Spring Game date announced-Muschamp's huge class

[travisduncan]

ICON SMI Jan 02 2012: U.S. Army All-American Bowl East Team wide receiver Stefon Diggs (1) during the Monday East Team Practice for the 2012 U.S. Army All-American Bowl at Heroes Stadium in San Antonio Texas.

IN just a few short months, the Gators will retake the field at The Swamp for the annual Blue and Orange game. This year's game will be Saturday April 7th at 1 p.m. the school announced this week.

It will be the first time we get to see about 15-25 new Gators take the field at the Swamp.

While the 2012 class will be noteworthy as coach Will Muschamp's first-much of the talk will surround a couple of Urban Meyer recruits, sophomore quarterbacks Jacoby Brissett and Jeff Driskel, who will probably steal the headlines as they compete for the starter's job.

But lurking behind that impending controversy is the idea that, as bad as the 2011 season went on the field, off the field Will Muschamp has a huge recruiting class.

It's not huge per se in size (though he wants bigger players upfront, D.J. Humphries a 6-5 265 lb offensive lineman for example) ( or in class size just 18 so far) but huge in terms of hype, rankings and talent. And his players and his recruiting is how he'll be judged. The cupboard being bare will no longer fly. Not everything is Urban Meyer's fault.

The Gators in the 2012 recruiting rankings are right up there where they have been in the Meyer days among the National Powers. This is a big deal if you believe recruiting leads to championships. It hasn't been said a lot but Muchamp and his staff has got them one heck of a recruiting class-but you sense the excitement and fatigue of the 2011 campaign is putting a damper on what should be a bright outlook. But Aubrey Hill for one and Muschamp's staff have done an excellent job recruiting, and if you haven't noticed the way things go these days, recruiting isn't just the business of telling a kid come to Florida anymore. It's a dog fight. It's a dog fight with the Alabama's, the Georgia's the Auburn's, the Florida States among others.

-The Gators haven't secured any commitments in 2012 (they have 18 total to date with plenty of scholarships available) but that should change in the days leading up to National Signing Day February 1st.

Two key players the Gators are targeting which could bolster the class even further are:

-Wide receiver Stefon Diggs out of Olney, Maryland. Diggs is ranked as a Top 10 player in all of the 2012 class and among the Top 5 wideouts. Auburn is thought to be a leading destination along with Maryland and possibly Cal.

-Offensive lineman Avery Young out of Palm Beach Gardens is ranked as a Top 15 offensive lineman for 2012. Young has offers from Auburn and Georgia as well. Young won't make an announcement until National Signing day.

-Still as the class stands now the Gators are ranked No. 4 in the Rivals recruiting rankings (the only SEC school ranked higher is Alabama at No.1). ESPN ranks the Gators at No. 4 as well.

Here is what ESPN has to say about Muschamp's big class.:

Will Muschamp has the Gators rolling on the recruiting trail. Three of Florida's top prospects are on the offensive line, led by five-star OT D.J. Humphries (Charlotte, N.C./First Coast). Humphries, the top OT in the country and the No. 8 overall prospect, is a great blend of size and athleticism. He joins ESPNU 150 offensive tackles Jessamen Dunker (Boynton Beach, Fla./Boynton Beach) and Dante Phillips (Venice, Fla./Venice). Both have great size, length and upside to develop into very good college tackles. The Gators added some weapons for the passing game with a pair of Under Armour All-Americans in Colin Thompson (Warminster, Pa./Archbishop), the nation's top TE, and LaTroy Pittman (Citra, Fla./North Marion), a four-star wideout who is a physically impressive receiver with some playmaking ability. The Gators added a solid running back as well with four-star Matt Jones (Seffner, Fla./Armwood). The defense also gets a boost, highlighted by the addition of ESPNU 150 DE Jonathan Bullard (Shelby, N.C./Crest).

-John Brantley is preparing for Saturday's East-West Shrine game, and had this to say about his NFL or professional prospects:

“You’re not on the radar. You don’t have a bulls-eye on your back. You’re just out here with all these guys, having fun and trying to impress the NFL," Brantley told the school's official website.

The East-West Shrine game will air Saturday at 4 p.m. ET on the NFL Network.

-The Gators men's hoops team faces LSU at the O-Dome at 6 p.m. ET on FSN. The Gators have won two straights since dropping a game to the Vols on Jan. 7. The Gators have a 14-4 overall record and are 2-1 in the SEC.

LSU is 12-6 on the season and coming off a big win against Auburn in overtime Tuesday night.

Forward Patric Young is dealing with a tendinitis issue in his right ankle but should not miss any games according to coach Billy Donovan.

 

[DRU2012]

Great look at both our class and how it is viewed outside Gator Nation--but one thing struck me:
I had thought that where Driskel HAD been recruited for some time by Meyer&Co. before he left, his mobility a consideration for any Spread-influenced Meyer offense, Brisset was more a "late-developing" choice on the part of the new regime, especially Weis as the new OC, enamored as he was of Jacoby's stronger arm, tall build, and Weis' promise of a "more pro-style" offense.
Now that Peace is in as our new OC, perhaps this is a moot point, since he is assumed to have no particular bias or preference to one over the other, except insofar as which appears to excel in his offensive-scheme and seizes the QB leadership role. That's one of the many things that are preferable and encouraging to us in Peace's taking over at OC. Many of us were not so sure that the pending competition would be settled on "a level playing field" under Weis: we suspected he had too much a predisposition to put "his guy" in there.

PS--One more Q regarding prospective recruits: What can y'all tell us about the one QB we are apparently "interested" in, Jacob Guy I believe is his name? We SHOULD be after another talented young freshman QB we can redshirt at this point; is this "that guy"?

 

[travisduncan]

Dru I stand corrected in a way on Jacoby Brisett... he didn't commitment until Feb of 2011, though Urb and Co were on the trail in the summer of 2010 if not earlier.

As far as Jacob Guy I haven't heard much....Muschamp maintains that they are in a good position with Brissett and Driskel for the years to come. So 2012 may not have a QB in the recruiting class it but I betcha 2013 will have a No. 1 or Top 5 QB of some sort come...Of course Driskel was a No.1 type of guy and most seem underwhelmed by him so far. So if i were to speculate, Brisett and Driskell get next year to earn the job for the final two seasons of their eligibility.

 

[Escambia94]

Jeff Driskel is always listed as a pro style QB, even though he is quite mobile. He was recruited by Urban Meyer because of UM's desire to go more pro style. Driskel stuck with his Florida commitment because he has always been a Gator fan. Jacoby Brissett was recruited by Weis as his preferred style of QB.

Jacob Guy is a 3 star, tall and lanky. Mobile, but patient in the pocket. He is from Miami, but got no attention from Florida recruiters (UF, FsU, UM). Something about him has Pease's attention. Brent Pease seems not have a style. He looks for something that scouts do not measure, which is probably why Muschamp likes Pease. Is he "the guy"? Not everyone can be the guy. Remember Noah Brindise, Brian Schottenheimer, or G.A. Mungus? None of them excelled as starters. Some never saw the field. All are coaches somewhere. Christian Provencha? Tyler Murphy? Maybe destined for the same thing. Maybe Jacob Guy is destined to be a Noah Brindise. Who knows?

 

[DRU2012]

...And now along comes word of ANOTHER somewhat obscure QB-prospect that the Gators are reportedly showing last-minute interest in, Paxton Lynch. Not surprisingly it is Pease who is hot on bringing him in, but (according to his father) UF WAS "one of the first on board" back in his junior year, when (again, according to his father) they were drawing a LOT of attention ("We thought he would be offered at a bunch of major programs", said Dad), but then he got injured in the Spring Game, a serious bone-bruise on the knee), missed close to half the season and, sitting on the sidelines, then having to work his way back at a small school, he "fell off the map", dropped to 3-stars and was only getting interest from smaller college programs; Weis nixed ANY QB-picks for 2012--even called them and told them so since there HAD been prior contact, and that appeared to be that--BUT Pease contacted them IMMEDIATELY upon being hired and has been after him ever since to hold off making any other decision, and come in for an official visit. The father's understanding apparently is that the only reason young Lynch hasn't been offered yet is that there was a decision to be made as to whether one or TWO prospective quarterbacks were to be offered scholarships and, if only one, which it would be, "Paxton or another one they were interested in"--Jacob Guy, no doubt.
The Lynch kid is supposed to be a big, rangy, "pure pocket passer with a cannon arm", who everyone agreed had enormous "upside potential" until he got hurt, and along with the other compounding factors, was "out-of-sight out-of-mind" AND now "a bit of a project" in the view of the recruiting services and the few big-program coaches who remembered him--but JUST the kind of "great kid, talented athlete, a potential leader-on-the field with a promising future that got a little side-tracked" that PEASE looks for, someone who is hard working, patient and just glad to learn, grow and get a SHOT at the kind of eventual success he has always prepared for--and won't whine and chafe at being redshirted, then waiting his turn while he matures and rounds into experienced form. My guess is he sees something similar in Jacob Guy as well, though from what E-94 has described, Guy is a little different "mix of background and skills" (--sort of like the differences between Brisset and Driskel, now that I think about it--and not a bad way to go, if you take two) My guess is it'll come down to how many of the 5-star fence-sitters they feel they'll realistically grab as things come down to the wire here--if they think they're likely to be close to that 25-scholarship limit, they may only offer one until the last minute (and then only offer the 2nd if he elects to wait until then himself, as per the Gators' request, no doubt).

 

[Escambia94]

Keep in mind that there will always be more than two quarterbacks on scholarship at any time. Typically there are 3 or 4 on scholarship and 3 or 4 not on scholarship. For every Tim Tebow there is a John Brantley on scholarship and an Andrew Blaylock not on scholarship.

 

[DRU2012]

Keep in mind that there will always be more than two quarterbacks on scholarship at any time. Typically there are 3 or 4 on scholarship and 3 or 4 not on scholarship. For every Tim Tebow there is a John Brantley on scholarship and an Andrew Blaylock not on scholarship.

True--but I get the impression that we'll have to give either of these two scholarships to get them in. Beyond that, we've got three QBs that I am aware of--I know we've got more "athletes that could play quarterback", but I am unfamiliar with any dedicated, ongoing non-scholarship QB-projects "in the background" here at UF currently...Are you? (Heck, that pretty well describes Tyler Murphy, aside from his actual scholarship, right? He's a kind of "insurance policy" running quietly on a parallel track to (and, intentionally, a little behind) the other two, from what I can see--and, probably like a lot of other Gators, I don't know very much about his background, talent, style or potential.)

 

[Escambia94]

Florida, like most teams, always has about 7 QBs on the team. Realistically any team can only put 85 players from a 105 man roster on scholarship, which translates to roughly 80% or 5 of 7 quarterbacks. The other half are known to be on the team for other reasons other than trying to get into the NFL. Believe it or not, even some of the scholarship players are not playing for NFL draft stock.

We as fans make very bad and inaccurate assumptions as to what happens on the field, in the locker room, and on the practice field. One assumption is that what we see on our 55" TVs is enough to gauge skill as well as the coach that gets paid millions. Our eyes tell us that Tyler Murphy looked better than John Brantley in the Orange and Blue Debut and should have been a "project ". History is filled with Tyler Murphys. Is it "fair" that Tyler beat out JB4 in some ways but never saw the field? No. Who said life was fair? Today we are holding 4 quarterbacks per year on scholarship that will never play one down of football on TV and will never play in the NFL. I have a feeling Tyler is one of them.

 

[DRU2012]

I hear what you're saying, and must admit that I am in fact too under-informed/ignorant regarding much of the personnel you imply is on OUR team to make ANY assumptions beyond the ones I noted above--bad, inaccurate or otherwise. Not only did I not expect anyone BUT Brantley to be our starter coming into 2011, but as I DID note, with Driskel and Brisset coming in and the focus on their competition at first for back-up, then to start after JB's injury in the 'Bama game at mid-season, I assumed (like most fans, I think) that Murphy was the furthest by far from "being ready", and (if I considered it at all) figured he might well have been redshirted if NOT for that injury--or kept available while one of the two more highly-regarded freshmen QBs was "pulled back", had the other more clearly seized the back-up role and Brantley had NOT been hurt. Either way, I had already assumed that Tyler Murphy was SOME kind of "insurance policy" even then, and am not so sure that the situation you describe above is not a more detailed general overview of the same idea.
I am interested though: do you include in your tally the various "athletes" and players who have PLAYED quarterback primarily in the past, in some instances even for us? In a couple of cases, they have more and more concentrated on other positions, for both the sake of their futures and their potential contribution to the team's skill, balance and depth in that role. In addition to these, are there non-scholarship QBs currently on our roster who have been practicing with the other quarterbacks this past year or more? Such is my admitted lack in this area that, though I follow and accept your knowledge and assumptions regarding big-time college football programs' routine personnel procedures and strategies, I am in fact ignorant of the details in our own team's "lesser lights" at this position, toiling as they must in obscurity on the practice field, just outside the spotlight, not expecting to be called, or even really noticed. I'm going to do my best to correct that oversight in the weeks and months ahead.