- Sep 8, 2014
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Jim McElwain doesn’t want ‘can’t recruit’ label, so he needs 5-star QB Justin Fields
http://gridironnow.com/jim-mcelwain-doesnt-want-cant-recruit-label-needs-justin-fields/
Jim McElwain is a fine coach — but he still sits at the children’s table when it comes to recruiting. If you haven’t delivered a top-10 class at Florida in three years, you certainly are not sitting with the big boys.
Gators fans still are waiting for McElwain to land the five-star prospect that could mean he was on his way to joining the elites, like Nick Saban, Urban Meyer, Jimbo Fisher and Dabo Swinney. Watching Georgia’s Kirby Smart make such a quick impact on the recruiting trail hasn’t helped, either.
The player that could start to change how McElwain is perceived as a recruiter is Kennesaw (Ga.) Harrison quarterback Justin Fields. Fields is a consensus top-three player in the 2018 class.
Fields (6 feet 3, 221 pounds) backed off his commitment to Penn State earlier this month and reportedly is considering Auburn, Florida, Florida State and Georgia. Fields took an unofficial visit to Gainesville earlier this week.
He is the player McElwain needs. The Gators have eight commitments for their 2018 class, but not one is from a player ranked in the top 100. Miami has seven top-100 commitments, FSU three. Five SEC schools have at least one commitment in the top 100.
One player does not make a class, but Fields is the type of talent who can attract other elite prospects. McElwain’s class with Fields in the fold could be more reflective of the excellent classes UF consistently produced in previous coaching regimes.
McElwain pales in comparison to former Florida coaches when it comes to landing five-star prospects. He has signed two in three years (both in 2015: Martez Ivey and CeCe Jefferson).
Ron Zook signed six in 2003 alone. Urban Meyer signed eight five-star recruits in his first three classes. Will Muschamp was a flawed coach but a good recruiter; he signed three five-stars in 2012 alone.
McElwain hushed his recruiting critics with a strong close in February, but in actuality he just avoided a disaster. UF still finished outside the top 10 and signed only one player in the top 100 and three in the top 150.
As for the two five-star signees in 2015, both Ivey and Jefferson grew up as Gators fans and Muschamp had done most of the work before being fired. McElwain hasn’t proven he can sign five-star players on his own. That’s a problem.
Fields would solve it.
http://gridironnow.com/jim-mcelwain-doesnt-want-cant-recruit-label-needs-justin-fields/
Jim McElwain is a fine coach — but he still sits at the children’s table when it comes to recruiting. If you haven’t delivered a top-10 class at Florida in three years, you certainly are not sitting with the big boys.
Gators fans still are waiting for McElwain to land the five-star prospect that could mean he was on his way to joining the elites, like Nick Saban, Urban Meyer, Jimbo Fisher and Dabo Swinney. Watching Georgia’s Kirby Smart make such a quick impact on the recruiting trail hasn’t helped, either.
The player that could start to change how McElwain is perceived as a recruiter is Kennesaw (Ga.) Harrison quarterback Justin Fields. Fields is a consensus top-three player in the 2018 class.
Fields (6 feet 3, 221 pounds) backed off his commitment to Penn State earlier this month and reportedly is considering Auburn, Florida, Florida State and Georgia. Fields took an unofficial visit to Gainesville earlier this week.
He is the player McElwain needs. The Gators have eight commitments for their 2018 class, but not one is from a player ranked in the top 100. Miami has seven top-100 commitments, FSU three. Five SEC schools have at least one commitment in the top 100.
One player does not make a class, but Fields is the type of talent who can attract other elite prospects. McElwain’s class with Fields in the fold could be more reflective of the excellent classes UF consistently produced in previous coaching regimes.
McElwain pales in comparison to former Florida coaches when it comes to landing five-star prospects. He has signed two in three years (both in 2015: Martez Ivey and CeCe Jefferson).
Ron Zook signed six in 2003 alone. Urban Meyer signed eight five-star recruits in his first three classes. Will Muschamp was a flawed coach but a good recruiter; he signed three five-stars in 2012 alone.
McElwain hushed his recruiting critics with a strong close in February, but in actuality he just avoided a disaster. UF still finished outside the top 10 and signed only one player in the top 100 and three in the top 150.
As for the two five-star signees in 2015, both Ivey and Jefferson grew up as Gators fans and Muschamp had done most of the work before being fired. McElwain hasn’t proven he can sign five-star players on his own. That’s a problem.
Fields would solve it.
