I figured I would put this here since this is about Mullen's recruiting philosophy which I found worrying. Sammon published an article (sub site The Athletic) a few minutes ago about UF's academic risks in recruiting. Here are the highlights,
1. Mullen believes in taking risks with academic kids. It worked out for him at Miss St. So he is continuing it at UF. Here are the 2 paragraphs which worry me most.
“Because there’s a chance for them to make it,” Mullen said. “They want to be Gators. They can still go to junior college and qualify there. They can go to prep school depending on their situation with NCAA eligibility numbers. So a lot of it is, it’s a guy you start recruiting a little bit later in his career, and you look, their freshman, sophomore grades, and they really don’t have much of a chance. But all of a sudden, they pick it up as they move on and you say, OK, this guy is going to figure it out and can be a good player. I’ve had success with that with junior college players in the past as a head coach.”
He has. At Mississippi State, some players who signed with the Bulldogs and didn’t qualify would then go to junior colleges and join the Bulldogs two years later. This is a practice commonly referred to as “sign and place.” But that doesn’t mean it will work for Florida, which has tougher academic standards and prides itself on wanting to be viewed as a high-level academic institution. The practice is widely used by Mississippi State and Ole Miss because of the schools’ relationships with certain junior colleges. If Mullen is confident he can get players to come back to him, it’s not a bad method; it’s just far from bullet-proof.
We are the Florida Gators. Am I wrong in thinking that this kind of risk taking shouldn't be necessary? Which makes this paragraph from Sammon even more stinging,
Without Steele, Jones, Hammond and Black, and after accounting for additions and attrition for other schools, Florida’s 2019 class would rank No. 16. Of the top 15 programs in the class besides Florida, only Tennessee has a known academic concern in Anthony Harris, who hasn’t enrolled.
Other programs aren't having this problem. It is just us. Sammon wrote that Mullen knew a couple of guys wouldn't make it. Still, he put in the time and effort to recruit them anyway. What say you? Is Mullen doing this because he feels he has to and will change the risk taking when we reestablish the Florida brand?
