Tag: Jim McElwain

One lingering question has The Athletic wondering about Florida football

The Athletic has some disciplinary concerns when it comes to Florida football.

Florida football has seen its share of ups and downs after a decade-plus of consistent turnover on the sidelines that has seen a carousel of four different head coaches rotate through the Swamp. The lack of leadership at the top of the program has manifested itself in many ways, among those being a dearth of discipline among some of the players that dates back to even the [autotag]Urban Meyer[/autotag] era.

The troubles came to a head at the end of the 2020 season with the shoe-throwing incident against the LSU Tigers, which many believe marked the beginning of the end for the [autotag]Dan Mullen[/autotag] era. The issues continued into the following season, which saw the program put up its worst record in Southeastern Conference play since 1986 and finished below the .500 mark for the first time since the 2017 campaign — when [autotag]Jim McElwain[/autotag] was ousted as head coach.

The Athletic’s college football staff recently assembled to offer their lingering question for each SEC football program, with Florida’s being the obvious elephant in the room. Here is the entry offered by Gators beat writer G. Allan Taylor.

Can the Gators correct the discipline issues behind their string of close losses?

This is how Florida crumbled during key moments last season: A blocker went the wrong way on a failed two-point conversion against Alabama. A field-goal mishap gave Kentucky the decisive points. [autotag]Brenton Cox[/autotag] played the wrong gap on Missouri’s touchdown in overtime. Multiple defenders took turns missing assignments at Baton Rouge. Add those to the 2020 errors of [autotag]Malik Davis[/autotag] fumbling at Texas A&M and [autotag]Marco Wilson[/autotag]’s “LS-Shoe” affair, and you see the narrow margin by which Florida went from College Football Playoff challengers to firing their coach.

[autotag]Billy Napier[/autotag]’s first offseason in Gainesville featured a heightened emphasis on accountability, with the belief that there’s a direct link from players’ discipline off the field to their reliability on it. He sprang into culture-changing mode last December when his new staff shadowed the remnants of Dan Mullen’s staff in preparations for the Gasparilla Bowl. The Gators, in order to avoid another mediocre bowl trip this fall, will need to be more efficient, considering their talent level is subpar by SEC standards.

Napier’s goal is to be “under one penalty in every 30 plays,” which would mark a steep improvement from the Gators ranking 122nd in penalties per game last season and 119th in lost yardage. In line with fixing those miscues is avoiding turnovers, after the Gators finished minus-8 in 2021.

Frankly, I could not have said it any better myself — there seems to have been an institutional weakness when it comes to mental fortitude under Mullen, but Napier has not had his chance to prove himself yet. However, the dismissal of three players back in June (with a fourth on thin ice) does seem to signal a change in policy when it comes to tolerating behavior that is detrimental to the team, so hopefully, these significant concerns are already being addressed.

[mm-video type=video id=01g81j39pyp8a7a783c2 playlist_id=01eqbz250mdknqvm5z player_id=01eqbvp13nn1gy6hd4 image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01g81j39pyp8a7a783c2/01g81j39pyp8a7a783c2-14f5a0e712c274cc913fa10896869b12.jpg]

[lawrence-related id=87551,87520,87459,87450,87448]

[listicle id=86978]

[listicle id=87474]

[listicle id=87401]

[listicle id=87183]

[listicle id=87477]

Follow us @GatorsWire on Twitter and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.

Let us know your thoughts and comment on this story below. Join the conversation today!

Top 10 SEC linebacker rankings for 2022 includes this Gator

Here’s where this redshirt senior stands in comparison to his fellow conference peers ahead of the 2022 campaign.

Florida football kicks off its 2022 season on September 3 against the Utah Utes in the Swamp as the program turns the page from the [autotag]Dan Mullen[/autotag] era into the [autotag]Billy Napier[/autotag] age. While there has been tremendous turnover both in the coaching ranks and on the roster in recent years, the fingerprints of the previous administrations still remain visible.

Among those who have held over is linebacker [autotag]Ventrell Miller[/autotag], who is expected to be one of the best in the Southeastern Conference this season due to a combination of his physical prowess as well as the experience that comes with being a redshirt senior. Originally signed by the [autotag]Jim McElwain[/autotag] regime in the 2017 recruiting class, the midfield beast out of Lakeland, Florida, was expected to go in the 2021 NFL draft but a torn biceps two weeks into the season derailed those plans.

The USA TODAY Sports Network is counting down to SEC media days, scheduled for July 18-21 in Atlanta, by revealing its top players at each position grouping. Take a look below at who it ranked as the 10 best linebackers in the SEC heading into the 2022 season, with blurbs on each player.

WATCH: What James Franklin had to say at a football camp in Michigan

James Franklin attends a massive football camp in Michigan with Jim Harbaugh and PJ Fleck

Football camp season is upon us, and Penn State head coach [autotag]James Franklin[/autotag] is once again embracing the opportunity to get out and connect with high school players from around the Big Ten footprint. On Thursday, Franklin attended the Michigan Football Showcase at Ferris State University. He wasn’t the only Big Ten coach in attendance either.

Franklin was one of four FBS coaches on hand for the event. The others were Michigan head coach [autotag]Jim Harbaugh[/autotag], Minnesota head coach [autotag]PJ Fleck[/autotag], and Western Michigan head coach Tim Lester. Nearly 500 high school football players attended the event. Central Michigan head coach Jim McElwain was also reportedly in attendance according to Ferris State. Franklin will square off against three of those coaches this upcoming season (Fleck, Harbaugh, and McElwain).

Franklin took time at the microphone to address the importance of high school players maximizing what they get out of the college experience. Franklin said he gets annoyed hearing some high school recruits say they will be attending a college for the next three years, with the expectation they are going to go straight to the NFL after that. Franklin hopes the message resonates, and perhaps leads to some potential recruiting opportunities for Penn State down the line.

[mm-video type=video id=01g37pw9b9vzmtn16kb2 playlist_id=01ey902ehrs6e9bvhw player_id=none image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01g37pw9b9vzmtn16kb2/01g37pw9b9vzmtn16kb2-632af56ffe84932e4c8a292347854522.jpg]

[listicle id=19845]

[lawrence-related id=19872,19869,19863,19810]

Follow Nittany Lions Wire on Twitter and like us on Facebook for continuing Penn State coverage and discussion. Let us know your thoughts by leaving a comment on this story below. Join the conversation today.

 

Revisiting Florida football’s 2018 recruiting class with The Athletic

Here’s what The Athletic thinks about Florida’s 2018 recruiting crop.

Once upon a time, Florida football was among the top destinations in the nation for college recruits, regularly bringing in some of the top classes back in the aughts. However, over the past decade since the departure of Urban Meyer, the program has been mired in a streak of mediocrity on the recruiting front that has permitted the Alabama Crimson Tide and Georgia Bulldogs to seize control of the Southeastern Conference.

Max Olsen at The Athletic recently took a look back at the top 25 recruiting classes of the 2018 cycle to reassess where he went right and wrong in his initial take four years ago. The Gators came in at No. 14 back then and, thanks in part to having the highest-picked tight end in NFL draft history along with some other solid professional talent, were bumped up to No. 13 in the update.

Utilizing a consistent scoring system based on a 0-to-5 scale, Olsen assessed scholarship players and walk-ons who earned scholarships based on their achievements over four years, rather than projecting what they could do in the future. Take a look at how things broke things down below.

Adjusted average: 2.67
Class rank in 2018: 14th
Four-year record: 35-16
Attrition: 50%

Top signees: TE [autotag]Kyle Pitts[/autotag], WR [autotag]Van Jefferson[/autotag], OL [autotag]Richard Gouraige[/autotag], K [autotag]Evan McPherson[/autotag], RB [autotag]Dameon Pierce[/autotag]

When Pitts made his decision in the summer of 2017, the four-star recruit announced his Florida pledge on a roller-coaster ride.

Three months later, the head coach to whom he committed was abruptly fired. [autotag]Dan Mullen[/autotag] replaced [autotag]Jim McElwain[/autotag] and Pitts stuck to his pledge. Fortunately, the future All-American and Pro Bowler was able to get off the ride before it got rough.

Mullen inherited Pitts, Gouraige, Pierce and some solid players in the class. He and his staff made some big splashes by flipping quarterback [autotag]Emory Jones[/autotag] away from Ohio State and upgrading at wide receiver with [autotag]Jacob Copeland[/autotag] and touted transfers Jefferson and [autotag]Trevon Grimes[/autotag].

They helped the program win a lot of games in their first three seasons together before the Gators slid in 2021. Ten members of the class ended up leaving the program, which is not uncommon for a transition class. But it’s probably worth noting that among the 2018 signees who’ve become full-time starters, only one (cornerback [autotag]Trey Dean III[/autotag]) plays on defense.

There were a lot of familiar names in that passage, several of whom were significant contributors to the team over the past few seasons. That the program could remain steady amidst the coaching turnover that season is a positive sign for Gators fans this season as their beloved Orange and Blue are currently facing the same challenge. A recruiting class like that in 2018 would be a solid first step for new head coach [autotag]Billy Napier[/autotag] and his staff.

[mm-video type=video id=01g3sq65b67sdvptkjw2 playlist_id=01eqbz250mdknqvm5z player_id=01eqbvp13nn1gy6hd4 image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01g3sq65b67sdvptkjw2/01g3sq65b67sdvptkjw2-197c62ebc9982f7edd4c3c0204fbd77d.jpg]

[lawrence-related id=84358,84337,84321,84318,84311]

[listicle id=84232]

Follow us @GatorsWire on Twitter and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.

Let us know your thoughts and comment on this story below. Join the conversation today!

Who will Florida football lose to first in 2022? 247Sports has an answer.

247Sports thinks Florida’s first loss will come early in 2022.

Florida football’s 2022 campaign is still months away, but as the summer months begin to creep in, opening weekend will be here quicker than most think. With the spring practice schedule now well in the rearview mirror, it is high time to start looking ahead at what might happen when fall finally arrives.

247Sports’ Austin Nivison took a stab at predicting every Southeastern Conference team’s first loss this coming season, with his prediction for the Gators being a bit unsettling for Florida fans. He believes that the Orange and Blue will fall first in Week 2 against the Tennessee Volunteers in what was once a proud rivalry that has been reduced to an SEC afterthought in recent years.

While the Gators have absolutely dominated the series over nearly the past two decades, winning 16 of the last 17 matchups, given that the game is in Knoxville it could be a good bet for the recent five-game winning streak to come to an end. Here is Vinison’s justification for his selection.

The Volunteers have a legitimate shot to score a rare win over the Gators this fall. However, the history indicates that won’t happen. Since Tennessee’s last win in this series, which came in 2016, Florida has taken control with several wins coming in lopsided fashion. Between home-field advantage, veteran quarterback Hendon Hooker, and all the changes Florida went through in the offseason, Tennessee does have a few things working in its favor. Having said that, the Gators are still plenty talented, and they seem to have a bit of psychological edge in this rivalry game.

The Vols’ only win over the past 17 years came in 2016 when [autotag]Jim McElwain[/autotag]’s team fell short of [autotag]Butch Jones[/autotag]’ squad on the road, 38-28. Of course, that stretch also includes the memorable Heave to Cleve play to beat Tennessee the following year.

[mm-video type=video id=01g3f782rqq5m7ewbh7z playlist_id=01eqbz250mdknqvm5z player_id=01eqbvp13nn1gy6hd4 image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01g3f782rqq5m7ewbh7z/01g3f782rqq5m7ewbh7z-f400efb8f9ddb8d5760dce147698caac.jpg]

[lawrence-related id=84162,84146,84129,84090,84077]

[listicle id=83878]

[listicle id=83838]

Follow us @GatorsWire on Twitter and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.

Let us know your thoughts and comment on this story below. Join the conversation today!

Looking back and regrading Florida’s Dan Mullen hire

This is pretty much the grade you’d expect Mullen to get. Or is it?

Florida football experienced both highs and lows under former head coach [autotag]Dan Mullen[/autotag], who was chosen to replace [autotag]Jim McElwain[/autotag] after putting up a 22-12 record in two-plus seasons before giving way to interim head coach [autotag]Randy Shannon[/autotag], who stumbled across the finish line in 2017 with a 1-3 record. Having served under [autotag]Urban Meyer[/autotag] on the two national championship teams, hopes were high in the Swamp that the former assistant and ex-head of the Mississippi State Bulldogs’ program would restore glory to the Orange and Blue.

Things went pretty well for Mullen over his first three years, earning a bid in a New Year’s Six bowl game in each of those seasons. However, the tide began to turn on him in 2020 beginning with the embarrassing loss to LSU at home — the infamous shoe-toss game — and his team’s multiple failures during the 2021 campaign led to his early dismissal and the worst finish in SEC play since 1986.

CBS Sports’ Tom Fornelli recently published an article looking back at all of the hires from the 2017-18 span, comparing the initial grade received with his updated assessment. The list included the Mullen hire and here is what Fornelli had to offer.

Record: 34-15 | Accomplishments: SEC East titles (1), New Year’s Six bowl games (3), bowl games (4)

How’s it going? It depends on who you ask. The Mullen hire made plenty of sense. He was the school’s offensive coordinator when it won national titles under Urban Meyer. He was ultra-successful at Mississippi State, a program that’s proven to be one of the toughest places to win in the SEC. The problem is that what Mullen was able to do at Mississippi State to win games wasn’t enough to win as many games as Florida desired. After going 21-5 in his first two seasons, the Gators slipped to 13-10 the next two, and Mullen didn’t show much desire to recruit at the level of rival Georgia. That was the final straw, and he was fired before the end of the 2021 season. While it’s seen as a disappointing tenure, Mullen’s winning percentage of .694 at Florida is still the fifth-highest in program history and was a significant improvement over Jim McElwain and [autotag]Will Muschamp[/autotag]. Grade: B- | Original grade: A

All in all, Fornelli’s assessment is extremely fair. Mullen never really seemed to maximize the talent on his team on the field, and off the field, there were constant rumblings from the players ranging from the head coach’s distant attitude to the food that they were served. Additionally, the importance of recruiting at a high level cannot be understated in the SEC, which became the bane of the Mullen regime.

Nonetheless, the former coach does deserve some credit for getting the Gators back into the game there for a few years — and make no mistake, they were pretty fun years. But overall, ol’ Dan does not deserve much more than a passing grade.

[mm-video type=video id=01g2tjy72gxzzkgtemb2 playlist_id=01eqbz250mdknqvm5z player_id=01eqbvp13nn1gy6hd4 image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01g2tjy72gxzzkgtemb2/01g2tjy72gxzzkgtemb2-58e19f3de57855c69ec31ad89976581f.jpg]

[lawrence-related id=83659,83656,83642,83638,83629]

[listicle id=83634]

Follow us @GatorsWire on Twitter and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.

Let us know your thoughts and comment on this story below. Join the conversation today!

Twitter reactions to the Cincinnati Bengals selecting Florida’s Zachary Carter

Congratulations to Zachary Carter who was drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals in the third round of the 2022 NFL draft on Friday.

Florida defensive end [autotag]Zachary Carter[/autotag] was the second player from the Orange and Blue to hear his name called in the 2022 NFL draft. The Cincinnati Bengals selected him with the 95th overall pick in the third round. It’s an exciting time for Carter and Gators fans as he joins a team that came up just short in this year’s Super Bowl.

Carter with the Gators racked up 102 tackles, 26 tackles for a loss, 17 sacks, eight pass deflections, two forced fumbles and one fumble recovery. In his final season, he recorded 31 combined tackles, 11.5 tackles for a loss and 7.5 sacks.

Carter originally was a member of former coach [autotag]Jim McElwain[/autotag]’s 2017 recruiting class. The 247Sports composite rankings had him as the 130th overall prospect, the third-best player at his position and the 23rd most talented player in the state of Florida.

Gators and Bengals fans took to Twitter in full force to welcome and congratulate Carter. Here are the best tweets that Gators Wire found.

Opinion: UCF’s Gasparilla Bowl rings should fuel the 2022 Gators

Like it or not, UCF was the best team in the state last season and the Gators need to have a better mentality in 2022 to reclaim the throne.

Florida football was a disaster around the 2021 bowl season, but that doesn’t change the fact that the UCF Knights beat the Gators, 29-17, in the Gasparilla Bowl. At the time, UCF fans, players and coaches reasoned that the team had won an unofficial state championship following Florida’s season-closing win over Florida State and FSU’s victory over Miami earlier in the year.

On Monday, the Knights got the hardware to back up the claim. Each player received their own Gasparilla Bowl ring complete with a “#1” over the state of Florida on the side. It’s hard to imagine that the design was intended for anything but ruffling the feathers of the state’s elite.

Most college football fans in Florida know how this goes by now. It’s not the first time UCF has claimed a championship, and the fallout is expected. What fallout? Check the comments under any social media post involving the rings. They are guaranteed to be a steady mixture of Knight Nation poking the bear and Florida, FSU and Miami fans clinging to what used to be a clear three-horse race.

That conversation alone has helped the Knights surge in popularity throughout the state, but this stunt could end up helping the Gators.

Many have pointed out that Florida was a .500 team without a coach going into the Gasparilla Bowl. While true, it’s not a strong argument against UCF being the best team in the state. [autotag]Dan Mullen[/autotag]’s presence is what got the Gators to 6-6 and [autotag]Greg Knox[/autotag] was already the interim coach by the time Florida beat FSU. Delaying the coaching change wouldn’t have made a difference, but having [autotag]Billy Napier[/autotag] at the helm should.

Napier has said from day one that he needed to change the culture at Florida to create a strong foundation for success in Gainesville. That culture shift seems to be coming along nicely based on early glimpses of the team during spring practices.

Mullen’s Gators didn’t lack pride, but they didn’t carry themselves like the dominant force in the state that should be regularly competing for national championships either (see 2020 LSU game). They’d likely shrug off the Knights’ rings and take little responsibility for the loss that allowed Gus Malzahn to place the order. That’s just the mentality the program was in under that staff.

Under Napier, the team should take it personally. The old Gators let that happen, but this version won’t. Let the Knights flash their rings and use it as motivation to not be in the Gasparilla Bowl, or its equivalent, next year.

UCF’s rings are valid. FSU made state championship rings following the 2015 season that ended in a Peach Bowl loss to Houston and Florida had some “SEC East Champions” rings made following a win over Iowa in the 2017 Outback Bowl. Are those also meaningless or “well-deserved,” as [autotag]Jim McElwain[/autotag] said at the time?

The Gators lost, and any fans trying to discredit the best-in-the-state claim by saying “the state was weak” are saying more about their favorite team than the Knights. Let this be fuel for a rivalry that’s only going to continue to grow as UCF joins the Big 12 as soon as 2023. By the time the Knights arrive in Gainesville for a game in 2024, it could be an unquestioned battle for the state with FSU still on the schedule as well.

Until then, the Gators’ goal should be to make sure that they aren’t in a position to play UCF in a bowl game at the end of the year unless it’s in the College Football Playoff.

[mm-video type=video id=01g0mfxnrkwfbjydq7ca playlist_id=01eqbz250mdknqvm5z player_id=01eqbvp13nn1gy6hd4 image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01g0mfxnrkwfbjydq7ca/01g0mfxnrkwfbjydq7ca-837e1b5942895af848a48f17a11ea36a.jpg]

[lawrence-related id=82553,82550,82527,82512,82494]

[listicle id=81723]

[vertical-gallery id=82369]

[vertical-gallery id=82538]

Follow us @GatorsWire on Twitter and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.

Let us know your thoughts, comment on this story below. Join the conversation today.

Year-by-year salaries of Gators head football coaches since 2012

Gators Wire revisits the annual salaries of Florida’s head football coaches over the past decade.

College football coaching salaries have skyrocketed in recent years as the arms race among top programs intensifies.

Some schools have doubled or even tripled the salary of their head football coaches in the past decade alone. Count the Florida Gators among the latter group, as Dan Mullen earned more than threefold in 2021 what Will Muschamp was paid in 2012.

To get an idea of how rapidly coaching salaries are rising, Gators Wire lists the annual compensation paid out to University of Florida head football coaches over the past decade below.

[Source: USA TODAY college football coaching salary database; figures do not include income from non-university sources, incentive bonuses or the value of perks and benefits.]

How the last 10 first-year Florida football head coaches performed

Take a look at the history Billy Napier is up against next season.

The departure of Dan Mullen from Florida football in 2021 marked the end of the tenth head coaching tenure in Gainesville since 1960. Now, former Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns skipper Billy Napier has taken the helm of the Gators facing an uphill battle in his debut campaign as the team looks to move on from the debacle of this past season.

Over the years, the turnover on the sideline has happened for a myriad of reasons, from simple retirement to embarrassing scandals that rocked the entire athletic program. Each time the head coach was replaced, the newcomer faced a slew of various challenges with some benefitting from the previous regime’s roster more than others.

Below is a breakdown of how the last 10 first-year head coaches fared after taking the reins of the team dating back over 60 years. Some of the names included ring immortal in the hallowed halls of the Swamp while others are ones the Gator Nation would prefer to forget. Here is a look at the history Napier and his staff are up against in 2022.

Note: All rankings are via AP Poll and records courtesy of Sports Reference.