Despite three-straight New Year’s Six appearances for Florida coach Dan Mullen, the recruiting continues to lag behind the other elite teams in the country (and even the conference). According to ESPN’s final 2021 recruiting rankings, UF cracked the top 10 with a No. 10 ranking (a bit higher than its No. 13 rank on the 247Sports Composite), but the Gators still missed on several key players on national signing day.
Florida landed a consensus five-star recruit for the second class in a row in Miami cornerback Jason Marshall and a talented quarterback in four-star Georgia prospect Carlos Del Rio, but perhaps its biggest additions this offseason didn’t have to sign a National Letter of Intent.
UF has been active on the transfer portal this offseason, landing a pair of former five-star recruits in Clemson running back Demarkcus Bowman (a Lakeland native) and LSU tight end Arik Gilbert, both of whom entered the transfer portal during the 2020 season.
In an analysis of the winners and losers from national signing day, Florida got a shoutout from ESPN as one of a handful of teams in a third category, “teams that used the transfer portal to their advantage.”
Florida also used this to its advantage and added some big-name players from the 2020 class in former five-star tight end Arik Gilbert, who transferred from LSU, and running back Demarkcus Bowman from Clemson.
The Gators’ use of the transfer portal certainly had an impact on its recruiting, as it limited scholarships available for the rest of the class. In addition to Gilbert and Bowman, UF added defensive tackles Daquan Newkirk from Auburn and Antonio Shelton from Penn State, as well as Mississippi State kicker Jace Christmann.
The transfer market may not be as optimal as signing a strong class of incoming freshmen, but Mullen is managing it well to fill roster needs with immediate impact players.
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