Gators’ recruiting focus obvious

off a blocked field goal sparked Kissimmee Osceola to a 9-3 win.

The Gators beat out Auburn for Birmingham linebacker Jeremiah “Scooby” Williams and convinced St. Thomas Aquinas end Tyreak Sapp to stick with his commitment, spurn Miami and leave South Florida, bringing more top-100 recruits into the Gators’ fold.

“Part of it shows the character these guys have when we’re talking about making commitments and being committed,” Mullen said when asked about Sapp. “I know early on, he talked about his dream, his love of being a Gator, always wanted to be a Gator and live out his dream.”

The same goes for linebacker Diwun Black, a member of the Gators’ 2019 class who failed to qualify academically. But after two seasons back home in Mississippi as one of the nation’s top junior college players, Black inked scholarships papers this past Wednesday on the early national signing period.

“I give him a lot of credit because I’ve been around it; you see a lot of these guys as it pertains to junior college — that’s not an easy route,”

Mullen said. “He took care of his business. We’re excited because I know he’s a phenomenal athlete, a great leader, a great personality, a guy you want around the program and a guy you want around the team.”

Academics were the least of the Gators’ concerns with outside linebacker Chief Borders. Stanford University was in hot pursuit of the four-star recruit from Georgia, who ultimately chose UF — a top-10 public university with a top-10 football program.

“Chief ’s a guy that we’ve recruited for a long time, known for a long time, [an] exceptional athlete [and] absolutely great student,” Mullen said. “Academics were a huge part of his recruiting, but he also wanted the opportunity to go play big-time football. That’s what Florida brings to the table.

“When academically you’re recruiting on the same level of Stanford and the same football level as a playoff team ... we’re kind of the only university that’s in that combination.”

The Gators hope their dozen defensive signees — of 21 overall Wednesday — offer the right combination of talent, versatility and coachability to make an impact next season and beyond.

Mullen is confident it will be the case.

“That’s the question I get, ‘Who do you think is going to make an immediate impact?’ ” he said. “I usually come up with different ones that everybody maybe thinks, but I do think they will be ready.”

Email Edgar Thompson at egthompson@orlandosentinel. com.

Florida coach Dan Mullen yells to a referee about a call during a game against South Carolina. Mullen is winless as a head coach against Alabama’s Nick Saban. The Florida coach is hardly alone.