Local recruits praise Gators' Mullen move
Three from county pledged to UF, and others hold offers.
Mississippi State head coach Dan Mullen was named the Florida Gators’ new head coach Sunday night, replac
ing former coach Jim McElwain. The move will shake up football recruiting around the state, including in Palm Beach County, where three local players — American Heritage’s John Dunmore, Atlantic’s Corey Gammage and Boca Raton’s Dante Lang — are committed to the Gators and several more have offers.
Dunmore told SEC Country that he likes Mullen going to Gainesville.
“Dan Mullen is just a great coach all-around,” Dunmore said. “He almost beat Alabama at Mississippi State, so ... yeah.”
Dunmore told the Post after Jim McElwain was fired that he planned to stick it out with Florida.
“It still feels like family to me,” he said a month ago. “Nothing has changed. I’m still committed.”
“Florida will still be Florida,” he said.
Oxbridge Academy Class of 2018 safety C.J. Smith, a Super 11 pick who was previously committed to the Gators under McElwain before decommitting in July, says the Mullen hire makes Florida more tempting. He had an offer from Mullen at Mississippi State, as well.
“Him being hired really opens up my thought process,” Smith said in a Twitter message. “I heard he’s a great coach and a great guy. It’s a higher chance of me committing back there now (that) they have a new head coach.”
Smith said he planned on visiting Florida “very soon.”
Mark-Antony Richards, Wellington’s Class of 2019 do-it-all standout, holds a Florida offer and likes the hire, considering what Mullen did during his stint as Florida’s offensive coordinator under Urban Meyer.
“I want to see who he hires on his staff and who he keeps,” he said. “I’m just going to keep my options open and I’ll pay some mind to them.”
Atlantic’s Aydin Henningham, a top 2020 wide receiver, was also encouraged by Florida hiring an offensive-minded coach. He also had an offer from Mullen when the coach was at Mississippi State.
“It was a good hire on Florida’s part because Dan Mullen is a great coach,” Henningham said in a Twitter message, “and he believes in his players.”
Richards and Smith both said they hope Mullen keeps running backs coach and former Glades Central quarterback JaJuan Seider on the staff (with Smith adding Randy Shannon, who was Florida’s interim coach).
“He’s my primary recruiter, and he recruits my area, so I’m pretty close with him,” Richards said of Seider. “I hope (Mullen) keeps him, but if he doesn’t, I’ll just get to know (another coach) because you commit to a school, not a coach.”