A Look Back at the Gator Recruiting Class of 2014

[Escambia94]

This year there will be 5 redshirt seniors who will leave the University of Florida having seen three head coaches and two 4-win seasons. This class had 1 five-star, 12 four-star, and 11 three-star athletes. 7 athletes (3 four-star, 4 three-star) transferred out, 3 medically retired (2 four-star, 1 three-star), and 3 were dismissed (2 four-star, 1 three-star). 8 of the 24 recruits are on NFL rosters today. 4 are still with the Florida Gators, and 8 are playing on other teams--including one Heisman contender. For C'yontai Lewis, Khairi Clark, Moral Stephens, and Kavaris Harkless, this has been a wild ride. RJ Raymond and Jorge Powell joined the team as walk-ons and could be counted amongst this recruiting class.

The good:

• Duke Dawson (2X All-SEC, NFL draft pick)
• Taven Bryan (2nd-team All-SEC, NFL draft pick)
• Quincy Wilson (2nd-team All-SEC, NFL draft pick)
• David Sharpe (NFL Draft draft pick)
• Teez Tabor (All-SEC, NFL draft pick)
• Brandon Powell (NFL UDFA)
• DeAndre Goolsby (NFL UDFA)

The bad:

• Gerald Willis - kicked out of UF, transferred to Miami
• Deiondre Porter - kicked out of UF, arrested

The ugly:

• Will Grier - suspended from UF, transferred to WVU, potential Heisman candidate and 1st round draft pick
• JC Jackson - arrested for armed robbery in 2015, dismissed from team, acquitted, transferred to Maryland, and signed with New England Patriots
• Treon Harris - transferred to Tennessee State after some legal troubles at UF, switched to wide receiver
• Multiple medical retirements: Nolan Kelleher, Drew Sarvary, Thomas Holley
• Multiple transfers: Will Grier, JC Jackson, Treon Harris, Travaris Dorsey, Justus Reed, Ryan Sousa, Andrew Mike, CJ Worton

1. Will Grier, QB, 6'3", 185, 4*, 12/19/12 Davidson, NC EE
   • Suspended one year in October 2015. Transferred to West Virginia April 2016.
2. Duke Dawson, CB, 5'11", 184, 1/8/13 4* Cross City, FL EE
   • 2018 NFL Draft, round 2, New England Patriots
3. Travaris Dorsey, OG, 6'3", 280, 3* Jacksonville, FL 2/16/13 Junior Day
   • Transferred March 2016 to Tuskegee.
4. C'yontai Lewis, TE, 6'5", 208, 3* Tuscaloosa, AL 5/23/2013
5. JC Jackson, CB, 5'11", 185, 4* Immokalee, FL 6/8/2013
   • Arrested for armed robbery April 2015 and dismissed from team. Found not guilty November 2015. Transferred to Riverside CC in 2015, then Maryland in 2016.
   • 2018 NFL draft UDFA, signed with New England Patriots.
6. Taven Bryan, SDE, 6'5", 250, 3* Casper, WY 6/12/2013 EE
   • 2nd Team All-SEC 2017
   • 2018 NFL Draft, 1st round, Jacksonville Jaguars
7. Khairi Clark, DT, 6'2", 325, 4* Hollywood, FL 6/22/2013
8. Justus Reed, DE, 6'4", 235, 3* Clearwater, FL 7/25/2013
   • Transferred April 2017 to Youngstown State
9. Nolan Kelleher, OT, 6'5", 296, 4* Mt Pleasant, SC 7/25/2013 EE
   • Medically retired in 2014 due to injuries
10. Quincy Wilson, S, 6'2", 195, 4* Ft Lauderdale, FL 8/12/2013
    • 2nd team All-SEC 2016
    • 2017 NFL draft, 2nd round, Indianapolis Colts.
11. DeAndre Goolsby, TE, 6'5", 235, 3* Derby, KS 11/8/2013 EE
    • 2018 NFL Draft UDFA, signed with Jacksonville Jaguars
12. Ryan Sousa, WR, 6'1", 175, 3* Orlando, FL 12/2/2013
    • Transferred to Southern Illinois April 2016.
13. Moral Stephens, TE, 6'3", 215, 4* Perry, FL 12/12/2013
14. David Sharpe, OT, 6'8", 275, 4* Jacksonville, FL 12/12/2013
    • 2017 NFL Draft, 4th round, Oakland Raiders.
15. Gerald Willis, SDE, 6'4", 247, 1/2/2014, 4* New Orleans, LA (Flipped from LSU at UA Game) EE
    • Dismissed from team at the end of 2014 after a few incidents.
    • Went to Miami in 2014.
    • Took leave of absence from football in 2016.
16. Kavaris Harkless, OT, 6'5", 269, 6-5, 269, Jacksonville, FL 1/4/2014 EE 3*
17. Teez (Jalen) Tabor, CB, 6'1", 182, 4* Washington, DC (flipped from Arizona after the UA Game) EE 5*
    • 2X All-SEC (2015, 2016)
    • 2017 NFL draft, 2nd round, Detroit Lions
18. Drew Sarvary, OL, 6'7", 310, 12/18/2013 Tyler JC transfer EE 3*
    • Medically retired in 2014 due to injuries
19. Brandon Powell, RB, 5'10" 171, 1/9/2014, Deerfield Beach, FL 4*
    • 2018 NFL Draft UDFA, signed with Detroit Lions
20. Thomas Holley, DT, 6'4", 303, 1/15/2014, 4* Brookyln, NY (flipped from Penn State after James Franklin hired) 4*
    • Medically retired in April 2016.
21. Deiondre Porter, ATH, 6'1", 185, 1/20/2014, 3* Tampa, FL
    • Arrested October 2015 for armed robbery and dismissed from team. April 2017 sentenced to 6 years in prison.
22. Andrew Mike, OL, 6'7", 270, 2/4/2014, 3* Tucson, AZ (flipped from Vanderbilt on NSD-1)
    • Transferred to Rice in 2017
23. Treon Harris, QB 5-11 170 of Booker T. Washington High School, Miami, Fla. 4* (flipped from FSU)
    • Transferred to Tennessee State after multiple legal issues in January 2016.
24. C.J. Worton, WR 6-0 170 of South Dade Senior High School, Homestead, Fla. 3*
    • Transferred to FIU April 2017.

 

[DRU2012]

OUCH! Some reckoning!
Gotta hope and BELIEVE that kind of record will be a thing of the past from here on. One of the most darkly telling aspects of the last 9 years of mainly Gator Futility has been how many examples and WAYS such "looks back" include such a littany of promising talent turning out to be "unrealized", at best.

 

[Escambia94]

Looking back, it makes sense why we had so many transfers this part decade. Each coach came in with very different schemes, with many of the offensive schemes being bad fits for Sunshine State athletes. There are two offenses that took advantage of Florida speed: Spurrier's Fun n' Gun, and Meyer's Utah Offense. On defense, bad recruiting made it hard to fill the right roles as we flip-flopped from 4-3 to 3-4. We even ran a 3-3-5 Joker defense for a while. Maybe if we had the right strength and conditioning the whole time it would have been easier to mold athletes into their positions. All of that ignores the other issues UF had with recruiting the state. With 130 different schools stealing our athletes, UF recruiters sometimes went into troubled neighborhoods to get guaranteed commitments, rather than taking chances on higher profile athletes from Sunshine State football factories.

 

[DRU2012]

Looking back, it makes sense why we had so many transfers this part decade. Each coach came in with very different schemes, with many of the offensive schemes being bad fits for Sunshine State athletes. There are two offenses that took advantage of Florida speed: Spurrier's Fun n' Gun, and Meyer's Utah Offense. On defense, bad recruiting made it hard to fill the right roles as we flip-flopped from 4-3 to 3-4. We even ran a 3-3-5 Joker defense for a while. Maybe if we had the right strength and conditioning the whole time it would have been easier to mold athletes into their positions. All of that ignores the other issues UF had with recruiting the state. With 130 different schools stealing our athletes, UF recruiters sometimes went into troubled neighborhoods to get guaranteed commitments, rather than taking chances on higher profile athletes from Sunshine State football factories.

All too true. Old and sad, the same old readymade REASONS for how and why the "once great" are reduced to "not a whole lot anymore".
Still, in retrospect these sound like excuses after-the-fact...They don't help much, in any way, now.
HOWEVER it happened, it HAPPENED: We have just come through, are just emerging FROM a time characterized by the constant background narative, "Our best years are behind us..."
The reason I think we feel a growing hope that what we are seeing now is just the START of a wholesale CHANGE in the outlook and future fortunes of this program is because THIS Coach has a whole different attitude, philosophy and approach, and isn't the least bit interested in retracing that path, nor in making excuses for the same old failures, letdowns--let alone across-the-board underachievement.
So though I may just be guessing at the plans and details, under, around and beneath all my analyses is the fervent and growing hope that no matter what, THIS Coach is already on his way to bringing NEW success and positive joy to the team, program and all of Gator Nation. I EXPECT to guess wrong, for HIM to have to keep trying and adapting as necessary his vision of what we can and should be.
Of course, recruiting, especially recruiting FLORIDA will be the key...and for all the reasons you note and imply that is more difficult to guarantee, let alone dominate, than ever before. But as you also note, currently we DO have some advantages as well...I expect Coach Mullen will deftly exploit these. He will find, get and KEEP a large portion of "his kinda guys"--and I suspect a breakdown analysis of the next coupla recruiting classes, their general success and achievement both statistically and in contributing to the overall positive results, looked back upon a few years from now will reflect the change I am talking about, even predicting here.