Alabama RB transfer Emmons a competitor Mullen drops in on UF recruits — by helicopter
BOCA RATON — After a slight snag, running back B.J. Emmons is finally officially a member of the Florida Atlantic football team.
He wasn’t included on the list of recruits FAU announced in its 2018 class on Wednesday, but Emmons said he became fully on board late last night.
“It’s done,” Emmons said in text message. “Been done since yesterday.”
A former Alabama player, Emmons immediately bolsters an Owls backfield that already includes third-team All-American Devin “Motor” Singletary and junior Kerrith Whyte.
Last year Singletary rushed for 1,920 yards and a nation-leading 32 touchdowns. White had 347 yards and two touchdowns and also returned a kickoff 98 yards for a score.
In Emmons, the Owls get a running back who as a prospect was ranked the fourth-best player at his position in 2016. FAU coach Lane Kiffin recruited Emmons to Alabama while he was the offensive coordinator.
“I’ve always been a competitor,” Emmons said. “I feel like me being there is going to make [Singletary] work harder and compete everyday in practice.”
Emmons spent a lot of time with Singletary during his recruting visit last month. The two immediately formed a bond.
“We were hanging out the whole time,” Emmons said. “We got along well.”
Emmons left Alabama after rushing for 173 yards and a touchdown as a freshman. A foot injury ended his season and ultimately led to a transfer because of the Crimson Tide’s crowded backfield. Emmons spent last season at Hutchinson (Kan.) Community College, where he ran for 694 yards and 10 touchdowns.
“It’s just a decision I came to,” Emmons said of leaving Alabama. “I talked to my mom about it. I just hope to come to FAU with the very same mindset as they have down there.”
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GAINESVILLE coach Dan Mullen aware a little flash good for business.
Wearing the latest Jordan Brand sneakers, Mullen has a strong “shoe game” — something recruits are sure to notice.
Out on the trail, Mullen recently made claim amid coaching circles to the title of “His Airness,” showing up for a recruiting visit at IMG Academy in a helicopter.
The move generated some buzz, though the 45-year-old did not understand all the fuss.
“They were saying that was a big deal,” Mullen said. “I’ve been doing that for years. I was kind of like — everyone was like, ‘Wow, we’re using a helicopter.’
“I’ve been using that for years to get to high school games and cruise around.”
Helicopter recruiting is about efficiency more than making a splash with recruits, Mullen said.
“I’m sure it makes a splash, but I mean, it’s getting around recruiting,” he explained. “There’s such a small window for me as a head coach to get around to see everybody and you want to get from one place and jump around from place to place.
“If you’re in a metropolitan area, I’d rather be visiting with high school coaches than sitting in traffic, and I’d probably rather be visiting with high school coaches than driving 45 minutes to an hour through the country to get from one school to the next.” — UF is well can be
The school’s University Athletic Association has its own aviation department with two small jets Mullen also can use.
Mullen uses the recruiting budget to rent a helicopter — for around $10,000.
Having worked with Mullen at Mississippi State, UF athletics director Scott Stricklin recently said Mullen has a knack for knowing when to spend and what to spend on.
“One of the things I admire most about Dan is just because he’s at Florida he’s not suddenly tapping into the budget like it’s an ATM,” Stricklin said. “I think he’s being very efficient, but at the same time he’s going to use the resources we have to put us in the best position to be successful. Any coach that, and it’s not just football, in any program, if they have a need and they can justify it, we’re going to do everything we can to provide it.
“Whether that’s staff, how we travel, a piece of equipment that can help in some way, if they can justify why and illustrate why it’s going to make us better and make our student-athletes more successful, we’re going to find a way to within our reason to figure out a way to help them.”
Mullen plans to continue using a helicopter, though he said it is not for everyone. Turbulence, for one, is a given, as is more anxiety than associated with regular air travel.
“I always want two pilots because I don’t know how to fly it myself if one goes down,” Mullen joked. “If they need to go to the bull pen, they can go to somebody else. But I’ve been in some different ones, too. I’ve been in the bulb, and I’ve been in the bulb with (offensive line coach) John Hevesy, and he moves to look out the window and the whole thing tips. I’m like, don’t move again, man.
“I’ve been up there with a little bulb one, one time, a guy is like, ‘Hey, we’ve got to put it down. I don’t feel good about this right now.’ ‘I’m like, get it down.’ I don’t know who I was with, an assistant coach. He didn’t get back on. I ended up going to the game. He’s like, ‘I’ll meet you there or something, Coach.’”
Those experiences might give some second thoughts about helicopter travel. But Mullen plans to increasingly take advantage of it to better navigate the vast recruiting grounds around the state.
“It’s something I imagine in the future that we’ll continue doing, probably do even more, especially around the state,” he said.
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