How one aspect of the Gators’ strong 2020 NFL Draft should help Dan Mullen in recruiting
It was another successful NFL Draft for the Florida Gators.
UF had seven players drafted over the seven-round draft — the most among state colleges, tied with Georgia for the third most in the Southeastern Conference and tied for the fifth-most in the country.
But there is one aspect in particular of Florida’s showing in the draft this year that should help coach Dan Mullen on the recruiting trail as he continues to push the Gators back toward the top tier of the SEC.
UF led the pack this year with three wide receivers selected in what was viewed as a strong wide receiver draft class.
Van Jefferson went No. 57 overall in the second round to the Los Angeles Rams, Freddie Swain went No. 214 overall in the sixth round to the Seattle Seahawks and Tyrie Cleveland went No. 252 overall in the seventh round to the Denver Broncos. Add in running back Lamical Perine, and Florida had four skill position players taken this year.
LSU and Texas were the only other schools with multiple receivers picked in a draft that had 37 receivers drafted.
So what does this mean for UF?
A couple points of context:
▪ This marks the first time since the draft was shortened to seven rounds in 1993 that UF had three receivers taken in the same draft.
▪ Jefferson, at No. 57, was the highest-drafted Florida receiver since Percy Harvin went 22nd overall in 2009 and is only the 11th Gators receiver taken in the top 60 picks.
▪ Florida’s three receivers, all seniors, were selected despite none of them racking up more than 50 catches or eclipsing 657 yards in a given season.
This gives Mullen additional talking points for when he hits the recruiting trail on top of boasting the 21-5 record and back-to-back New Years Six bowl game victories in his first two years at Florida.
The Gators already have the third-ranked recruiting class for the Class of 2021, according to the 247Sports Composite ranking. In that class are oral commitments from a pair of four-star wide receivers: Ocala Vanguard’s Trevonte Rucker and Loganville (Georgia) Grayson’s Daejon Reynolds. Oral commitments are not binding until players sign a national letter of intent.
Maximizing talent
Now, some credit where it’s due. Two of the three receivers, Swain and Cleveland, were recruited by Mullen’s predecessor Jim McElwain and played their first two years under him. Perine was, too.
But Mullen maximized their abilities.
Swain, for example, caught 68 passes for 996 yards and 15 touchdowns during his four years at Florida.
As a senior, he had 38 catches (55.6 percent of his college production), 517 receiving yards (51.9 percent) and a team-high seven touchdowns (46.7 percent). Included in that were the two best games of his college career: A six-catch, 146-yard, one-touchdown outing against the Auburn Tigers and an eight-catch, 91-yard, one-touchdown game against Georgia.
Meanwhile, Jefferson, the highest drafted of the three, transferred to UF from Ole Miss in 2018 ahead of Mullen’s first season as Florida’s head coach. led the Gators in receiving yards both years and is able to play all three receiver spots.
All of this while Florida spread the ball around. Eight Florida players had at least 20 catches and more than 250 yards last season.
“Look, they know they’re going to get the opportunity to get the ball,’‘ Mullen said last season. “There’s a lot of places where just one guy touches the ball. I’m sure those programs tell everybody, ‘You’re the one guy.’ Then the kid shows up and they’re not the one guy. You’ve got to wait a couple of years to be the one guy. I think guys look at our program and say, ‘Hey, you’re going to play, you’re going to have the opportunity, multiple guys to go get experience. Multiple guys carrying the ball, catching the ball. We’re going to spread it around to whoever is there.’ It makes it a lot of fun to play in an offense like that where you know you’re getting touches.”
A look ahead
There’s a good chance Florida keeps this success churning.
Tight end Kyle Pitts is poised to improve on his breakout sophomore season. Pitts recorded 649 yards on a team-high 54 catches last season.
Trevon Grimes, a Fort Lauderdale St. Thomas Aquinas alumnus who like Jefferson transferred to Florida before the 2018 season, is now in position to become Florida’s top wide receiver target with Jefferson, Swain, Cleveland and Josh Hammond gone. Grimes, a former four-star prospect who played his first college season at Ohio State, has caught 59 passes for 855 yards and five touchdowns in his first two seasons at UF.
The rest of the Gators’ receiving corps includes senior Kadarius Toney; transfers Justin Shorter and Jordan Pouncey; soon-to-be sophomores Jacob Copeland, Dionte Marks and Ja’Markis Weston; and incoming freshmen Xzavier Henderson and Jaquavion Fraziars.
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