A cycle of winning

Mullen looks to turn on-field Ws into some recruiting victories

New FSU football coach Mike Norvell was known for hiring assistant coaches who became hot candidates for other jobs during his tenure at Memphis.

GAINESVILLE — Coach Dan Mullen’s trip to South Florida on Wednesday to promote the Orange Bowl was another chance to sell the Florida Gators in one of the nation’s recruiting hotbeds.

Before UF faces Virginia on Dec. 30 at Hard Rock Stadium, Mullen aims to ink a top recruiting class during Wednesday’s early signing day. By maintaining a maniacal schedule this month, he and his staff have positioned the Gators to finish strong and potentially end up with the school’s highest-rated class since 2013, when 247Sports.com ranked UF No. 3.

The Gators’ class has moved up to No. 9 in 247Sports team rankings, while Rivals.com ranks the current 22-member class No. 6 nationally. With seven days to go, UF is trending in the right direction.

“They’ve got a chance to be one of the hottest teams going into early signing day,” said Steve Wiltfong, director of recruiting at

247Sports.

Six commitments in the 2020 class hail from South Florida. The players who sign next week can attend UF’s Orange Bowl practices, Mullen noted.

Linebacker Derek Wingo of Fort Lauderdale’s St. Thomas Aquinas headlines the Gator commits from South Florida. Rivals.com recently elevated Wingo to five-star status, the ilk of player UF needs to sign and keep in state to close the gap with the nation’s top programs.

“Coach Mullen is an X’s and O’s guy,” said Mike Farrell, national recruiting director for Rivals.com. “He likes to find guys that fit his system, and he doesn’t care about recruiting rankings and all that stuff. But you’d like to see Florida in on more in-state kids that are getting away.”

To that end, Mullen spent some of his time in South Florida casting a line in the water for some big fish, notably Miami pass rusher Donell Harris, whom Mullen met with Wednesday, and defensive tackle Timothy Smith of Sebastian. Among the nation’s top

100 players, according to

247Sports, Harris is committed to Texas A&M and Smith to Alabama.

“They’re swinging at some guys and they’re in the mix for some blue-chippers here,” Wiltfong said. “Recruiting is a game of inches — you never know what inch is going to help you.”

With double-digit wins and a New Year’s Six bowl game for the second straight season, Mullen’s Gators (10-2) have distanced themselves among the Big Three Florida schools. Mike Norvell’s hiring at Florida State should give the Seminoles some recruiting traction, Farrell said, but Miami is coming off a disappointing season under first-year coach Manny Diaz.

“He’s No. 1 in the state when it comes to a winning program, a stable program, a program where you know the coach is going to be there and you know what you’re getting with the coach,” Farrell said of Mullen.

A trip to the Orange Bowl is another win for the Gators, though No. 24 Virginia (9-4) is not an ideal opponent. The Cavaliers are coming off a 62-17 loss in the ACC title game to Clemson, the defending national champion and a recruiting force in Florida.

“It’s kind of a no-win situation because they’re supposed to win,” Farrell said of UF’s game against Virginia. “If you lose, that’s bad; if you win by a field goal, that’s bad. You got to blow them out.

“So I don’t think it’s a great bowl for them, even though it’s the Orange Bowl.”

Whatever happens Dec. 30, Mullen looked to capitalize on his trip to South Florida this week. Against Virginia, he will look to do it again by giving recruits a sense of what it’s like to play for the Gators.

Some coaches make their mark primarily as recruiters, while Mullen has built his reputation on calling plays and developing players. In the end, he might be selling what ultimately matters most.

“He’s a good recruiter, but he’s more of a player developer,” Farrell said. “I’d rather have a great coach than a great recruiter.

“He’s definitely in the top five of the top-10 programs in the country when you go strictly on coaching ability.”

Mullen

PHIL SEARS/AP