BREAKING: Florida Gators Coach Named Top 10 Recruiter

Recruiting is the lifeblood of any college football program. In the state of Florida, recruiting reaches a fever pitch that usually starts before the players attend their first day of high school.

Young players appear on radars before they grow old enough to legally drive a car. Recruiting in Florida  and those that school handsomely pay to find talent must do so by outworking their contemporaries. For Florida Gators wide receiver coach Billy Gonzales, his hard work started to pay off. Now, a national media outlet recognized him as one of the best recruiters in the nation.

The Gators were struggling with their recruiting efforts early in the cycle, but the emergence of quarterback DJ Lagway and a strong close to the season helped the Gators lock up a top-10 class.

High Praise

Carter Bahns of 247Sports, ranked top-10 recruiters in all of FBS. The list details representatives from just two conferences, the Big Ten and SEC. Texas and Michigan each possess two spots each on this list.  Bahns ranked Gonzales ninth with his 5-star wide receiver Vernell Brown III being his highest rated recruit.

“Billy Gonzales skyrocketed 37 spots in the recruiter rankings after he successfully pulled Dallas Wilson, the No. 50 overall prospect in the class, away from Oregon in one of Florida’s countless victories late in the cycle,” wrote Bahns on 247Sports.

“The Tampa (Fla.) Tampa Bay Tech star remained high on the Gators’ board despite his commitment to and signing with the Ducks, and he quickly picked his home-state team after Oregon granted his release. Gonzales now has two top-50 overall wide receivers to pair with young standout quarterback DJ Lagway in an offense expected to take a huge leap next season.”

Thoughts

Recruiting is tough; keeping in touch with the players that didn’t originally commit to your football program remains a smart approach. Dallas Wilson looked fully prepared to don the garish green and gold in Eugene. Yet, Gonzales managed to keep those lines of communication wide open.

Plus, knowing the occasionally-fickle nature of 18-20 years old, understands that their minds can rapidly change. With Wilson, that looks like the case as he wanted out of Oregon. With the opportunity to go back home and play locally remained with the Gators enrollee.

The thought of DJ Lagway enjoying two top recruits at wideout makes offseason workout and fall camp  that much more crucial. The sophomore signal caller needs to build an on-field camaraderie with presumably two of his top targets. Every snap and route mean more.

A year ago, Florida looked like a ship meandering on the horizon. Now, thanks to Gonzales’s efforts, that aforementioned vessel now boasts several new engines and looks ready to leave opponents in their wake.

Bottom Line

Billy Gonzales deserves a boatload of credit and praise for his efforts to bring the Gators back to prominence. Now, the onus falls upon the coaching staff and the players themselves to reach their potential. Yet, everything trends upward and things look better than they did a year ago.