I know some of you seemed to not be impressed with yesterday’s haul, so I decided to dive a little deeper into the overall roster talent and the 180 flip since Mullen arrived in Gainesville. This is original content, and I typed this on my lagging iPhone so bare with me if there’s grammatical errors (it’s all Siri’s fault)
Let’s first take a look at Bamas 2019 recruiting class
Alabama:
12 top 100 recruits
12 recruits in the top 100-300 range
3 outside the top 300, only one unranked and that’s a kicker (their kickers always suck so I’m going to say this kid also sucks so suck it Saban)
This is the gold standard in recruiting. We all know this. Nobody has truly been able to 1. Recruit at this level while also 2. Evaluate and take kids that fit your brand/scheme/culture the way they do. Hardly ever do they have a high end bust which means they aren’t just star gazing. In reality, this isn’t a level we will be able to hit or at least consistently hit.
Let’s take a look at Clemson’s class:
Clemson signed 29 players, and still ended up two spots behind Florida’s class of 25 players.
3 top 100 recruits
9 players in the 100-300 range
17 kids in the 300-1000 range. Quite a lot actually are below the top 500.
This is kind of an outlier class for Clemon. Clearly not their best. Let’s look at the class that’s going to lead them to another title, the ‘18 class:
5 5 stars
7 top 100 recruits (this includes the 5 stars)
5 in the 100-300 range
5 in the 300-900 range
This is the group that success for Clemson will be based on over the next 2-3 years. This class already won a national title led by Ross and Lawrence. Sandwiching an amazing class like this with classes like 2019 will be what Florida needs to do to contend for national titles on a yearly basis.
I’m not even going to get into Georgias recruiting because it’s evident to me Kirby star gazes with little evaluation, hoping to override his mediocre coaching with an abundance of high level talent. He’s recruited quite a few guys that don’t fit their style offensively, a mish mash of players that realize this once they get to campus hence the high level of transfers. And on top of that they haven’t won anything.
Butters destroyed Florida’s talent and depth by at one point having 20 more 3 stars than we did 4 and 5 stars combined. With Mullen having 1 1/2 classes, we are officially over the 50% blue chip ratio for our roster at a healthy 54%.
Now, let’s take a look at Florida’s 2019 class
9th overall (8th on rivals)
5 top 100 recruits (I count Diwun Black because he’s still 45th overall on 247, was a borderline 5 star who would be a consensus five star if he didn’t quit for a year. Not going to punish us for something that doesn’t include suspension or injury.)
8 players in the 100-300 range
12 players from 300-800
blue chip ratio is the key here and a solid mix of top 100 and guys in the 100-300 range.
Florida’s 2019 class finished with a blue chip ratio of 68% on the composite. Pushing the programs blue chip percentage above .500 for the first time since at least 2015 (probably even earlier than that. The team composite doesn’t go further back).
When Mullen first arrived, Florida had 51 3 star recruits and only 28 blue chippers. I can’t stress how impressive this recruiting turn around has been, because I know some see the lack of 5 stars and immediately rage quit on caring about the depth of the overall turn around
Mullens two year haul has produced 9 top 100 players, 15 players in the 100-300 range, and only 15 3 stars. Compared to Clemson’s 10 top 100 recruits, 14 in the 100-300 range, and 20 3 stars.
A two year average and we have signed the exact same amount of top 300 players as Clemson, and 1 less top 100 player. They’ve signed 6 5 stars though. And that’ll be key to pay attention to down the line.
I think in 2020 we have a real shot to sign 3-4 five stars and even a high blue chip percentage than we did in 2019. Overall, recruiting has transformed the talent level of Florida ten fold since Mullens arrival and its only going to get better from here.
Add on: developing and coaching is obviously incredibly important as well, and I believe we have one of the best coaches in college football. The continued roster flip and a coach who develops his offensive talent with the best of them, constantly challenging the brightest defensive minds in football, will yield us multiple titles in the short future.