Tag: Jim McElwain

CMU’s Jim McElwain addresses Connor Stalions allegedly having been on sidelines for MSU game

This story gets wilder and wilder. #GoBlue

It’s a story with twists and turns, and just when you think you have a handle on what’s going on, there’s a new bombshell.

The latest in the Michigan football alleged sign-stealing scandal is that Central Michigan is investigating whether Wolverine staffer Connor Stalions was on the Chippewa sideline for the Week 1 game at Michigan State. With MSU being a future opponent for the maize and blue, Stalions’ presence would be an NCAA violation.

Rumors and Zapruder-esque screenshots circulated around social media on Monday night into Tuesday. It just so happened that Central Michigan played a game on Tuesday night, so head coach Jim McElwain addressed the situation.

He claims to be unaware of Stalions’ presence and took a harsh stance on the allegations and scandal as a whole.

“Before we go any further, we’re obviously aware of a picture floating around of the sign-stealer guy,” McElwain said. “People are doing everything they can to get to the bottom of it. We’re unaware, totally unaware of it. I certainly don’t condone it in any way, shape or form.

“I do know this: his name was on none of the passes that were let out. Now we just keep tracing it back and tracing it back and try to figure it out. It’s in good hands with our people and again, there’s no place in football for that.”

McElwain was the wide receivers coach for Michigan football in 2018 before he took the CMU head coaching job. He would have had some overlap with Stalions, who was an intern with the Wolverines at the time. Cornerbacks coach Mike Zordich also was a longtime assistant for the maize and blue, joining Jim Harbaugh’s squad in 2015 and departing following the 2020 season. Quarterbacks coach Jake Kostner was a student assistant in Ann Arbor from 2015-18.

Kyle Trask could win Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ starting QB job

Filling the shoes of the greatest quarterback of all time is no easy task. But if there is ever a player who has over delivered on expectations, it’s Kyle Trask.

Former Florida Gators quarterback [autotag]Kyle Trask[/autotag] has spent the last two seasons serving as Tom Brady’s backup in Tampa. With Tom Brady’s retirement earlier this month, all eyes turn to the former 2021 second-round pick. ESPN’s Jeff Darlington is now reporting that the Buccanneers could very well start the season with the former Heisman finalist under center.

Trask’s story could very easily be the plot of a Disney sports movie. The Manvel (Texas) prospect never got the chance to showcase his full ability, famously backing up former Houston and Miami quarterback D’Eriq King and barely getting any playing time. Instead of transferring, Trask stuck around and served as King’s backup.

A three-star prospect, Trask received very little attention before his offer from the Orange and Blue. He attended the Gators’ annual Friday Night Lights event, and former head coach [autotag]Jim McElwain[/autotag] offered him the next day. Trask committed less than a week later.

During the 2019 season, starter [autotag]Felipe Franks[/autotag] went down with an injury against Kentucky. Trask, who hadn’t started a game since his sophomore season of high school, jumped in and led the Gators to a come-from-behind road win over the Wildcats. He would not relinquish the starting spot again.

The 2020 season saw Trask emerge as one of the best quarterbacks in college football, with head coach [autotag]Dan Mullen[/autotag]’s offensive system a perfect fit for Trask. He immediately developed chemistry with future first-round picks tight end [autotag]Kyle Pitts[/autotag] (No. 4 overall to Atlanta in 2021) and wide receiver [autotag]Kadarious Toney[/autotag] (No. 20 overall to the Giants in 2020) who was traded to Kansas City in 2022 and won the Super Bowl. Together, the trio lit it up the first season in a post-COVID college football world.

Filling the shoes of the greatest quarterback of all time is no easy task. But if there is ever a player who has over delivered on expectations, it’s Kyle Trask.

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Do you know who Florida’s highest-rated recruit of the last decade is?

This former Gator was the second-highest-ranked prep prospect overall in the 2015 recruiting cycle.

Once upon a time, the University of Florida was a premiere destination for the top prep talent in the nation. Unfortunately, those days are now in the distant past but first-year head coach [autotag]Billy Napier[/autotag] is hell-bent on getting the Gators back to that promised land.

The peaks of the program came under [autotag]Steve Spurrier[/autotag] and [autotag]Urban Meyer[/autotag], with [autotag]Ron Zook[/autotag] connecting the two tenures with some solid recruiting of his own. But after the drama that surrounded Meyer’s final year in Gainesville, Florida fans were dealt a string of letdowns that led to a difficult decade in the Swamp.

However, in the recruiting class split between the outgoing [autotag]Will Muschamp[/autotag] and the incoming [autotag]Jim McElwain[/autotag], the Orange and Blue landed one of the crown jewels of the 2015 cycle — five-star offensive tackle [autotag]Martez Ivey[/autotag], who was the No. 2 overall prospect in his class and the top-rated player over the past decade for Florida. Here is what 247Sports’ writer Cameron Salerno offered on the former standout, who held a .9991 grade.

Coming out of Apopka (Florida) High School, Ivey was ranked as the No. 2 overall prospect in the 2015 recruiting cycle by 247Sports. The player that was ranked ahead of Ivey was Trenton Thompson, who signed with SEC rival Georgia. After going undrafted during the 2019 NFL draft, Ivey signed with the New England Patriots as an undrafted free agent. He currently plays for the Edmonton Elks of the Canadian Football League.

Ivey was one of many disappointments to come out of Florida during the middle of the decade and his failure to follow through on his immense talent undoubtedly took its toll on McElwain’s efforts. It just goes to show that nothing is ever certain when it comes to sports recruiting.

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Florida football among schools in ‘7 coaches this century’ club

Take a look at the seven former Gators coaches and their stats, joining six other schools as the most since the turn of the century.

Things were going great during the 1990s under head coach [autotag]Steve Spurrier[/autotag], who resuscitated the program after the scandal-marred decade of the 1980s. However, the stability the Head Ball Coach brought to the sidelines of the Swamp came to an abrupt end after the turn of the millennium when Florida’s golden boy left Gainesville for the then-named Washington Redskins.

Following a weird tenure by [autotag]Ron Zook[/autotag], Gator Nation found its savior in [autotag]Urban Meyer[/autotag], who led the Orange and Blue to two national titles — the highwater mark in Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. However, once again, fate did not let the golden era last long. Meyer dealt with reported health issues that were allegedly tied to the stress of the job, ultimately leading to his departure.

Since then, a carousel of mediocrity has lasted more than a decade, with [autotag]Billy Napier[/autotag] up as the next contestant on “The Coach Is Right” show. Time will tell if he is the one to break the rut or if the cycle of coaches will continue.

Take a look below at the seven different head coaches that have walked the sidelines of the Swamp since the turn of the millennium, according to On3, making Florida one of six programs to have earned the notorious distinction.

Billy Napier’s 2023 recruiting class has best blue-chip ratio since Urban Meyer

There’s a lot to be excited about in Hogtown as Napier and Co. haul in the best recruiting class in a dozen years according to the blue-chip ratio.

Florida football brought in one of the best recruiting classes in recent memory this week when the early signing period opened on Wednesday. Of the 20 members of the 2023 cycle who signed on with the Gators, 16 were four-star-rated prospects — which are included with five-star prospects in the blue-chip designation used in recruiting circles.

That 80% clue-chip ratio is the best that the program has achieved dating back to Urban Meyer’s final season in Gainesville, which resulted in an 85% blue-chip mark. In between these two points, the Orange and Blue saw some very lean years including a paltry 35% ratio in 2022.

So how does Billy Napier’s performance compare with his predecessors since Meyer? [autotag]Will Muschamp[/autotag], [autotag]Jim McElwain[/autotag] and [autotag]Dan Mullen[/autotag] had blue-chip ratios of 65%, 40% and 60%, respectively, during their first full year at the helm of the program.

Take a look below at how Florida football fared in each recruiting cycle dating back to 2010, per On3.

Dooley’s Dozen: Looking at Florida’s Las Vegas opponent, the Oregon State Beavers

Here’s everything you need to know about the Oregon State Beavers ahead of the Las Vegas Bowl according to Pat Dooley.

The good news for Florida’s football team is that the Gators are going to a bowl game, sparing themselves the embarrassments of 2013 ([autotag]Will Muschamp[/autotag]’s 4-8 season) and 2017 ([autotag]Jim McElwain[/autotag]’s short season).

The bad news is that Florida drew a team that won its last three games, has a chance to win 10 games for only the third time in school history and is a bad match-up for a depleted Florida team.

Eh, it beats not being in a bowl said Florida fans to Miami and Texas A&M fans.

And it is Vegas baby. Considering that Florida comes in without a quarterback and with two straight losses, maybe it’s best that what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.

Still, here we go for the last time in the 2022 football season, 12 things you need to know about… the Oregon State Beavers (9-3, 5-3 Pac-12).

Florida’s fifth-year junior linebacker enters NCAA transfer portal

This now-former Gator announced his intent to enter the transfer portal on Sunday.

College football rosters across the nation are getting a jolt after the NCAA transfer portal opened up on Monday, and the Florida Gators are no exception. Along with the departure of three players to the 2023 NFL draft over the past 24 hours — plus a fourth who declared on Thursday — UF’s roster is also being bled by those exiting through the portal as well.

Redshirt junior linebacker [autotag]David Reese[/autotag], who has been in Gainesville for five years and was originally recruited during the changing of the guard from [autotag]Jim McElwain[/autotag] to [autotag]Dan Mullen[/autotag], has finally seen enough and announced on Sunday that he will use his final year of eligibility elsewhere after playing for half a decade in the Swamp.

The grizzled veteran from Fort Pierce, Florida, offered the following to the fans Sunday evening on his personal Twitter account.

The 6-foot-1-inch, 238-pound linebacker played in 19 games during his five-year tenure, sitting out in both 2019 and 2021 but still adding to his three SEC Academic Honor Roll awards. He recorded five solo and four assisted tackles over that span, earning just one solo and one assist in 2022 despite appearing in all 12 games.

Under [autotag]Billy Napier[/autotag], Reese played at the JACK position and saw increased playing time after [autotag]Brenton Cox Jr[/autotag]. was dismissed from the program, but was still buried on the depth chart. He already earned his bachelor’s degree in Education Sciences last spring and will use his final year of eligibility as a graduate student wherever he happens to land.

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Dooley’s Dozen: Midseason grades for Florida football’s 2022 campaign

Pat Dooley dishes out his midseason grades for Florida football ranging from the top of the program to the fanbase.

It is a little more than halfway through the 2022 Florida football season and we still don’t know where it is going.

The Gators have five games remaining and you hope for a sixth but they have to win twice to become bowl eligible. There was a time when worrying about making a lower-tiered bowl game was never even thought about.

But that was before [autotag]Will Muschamp[/autotag] and [autotag]Jim McElwain[/autotag] and [autotag]Dan Mullen[/autotag]. And now [autotag]Billy Napier[/autotag].

Since [autotag]Urban Meyer[/autotag] left, Florida has zero SEC titles, a .623 winning percentage and a pedestrian .548 winning percentage in SEC games.

However, we cannot worry about the past, just learn from it. Where is this new incarnation going? It’s an unscripted game so your guess is as good as anyone’s.

All we know is that we are seven games in and have an open week, so that means it is time for a special bonus edition of the Dooley’s Dozen. Today, it’s the 12 13 mid-season grades for Florida football at the halfway mark.

Five years later, The Athletic looks back on Dan Mullen’s hiring as Florida coach

The Athletic has released its retrospective for the coaches hired in the 2017-2018 hiring cycle, with Florida’s Dan Mullen looking favorable

The Florida Gators dismissed [autotag]Jim McElwain[/autotag] during the 2017 football season after amassing a 22-12 record that included two SEC East division titles.

Afterward, the Gators hired [autotag]Dan Mullen[/autotag] to become the 27th coach in Florida history. Mullen left his position as Mississippi State head coach after eight seasons to return to the place he won two national championships as the Gators’ offensive coordinator.

At the time, the hire was a no-brainer. Mullen was the architect behind the high-scoring offense that brought the best out of guys like [autotag]Tim Tebow[/autotag], [autotag]Percy Harvin[/autotag], and [autotag]Chris Rainey[/autotag]. He also rose the floor at Mississippi State, peaking in 2014 when Mullen led the Bulldogs to a No. 1 ranking in the inaugural College Football Playoff rankings.

His Florida tenure started off with a bang, going 10-3 in his first season including a Peach Bowl victory over Michigan. He followed it up by improving upon that record, going 11-2 in his second year and capping it off with an Orange Bowl victory over Virginia.

His third season fell short of expectations. After two 10-plus win seasons that ended with New Year’s Six bowl game victories, Mullen’s Gators went 8-4, losing multiple close games, and the team visibly gave up towards the end of the season. Mullen’s press conferences were filled with refusals to admit there were issues with the team, along with repeated deflections about the lackluster direction recruiting was going into.

Ultimately, Mullen was let go in the middle of his fourth season in charge. Lots of things were factored into the decision, with recruiting the topic fans latched on to in the aftermath. The Athletic’s regrade has the hire as a B. What was considered to be an A by multiple outlets at the time has to be brought down a bit given how the tenure played out.

Billy Napier is currently in his first season as Florida’s head coach. He started off strong with a summer that saw the Gators enter the top 10 in multiple recruiting rankings, and rode that momentum to a season-opening upset of Utah.

Napier’s next task is facing an LSU team that also has a first-year head coach in Brian Kelly. The game will take place at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville, FL. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. EDT. The game will be broadcast on ESPN.

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Athlon Sports has Florida’s season among top things to watch in 2022

Athlon Sports thinks everyone should keep an eye on Napier’s cajun cooking in the Swamp.

Florida football finds itself a deep hole to dig out of after [autotag]Dan Mullen[/autotag] left the program in shambles ahead of his ignominious exit. Newly hired head coach [autotag]Billy Napier[/autotag] has since assumed the helm and is charged with the task of turning the Orange and Blue around, and so far things are looking pretty promising.

Nonetheless, the Gators start off 2022 outside the top 25 and buried in the preseason polls, but a lot of that has to do with the team’s 6-7 finish the year prior plus the unknowns that come with a head coach who has never held the top position at a Power Five school. To be fair, those are perfectly cromulent reasons to temper one’s expectations of Florida.

What this does, however, is set the table for a season of intrigue as many eyes will be fixed upon Gainesville waiting to see how things shake out. Athlon Sports believes that the building narrative in the Swamp is one of college football’s 15 things to watch this fall. Here is what they had to offer.

8. Cajun-Flavored Gators

The Dan Mullen era at Florida ended abruptly, unraveling last fall over the course of just a few weeks. Startling as it was, though, the end was also depressingly familiar: Before Mullen, the bottom fell out on both of his predecessors, [autotag]Will Muschamp[/autotag] and [autotag]Jim McElwain[/autotag], in similar fashion, running the Gators’ record on head-coaching hires to 0-for-3 for the decade.

Enter Billy Napier. At his last stop, Louisiana, Napier turned the Ragin’ Cajuns into an unlikely mid-major power: His last three seasons there were easily the best in school history, yielding 34 wins, back-to-back Top 25 finishes and, in 2021, the program’s first outright conference championship in more than half a century. The man can coach. But can he recruit? In four years in Gainesville, Mullen signed just two 5-star prospects out of high school. The top priority for his successor is closing the gap in the Jimmys and Joes department.

On that front, Napier does have experience in high-stakes, hard-crootin’ regimes, having paid his dues as an assistant under Dabo Swinney, Nick Saban and Jimbo Fisher. He was known in Lafayette as an energetic recruiter, landing the Sun Belt’s top class per 247Sports’ Composite rankings three years in a row from 2019-21. Florida, still less than 15 years removed from its last national title, remains one of the sport’s premier opportunities. But as the last three guys who sat in Napier’s seat can attest, it can be a short-lived one, too.

That is a fairly concise overview of the situation, though one major point omitted was the pattern of over-achievement for new head coaches at Florida that dates back to the 1980s, which would give Napier a much-needed boost. Hopefully, he will snap the coaching carousel schneid and bring the Gators back to national prominence this season.

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