Recruiting Wide Receiver Recruiting

Woodstork

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Dec 19, 2019
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Have a story to relate that maybe illustrates why we miss on a lot of elite players. Flights to Tampa were delayed at the Pensacola airport night before ESD, and I ended up in conversation with a stranger who turned out to be Michael Redding’s mom. Redding is a 4-star receiver from IMG. He’s listed at 6’2”, runs a 4.56 40, and is rated as a top FL-50 player.

Mom was on her way down to watch his signing ceremony with Miami. I asked why not Florida? She said he was actually very interested in Florida until they visited. In fact from among his 30+ offers, he started out most interested in UF, Purdue, and Notre Dame because he’s a bright kid and academics were important. He’s also a serious athlete and the priority was to enroll in a program that could prepare him for both Sunday football and a fall back on engineering.

Mom said they really liked Dan Mullen. She said coach Mullen made her feel like Michael would be part of an extended family. She liked his vision for the program. She liked the vibe. Her whole demeanor lit up when she spoke of Dan. This makes think Dan is not a bad recruiter.

Then she got a puzzled look and said the time with the receivers coach was disappointing. Michael asked Gonzalez how he develops players and was told that he was not looking for players requiring development. Period. So, they crossed Florida off the list. Michael ended wanting to stay in state and chose Miami over FSU.

Either Gonzalez was processing him, or this is one of the most monumentally stupid comments you could make to a recruit. The kid left the panhandle to go to an elite athletic prep school for crying out loud! Given the overall status of WR recruiting, I’m going with stupid.

I sell and perform engineering services for a living. ‘Sales 101’ indicates you at least reciprocate the question if you don’t have a development plan for the kid. Like, ‘We tailor development on an individual basis. Let’s look at your film and break it down a bit” or “What I’ve seen on tape says you are very close to becoming a prime time SEC baller, so what do you think you need to work on?”, followed by “Yep, I’ve built individual programs to improve (insert skill here) that absolutely helped put (insert protégé here) into the league.” I mean how ****ing hard is that?

Looking at Miami’s class, we’d be happy to have their WR and RB haul. Maybe Dan should hire their position coaches.
 

stephenPE

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Law will give you the scoop in 3........2..........1........We need to fire about 80% of our position coaches because of their lack of recruiting skills and coaching abilities.
Then she got a puzzled look and said the time with the receivers coach was disappointing. Michael asked Gonzalez how he develops players and was told that he was not looking for players requiring development. Period. So, they crossed Florida off the list. Michael ended wanting to stay in state and chose Miami over FSU.
That sounds a little far fetched. So many kids in HS programs get by on poor coaching and natural speed and ability. A coach like Gonzo surely knows that by now. Hell. its worse in basketball.
 

Woodstork

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Dec 19, 2019
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Law will give you the scoop in 3........2..........1........We need to fire about 80% of our position coaches because of their lack of recruiting skills and coaching abilities.

That sounds a little far fetched. So many kids in HS programs get by on poor coaching and natural speed and ability. A coach like Gonzo surely knows that by now. Hell. its worse in basketball.

Yeah, I was thinking maybe they misheard. But, that’s definitely the impression she had and was the reason she gave for not continuing to consider UF. However, a good recruiter should read body language or facial expressions and know something was amiss and follow up to clear the matter immediately.
 

Woodstork

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Dec 19, 2019
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Nice post, Woodstock. I like Woodstock's although few see their beauty.

Thank you. I think wood storks are quintessential Florida birds. Pretty in flight, but a bit bizarre up close. Reminds me of some of my drunken pick ups in the 80’s.

Will change my avatar to an ironhead once I have a bit more time.
 

Woodstork

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Btw welcome to our asylum.

1000%

Thank you. Been lurking forever. Great place to get Gator news and be entertained. Decided to join the fray.

The Chip Kelly topic is my all time favorite. Picked up lots of great advice regarding cigars and bourbon. Also was convinced we were getting him and that championships were soon to follow. Almost got fired for spending days pouring over that one. Stopped eating and bathing. Wife almost left. Thank goodness we didn’t land him. I’d be holding a ‘will work for food’ sign.
 

Swamp Donkey

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Almost got fired for spending days pouring over that one. Stopped eating and bathing. Wife almost left. Thank goodness we didn’t land him. I’d be holding a ‘will work for food’ sign.
So... just another Ox alias.
 
Last edited:

Woodstork

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Dec 19, 2019
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this is all part of the conspiracy to frame are excellent assistants as poor recruiters

So... just another Ox alias.

Regarding the anti-Knox/English/Gonzo discussion, I’ve felt all along like only Gonzo is worth keeping. But now I’m on the fence with him. The disparity in recruiting results are tied to specific positions and wide receiver has been a glaring deficiency except for transfers and an occasional outlier (Cope). I wonder what the Grimes and Jefferson backstories are? If Gonzalez recruited them, then maybe he’s not so bad and can be improved with staff help.

Mullen has been a pleasant surprise and has made Florida football much more fun to watch than the previous 10 years. I hope he takes the next step in recruiting.
 

LagoonGator68

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Have a story to relate that maybe illustrates why we miss on a lot of elite players. Flights to Tampa were delayed at the Pensacola airport night before ESD, and I ended up in conversation with a stranger who turned out to be Michael Redding’s mom. Redding is a 4-star receiver from IMG. He’s listed at 6’2”, runs a 4.56 40, and is rated as a top FL-50 player.

Mom was on her way down to watch his signing ceremony with Miami. I asked why not Florida? She said he was actually very interested in Florida until they visited. In fact from among his 30+ offers, he started out most interested in UF, Purdue, and Notre Dame because he’s a bright kid and academics were important. He’s also a serious athlete and the priority was to enroll in a program that could prepare him for both Sunday football and a fall back on engineering.

Mom said they really liked Dan Mullen. She said coach Mullen made her feel like Michael would be part of an extended family. She liked his vision for the program. She liked the vibe. Her whole demeanor lit up when she spoke of Dan. This makes think Dan is not a bad recruiter.

Then she got a puzzled look and said the time with the receivers coach was disappointing. Michael asked Gonzalez how he develops players and was told that he was not looking for players requiring development. Period. So, they crossed Florida off the list. Michael ended wanting to stay in state and chose Miami over FSU.

Either Gonzalez was processing him, or this is one of the most monumentally stupid comments you could make to a recruit. The kid left the panhandle to go to an elite athletic prep school for crying out loud! Given the overall status of WR recruiting, I’m going with stupid.

I sell and perform engineering services for a living. ‘Sales 101’ indicates you at least reciprocate the question if you don’t have a development plan for the kid. Like, ‘We tailor development on an individual basis. Let’s look at your film and break it down a bit” or “What I’ve seen on tape says you are very close to becoming a prime time SEC baller, so what do you think you need to work on?”, followed by “Yep, I’ve built individual programs to improve (insert skill here) that absolutely helped put (insert protégé here) into the league.” I mean how ****ing hard is that?

Looking at Miami’s class, we’d be happy to have their WR and RB haul. Maybe Dan should hire their position coaches.


His Hudl looks more like a 4.65 forty....
 

deuce

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LagoonGator68

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Regarding the anti-Knox/English/Gonzo discussion, I’ve felt all along like only Gonzo is worth keeping. But now I’m on the fence with him. The disparity in recruiting results are tied to specific positions and wide receiver has been a glaring deficiency except for transfers and an occasional outlier (Cope). I wonder what the Grimes and Jefferson backstories are? If Gonzalez recruited them, then maybe he’s not so bad and can be improved with staff help.

Mullen has been a pleasant surprise and has made Florida football much more fun to watch than the previous 10 years. I hope he takes the next step in recruiting.
Regarding the anti-Knox/English/Gonzo discussion, I’ve felt all along like only Gonzo is worth keeping. But now I’m on the fence with him. The disparity in recruiting results are tied to specific positions and wide receiver has been a glaring deficiency except for transfers and an occasional outlier (Cope). I wonder what the Grimes and Jefferson backstories are? If Gonzalez recruited them, then maybe he’s not so bad and can be improved with staff help.

Mullen has been a pleasant surprise and has made Florida football much more fun to watch than the previous 10 years. I hope he takes the next step in recruiting.


Mullen has been in Gonzales face several times during games this year...wouldn’t surprise me to see a change soon.
 

JDW

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It’s almost on him for that first series in the UGA game if the wristbands were really the issue...and now he’s lazy in recruiting...it’s pathetic
 

Yankeetown

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I sell and perform engineering services for a living. ‘Sales 101’ indicates you at least reciprocate the question if you don’t have a development plan for the kid. Like, ‘We tailor development on an individual basis. Let’s look at your film and break it down a bit” or “What I’ve seen on tape says you are very close to becoming a prime time SEC baller, so what do you think you need to work on?”, followed by “Yep, I’ve built individual programs to improve (insert skill here) that absolutely helped put (insert protégé here) into the league.” I mean how ****ing hard is that?

Looking at Miami’s class, we’d be happy to have their WR and RB haul. Maybe Dan should hire their position coaches.

Maybe Dan should consider hiring a highly experienced sales executive as Director of Recruiting (and Sales Training) ... somebody with a proven track record, from outside of football. The traditional football-knowledgeable coaches and support staff retain responsibility for identifying and prioritizing prospects ... but the Sales Guy manages the pipeline, provides sales training and tactical advice, and gets our top targets closed and landed, etc.

Reading the body language and talk of prospects and their families accurately, especially when the kids are here on visits and not wanting to reveal their full thoughts, is clearly a skill that has been lacking at Florida for a number of years. We're close to Zero for a Gazillion in landing guys on ESD or NSD who we thought we had a chance at getting ... which is strong evidence that we're just making hapless guesses that are biased by the projection of our needs.

How many college position coaches address their weaknesses by taking sales-type training courses in the off-season? I'd guess "not many."

And for our team, that'd be "Not nearly enough."
 

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