey Ox-tu, the Mc-Nuss combo has 3 BCS-NC running their offense, how many does Jim-blow have running his? (snicker)
    I’m not at all skeptical about you being a biased criminole-troll….

  46. Eli Stove, WR from Niceville in the Panhandle, has freakish speed and is big/strong; uncatchable in the open field and would be dangerous returning kicks and punts; Niceville doesn’t have a very good supporting cast, so you won’t probably see or hear much about him in the playoffs; currently a Rivals.com 4 star, but could easily move up to a 5 star and play in either the Under Armor or Army All American games next fall.

  47. da-muddler The SEC was great, but was the overrated league last year, and it’s champion lost to the ACC champion the year before. If you want to live in the past, go ahead, but we live in the present and we saw on the field how overrated the SEC was last year. By the way, Fisher has won a national championship, McElwain has not. It only counts if you are a head coach, not an assistant like Fisher was when the coach he worked for won one. McElwain may be a great coach, but he not yet done anything yet to deserve that title. Colorado State isn’t included in big time football. Urban Meyer also came from a lesser school, and he has proven that he is a great coach. Fisher has also proven he’s a great coach. McElwain now has his chance. Fisher has already driven away two coaches at Florida, if he drives away a third, it might be time to figure out that he’s a great coach. He’s 9-1 against rivals, Miami and Florida, that kind of record against your rivals will help you keep your job anywhere.

  48. It looks like UF got a running back today in Tyrek Tisdale, at least that’s where I think UF will use him. It looks like a down year for running backs in the state, the opposite of receivers, and t’s great that UF got someone they wanted. I’m just curious how tall he is, the Sun says he’s 6’1″ and Rivals puts him at 5’11”. I am in agreement about Eli Stove, and he would be a huge pickup for UF,which needs wide receivers badly, and he’s rated as one of the best in America.

  51. 813gatorboi You’re right that Fisher didn’t run Meyer out of town. I think Tim Tebow leaving had a lot to do with it, and Meyer running himself out of town. It turns out that it wasn’t a bad decision, he’s only lost three games in three years at Ohio State, as the comedian would say, that’s gettin’ it done. You are also right about FSU having as many, i would say more, holes to fill that Florida. FSU loses it’s best quarterback, receiver, and tight end in the history of the program. They also lose four starters on the offensive line, their two best defensive linemen, and two starting corners. All of them will be drafted, and most early, with the exception of, possibly, one offensive lineman. That’s a lot to lose, but I think the prediction of FSU’s demise is greatly exaggerated. I think Fisher has got FSU to the level of Alabama, and they’ll just reload. One player they have returning may be the best running back in FSU’s history, Dalvin Cook, and I’m sure FSU will find a quarterback, who won’t be as good as Winston, but who is, will be o.k. The key is for UF to step up it’s game, like they did under Spurrier when FSU was a top team. Both teams were great then, and if McElwain is the right hire, I expect to see that happen again in 2-4 years.

  52. Aux, you seem to know what your talking about once you sift through all the gator hate, just out of curiosity, who is the qb you are sure fsu will find? This early in recruiting, you should worry about fsu more than us right now. It’s way too early to be concerned about our recruiting class, our situation is different than yours. Our class depends on how we perform next year. All things equal, if uf and fsu have exactly the same year, recruits will pick uf over fsu because of perception. Uf will be seen as an elite program rising back to where it was a few years ago, while fsu will be seen as a team who peaked with a special qb but is now returning to the mediocrity it was in the decade before the qb came along. Trust us when we say it’s hard to stay on top when most of your winning stems from a qb who was playing above everyone else. A lot of recruiting is momentum. I’m happy where we are right now, even an ok year, if potential is shown will bring recruits wanting to be a part of a team returning to greatness, while an ok year for fsu is downward momentum. My point being, you should be paying more attention to fsu recruiting cause our recruiting class will be determined on the field next year.

  53. willgator I don’t know who will be the FSU quarterback, but I do know Fisher’s track record of developing them, and that leads me to believe that FSU will be just fine at the position. There will be a steep drop off from Winston, no doubt about that. As for recruiting, if you are paying attention, it’s a little one sided at this point in time. In state, UF has only one player of the eight currently committed to UF that FSU has even offered. That one is a big time prospect, Chauncey Gardner, and I’m sure, if Gardner allows it, FSU will not give up on flipping him. On the other hand, of FSU’s eleven instate commits, UF has offered all but three, Keir Thomas, Cedric Wood, and Malik Henry, and is trying to flip the rest. Of those three, I think Keir Thomas is the only one that UF may not want. The other two are not offered by UF because, I think, they know they have no chance to get them. As for how the season goes, usually a team doesn’t reap the rewards of an outstanding season until the following recruiting class, not the one that immediately follows the season. UF should do fine in recruiting, I can’t ever remember them not doing well. Even the past class was rated between twenty and thirty by all the services, the only question is if one of the four stars, D’Anfernee McGriff qualifies. If you didn’t know, he has already set up a Junior College to go to in case he doesn’t, so that should tell you that it’s iffy if he ever makes it to Gainesville. The point being that no one is worried about FSU’s recruiting, and no one is worried about UF’s recruiting. They both should do well, but, at least right now, FSU is kicking UF’s butt on the recruiting trail. That’s not an opinion, I gave you details and you can look it up for yourself.

  55. Aux, I agree that usually a team doesn’t reap the rewards of a good season immediately on the recruiting trail. That’s my point, this isn’t the usual situation this year for florida. With the new staff, clearly recruits are going to watch how our season goes, it would only make sense for them to do so. That being said, it is a little early for you to be so proud of kicking our butts. As we win this year, the recruits will take notice. I think it’s safe to say uf will have a better year than last, while fsu will have a worse year. It’s too bad for you guys that nsd is after next season is played. Although I can’t really blame you for trying to get in a few last digs before we climb over you on the way back up to the top, and I understand why you hang out on our site, there is a positive buzz around florida football while fsu is waiting to see how far they fall, I don’t mind if you want to hang out with us and watch our program rise before your very eyes, it’s very exciting to be a gator right now, it must be very frustrating to know you guys are about to sink back into the decade of mediocrity you were in before, just hang in there buddy, these things go in cycles and maybe fsu will get 2 “once in a generation” qbs in a row. It could happen. In the mean time, feel free to come bask in the greatness that is florida football anytime the grey cloud over fsu football starts to get you down.

  56. willgator I’m not “so proud of kicking our butt,” I.m just stating the facts as they stand now in reply to you thinking that anyone is worried about recruiting at FSU. It’s pretty obvious that’s not the case, and I doubt anyone in Tallahassee is quivering over the prospect of going against McElwain. As to the future, anything is possible. Who could have forseen the collapse of the Gators after 2009 when, like the Seminoles this year, UF finished 13-1. The Gators lost Tebow after 2009 and the Seminoles lose Winston. Since 2009 the Gators average record is 7.4 wins and 5.2 losses. Rounded off, that means the Gators have been a 7-5 team since Tebow left and have lost 4 of 5 to FSU. So yes, you are right, it’s possible that FSU could be heading downward, but like the odds of Florida becoming mediocre after a 13-1 season, it’s not likely to happen. I don’t think Fisher is so dependent on one player, Winston, as, apparently, Meyer was with Tebow. As I said before, I think UF needs to come up to FSU’s level, as I doubt that FSU is going to go down to UF’s current mediocrity. Facts are difficult to digest sometimes, just like the facts I presented about the gulf between the two schools in recruiting right now. It’s best to not ignore them or make predictions that don’t have any data to support them, as you seem to do. When UF does start getting players to choose them over FSU at a greater rate than FSU does over Florida, let me know, but I deal in facts, not hopes.

  57. Yes Tebow was the man, but after he left the last team Urbs had was void of much talent. Bad OL, bad QB’s and the list goes on. May have been a different story if Cam had stayed around!

    FSU has recruited well for past 3-4 years so don’t see a total collapse happening This is a series of runs, we’ll be back. Almost made you look bad this past year, one tipped pass away from a W.

  58. I sure hope our team is tougher than the Gator fan on this site. If we cannot handle the truth about our recent past and current struggles in recruiting and on the field we sure will not be able to win in the SEC. We cannot handle comments from Aux 2? LMAO!

  59. 21 you are a bit misguided, first of all whatever is written in this blog has nothing to do with how the team will perform against the SEC, get real. Secondly, what auxclown brings to this site are half truths, lies and exaggerations and all of us see through that and can handle it very well, maybe you can’t and that is your problem.
    Truth is that both FSU and UF have done well in recruiting in the past.
    Truth is that FSU did better than us this past season and that BigMac did a tremendous job to save the Muschump disaster.
    Truth is that it is too darn early to start bragging about recruiting as nothing is set in stone and these kids can and do change their minds between now and next year.
    Truth is that UF is generating a lot of buzz and excitement with all the kids that come in and watch practice and talk to the new coaches.
    Truth is that FSU lost their superstar college QB and will come back down a bit without him.
    We will get a little better and they will get a little worse this coming season and if BigMac pans out then we will soon surpass them.

  61. This Ox-tu troll doesn’t even realize how DUMB this statement is:
    1) “If you want to live in the past, go ahead, but we live in the present and we saw on the field how overrated the SEC was last year.” <<<
    I guess he doesn't know that LAST YEAR is in the Past, and that THIS YEAR (2015) everyone is undefeated. LMFAO yet again!!!
    "He’s 9-1 against rivals, Miami and Florida, that kind of record against your rivals will help you keep your job anywhere." Nope, that Ox-tu twit certainly never 'lives in the past' at all…. ROTF – LMAO!
    ====================
    2) 2013 FSUcks 34 – 31 AU (-3) from behind last minute TD — LSU 35 – 21 AU (-14)
    2014 ACC-C FSUcks 20 – 59 Ore (+39) — SEC-C UA 35 – 42 tOSU (+7) — Ore 20 – 42 tOSU (+22). Now tell me again which conf. champ was the more over-rated?
    What's really weak is not the SEC, but it's your own mental capacity instead….
    Facts the trolls typically ignore, UF SoS vs FSUcks non-existent SoS.
    The toll that playing 7 SEC defenses before playing FSUcks every year has on any Gator team. I think that UF needs to demand to move the FSUcks game to the 1st game of the season or drop them.
    Facts? In 2014, with their best QB in their entire history, they were 5 pts better at home than a 7-5 UF with an already fired HBC and a 13 of 32, 0 TD's, 2 Int's true Fr backup QB. 🙂

  62. Excuse me, that should have been 8 SEC defenses (6 SECe & 2 SECw) before playing FSUcks.
    With terrible Muschamp and OC Pease (both fired), playing 1st year starter Soph QB Jeff Driskel:
    2012 UF went 11-2 with a 37 – 26 win @ FSUCks. Among the many facts that trolls like to ignore.
    2014 FSUcks went 13-1 with a 24 – 19 win in tallycrappy over UF, with their best HBC and QB in history.
    And those FACTS supposedly show that the criminoles are FAR ahead of UF??? LOL!
    The major W/L record difference between UF and FSUcks is their conf. schedules.

  63. “What’s really weak is not the SEC, but it’s your own mental capacity instead…”

    Once again da-mud makes me laugh.
    We can handle auxclown and all the other FSU assclowns just fine.
    I see that nutcase had his posts deleted at onlygators, I predict we will see him posting here again very soon . These trolls can’t stay away from all things Gator.

  64. Kevin Patrick Ceratainly the Seminoles can compare their program favorably to UF. The fact is that the each team has won 21 games since 1974, and you might need a little help with math, so I’ll let you know that is longer than the past 40 years. Unless you are over 50, and probably well over that age, like at least one poster who is obsessed with statistics, there are probably very few of you who were even were even out of junior high when the Gators dominated the series. The first six games in the series were all played in Gainesville, as well, a clear advantage for UF. Besides that, neither team was anything but an asterisk on the college football scene until the late 80’s when FSU started consistently winning at a high level and the 90’s when Spurrier came and UF won it’s first SEC title. Both teams have the same number of National championships and Heisman winners. I don’t know how many All-Americans each team has had, but I would bet it’s comparable too. As for NFL players, I’m sure there’s a comparable number, and I think, as more alumni in Canton. AS for saying FSU is on you now, that can change very quickly too. But the winner of the game, and it doesn’t matter if it’s by one point or thirty, gets bragging rights for the year, deal with it. By the way, I’m not someone who’s bragging about it, I’m just stating facts. The way to change the tune is to win over FSU, but that chance won’t happen until he end of November. Until then, suck it up, or whine like da-muddler does who will continue to talk a big game now, but when actual games are played, seems to vanish.

  65. Hey aux, your completely correct, you get bragging rights this year, I’m totally fine with tbat, after all it’s all in fun, and it’s just a game. I think certain people on this site take it too personally, but the facts are we had a down couple years and, after being on top for so long, multiple titles, heisman winner, etc, the backlash is expected. It is taking the bad that allows us to dish it out later. Aux, you guys have been taking it for so long that I don’t blame you for dishing out as much as you possibly can before the inevitable. I just hope you are man enough to come back after the fall.

  67. Yes, it’s all in fun. But some posters make me think of one of my favorite movie lines by “Little Caesar”: “You can dish it out, but you got so you can’t take it no more.” For you that don’t know that is classic Edward G. Robinson. One thing that should be encouraging to those that are used to disrespecting your rival is something that the new defensive line coach said. He was saying something about how you might get away with what they are doing in practice, but that might not work when facing LSU or Georgia, or ” that other school.” Come to think of it, I can’t recall McElwain saying that “other school’s” name either. If it means anything, Urban Meyer did the same thing and he was 5-1 against FSU. Is it a sign?

  68. Be patient with some of the gator fans aux, it’s been so long since we have had to take it instead of dishit out that it is a difficult transition for some of us. Some fsu fans must have felt something similar when fsu finally started to win again, they were so used to taking it, they didn’t know how to act and were over zealous when dishing it out. Just as winning is a weird feeling to you, losing is a weird feeling to us, fortunately things will go back to its natural order soon. remember, it’s just all in good fun my fsu friend.

  69. willgator Who said I was an FSU fan? I might be just someone who sees things as they are right now, not having rose-colored glasses. It’s something to recognize when since Fisher has taken over at FSU, they are 13-2 against their three main rivals, Miami, Clemson, and Florida. We’ll see what McElwain can do, but he’s going up against someone in their prime, not at the sunset of their career like Bowden was when Meyer was at UF. I’m just not seeing a reason for a lot of optimism at UF when you’re up against someone that has accomplished more than Saban at the same point in their career. I think McElwain is finding out that he’s stepped into a hornet’s nest. The honeymoon is ongoing, but how long will that last before Gator fans, who have never been known for their calm and discerning nature, will start howling? I have a feeling that many Gator fans just think a new coach is going to put UF back as the dominant team that they were under Meyer in the state of Florida, and they might be setting themselves up for disappointment.

  70. yeah i get it..i have 4 brothers, myself and my 2 younger brothers are uf fans..we grow up watching j.green,r.anthony and f.taylor light up the score board..my oldest brother is a mia fan..he was in high school watching mia destory everyone in their path in the early 2000’s..my dad of course is an fsu fan..he loves deon,peter warrick and d.brooks…we argue daily about our teams and its funny because all of us have felt each others pain at one point or another and this sort of thing happenes every few years..one of the happiest times of my dads life was watching fsu win in 99′..the happiest moment of my oldest brothers’ life was watching fsu fall off the top and mia making its way to the top and it was a pleasure to see the look on their faces wen uf won 2 in 3years..i know uf still has some work to do but i think we are ahead of mia at this point and not as far as some people realize behind fsu..this will be an important years for all 3 schools..if mia loses golden is out the door and the rebuilding process will begin, if fsu has a down year recruits will start to look at their rivals and question the level of competition in the acc and if uf doesnt show any improvement on the offensive side of the ball recruits will definitly be looking elsewhere..with that being said i feel uf will have a better year than last but we’re still another year or 2 from being where we want to be..this new staff is in the business of developing players in terms of technique and fundamentals as the previous staff i think was more concerned with letting the scheme and talent work for them..each school in the state of fla has something to prove so we will have to wait and see..GO GATORS!!!

  71. “willgator Who said I was an FSU fan? I might be just someone who sees things as they are right now, not having rose-colored glasses.”

    Then he proceeds to say that Fisher is better than Saban. LOL. Auxclown you don’t have rose colored glasses, you have ketchup and mustard colored glasses.
    Who are you trying to kid fool, come out of the closet and fess up, we all know who and what you are. Assclown.

  73. Aux, I second what 305 said. If you really aren’t an fsu fan, I apologize, I would be upset too, it is rather insulting. But you clearly aren’t a gator fan, we are fans of our football team, not our football teams record, good or bad as it may be. We may differ on opinions of where we are now and where we are headed as a program, but we all enjoy being gators, where you are a fountain of negativity. Even if the negative aspect of florida football that you are ranting about happens to be true, you are still always focused on the negative, while always singing the praises of fsu positives, hence my apparently unfounded suspicions of your loyalty to fsu, don’t be ashamed, be proud of your notes. You know, you can be a fsu fan, poke fun at the gators, and still do it in a way that doesn’t require you to spew so much negativity. It’s just football sir, it’s a game, have fun with it, poke fun all you want, but you were a lot more enjoyable when you were actually talking football in between shots, it can’t be healthy to be constantly trying to think of the most negative things possible. With that said, read what 813 wrote, I think he nailed it. We will be better than last year but a couple years away, although it seems like a coaches 2nd year is the magic year, we will see. I personally don’t think the fsu game is as high on our list of priority as you think aux. Playing where you play, aux, you couldn’t possibly understand what it is like to play in a conference where every week is a battle. I would take a win over georgia, Lsu, usc, Tenn, pretty much any sec team than fsu any day. Yes a win over fsu would be nice for bragging rights, but most recruits are smart enough to recognise success in the sec is a far greater accomplishment than beating the noles, it’s as close as nfl quality competition as there is in college football.

  74. i agree with you willgator..going undefeated in the sec is alot more important than beating fsu..that would make us sec east champions and playing in atl for the sec title with a shot at getting into the playoffs..dont get me wrong beating fsu is important for state bragging rights but winning the east is the goal..we could lose to them at the end of the season and play them in the playoffs wen it matters the most(96′ national champions)…the biggest problem with fsu is the acc..fsu fans were on pins and needles and last 2 weeks of the year..fsu was the undefeated reigning national champions and they finished with the #3 seed the last week of college football..if thats not scarey than i dont know wat is..how can the reigning national champions be undefeated and have 3 teams with 1 loss ahead of them..the sorry acc..yeah the acc upset some people in the bowl games but so wat..imo every acc team only has to “get up” to play 2 maybe 3 games a year..every team in the acc wants to beat fsu mia and thats maybe it..jus about every team in the sec are rivals and want to beat every team in the sec..fsu and their trolls better worry about going undefeated and not getting into the playoffs because this year has shown us fsu didnt deserve to be in there in the first place..if its one thing we learned your this years playoff is that the playoff committee values strenght on schedule and style point and fsu failed at both this past year..but like i will continue to say it will be a great year of college with alot of teams having something to prove…GO GATORS!!!

  75. GREAT POINT 813!! I never thought about it like that, the mighty fsu, undefeated defending champs and winners of whatever in a row were ranked 3rd. What do you have to say about that aux? Doesn’t say much about the acc does it? And that isn’t a bunch of gators talking trash about how sorry your competition is, which whether you admit it or not, on some level you know it’s true, otherwise you wouldn’t be on our site so much, you would be trolling on some other acc team. I’d be willing to bet that the only reason they were even ranked 3rd was because they were defending champs and were getting the benefit of the doubt. Thanks 813.