Ronald Powell – Syndication Server

Fab Four: Selecting Florida football’s Mount Rushmore of all-time recruits

On the eve of early signing day, Gators Wire recalls the most hyped commits in school history.

Florida Gators football came into prominence only recently in the grand scale of college football history, emerging from the swamps of the Southeastern Conference in the early 1990s behind its Heisman hero, Steve Spurrier, and his fun-and-gun offense.

As the team improved in the standings, it also made headway off the field on the recruiting front. It was not until Urban Meyer took over that the program reached stratospheric heights when it came to bringing in some of the best players the nation’s high school ranks had to offer.

In fact, two of our top four all-time recruits arrived during Meyer’s watch, while the Ol’ Head Ball Coach snagged one and Jim McElwain, who oversaw one of the two worst seasons in Gainesville since 1979, also scored a victory in the prep wars.

Here is Gator Wire’s Mount Rushmore of prospects, but first take a look at our honorable mentions.

More Mount Rushmore’s from the College Wire Network:

Bama / Aub / Fla / LSU / Tenn. / UGA // Mich. / Mich St. / Ohio St. / Wisc. // Okla. / Texas // ND // USC

NEXT: Honorable mentions

Pages: 123456

Fab Four: Selecting Florida Gators football’s Mount Rushmore of all-time recruits

Here’s our “Mount Rushmore” of UF football recruits over the years, headlined by Percy Harvin, Brock Berlin, Martez Ivey and Ronald Powell.

Florida Gators football has only come into prominence more recently in the grand scale of college football history, emerging from the swamps of the Southeastern Conference back in the early 1990s behind its Heisman hero Steve Spurrier and his fun-and-gun offense.

As the team improved in the standings, it also made headway off the field on the recruiting front. It was not until Urban Meyer took over that the program reached stratospheric heights when it came to drawing premier prep talent, bringing in some of the best that the nation’s high school ranks had to offer.

In fact, two of our top four all-time recruits came on Meyer’s watch, while the Ol’ Head Ball Coach snagged one of his own and Jim McElwain, who oversaw one of the two worst seasons in Gainesville since 1979, also scored a victory in the prep wars.

Here is Gator Wire’s “Mount Rushmore” of prospects, but first take a look at our honorable mentions.

NEXT: Honorable mentions

Pages: 123456

Revisiting Florida football’s top recruiting class of the decade in 2010

UF had the nation’s top recruiting class in 2010 but a series of factors including bad injury luck kept it from manifesting on the field.

Nothing is ever certain in college football. Five-star quarterbacks can disappoint and loaded recruiting classes can be blown up by academic disqualification or disciplinary issues. Even the best recruiting cycles on paper can be a letdown.

This was the case for UF’s 2010 recruiting class.

The 2010 class was disappointing across the board. ESPN ranked its group of five stars as the weakest over the last ten years. Of its 12 five stars, eight were drafted, but many of them had disappointing college careers due to off the field issues or injuries.

UF recruited four five-star recruits in that class, including the No. 1 prospect in Ronald Powell. They also landed Dominique Easley, Matt Elam and Jonathan Dowling. All four were drafted, though perhaps only Elam, who was selected in the first round after his UF career, lived up to expectations. Easley and Powell both showed moments of greatness, but injuries limited them significantly. Dowling spent one season at UF before transferring to Western Kentucky, eventually getting drafted in the seventh round.

The Gators had the nation’s top recruiting class in 2010, but a series of factors such as coaching changes and bad injury luck kept it from manifesting on the field, and the class preceded one of the most frustrating periods in modern program history.

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