DiderotsGhost
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As UT fans, we're obviously very interested in the fate of one of our biggest rivals: Florida. While it's no secret that Muschamp is on the hot seat, a quick look at the latest recruiting rankings leads me to believe that he's doomed even if the Gators end up having a stellar bounceback campaign in 2014.
This looks eerily similar to Dooley in 2012. Even before devastating losses to Mississippi State, Alabama, and Vanderbilt, Dooley's recruiting results nosedived in 2012. There's more to running a football team than X's and O's, and it's imperative to maintain the confidence of not only the administration and boosters, but also potential recruits. By 2012, it started to look like recruits were writing off Dooley even before his disastrous 4-7 campaign.
Taking a look at Florida's recruiting in 2014 thus far, you can see similarities. Florida only has 9 recruits locked up thus far, and are currently ranked #31 by 247 Sports, #36 by Rivals, and #28 by Scout. 247's target list also doesn't look all that promising on the face of it. Florida is ranked below Kentucky, Mississippi State, and Arkansas in most of the rankings Florida also doesn't appear to be compensating for its weak quantity with higher quality, either, as we've seen in the past. This almost mirrors what we saw with Dooley in 2012.
Obviously, things can change between now and November, but back in mid-October 2012, I began to believe that Dooley was doomed even if he had a bounce-back campaign and finished the season 8-4 or 9-3. That didn't happen, of course, but Muschamp appears to be in a similar situation. Personally, I expect Florida to improve significantly this year (give him credit: Muschamp is a much better coach than Dooley), and I don't think we'll see a repeat of the 4-8 disaster, but if recruits have lost faith in Muschamp, I think he's doomed regardless.
This is particularly pertinent at Florida, where there's really no excuse for weak recruiting. With the sole exceptions of Texas and USC, there's no school with a better natural recruiting base than Florida.
Unless something dramatically changes in the next few months or Muschamp is able to pull out a 9-3 or 10-2 season, I think we might be staring at a lame duck coach down in Gainesville.
This looks eerily similar to Dooley in 2012. Even before devastating losses to Mississippi State, Alabama, and Vanderbilt, Dooley's recruiting results nosedived in 2012. There's more to running a football team than X's and O's, and it's imperative to maintain the confidence of not only the administration and boosters, but also potential recruits. By 2012, it started to look like recruits were writing off Dooley even before his disastrous 4-7 campaign.
Taking a look at Florida's recruiting in 2014 thus far, you can see similarities. Florida only has 9 recruits locked up thus far, and are currently ranked #31 by 247 Sports, #36 by Rivals, and #28 by Scout. 247's target list also doesn't look all that promising on the face of it. Florida is ranked below Kentucky, Mississippi State, and Arkansas in most of the rankings Florida also doesn't appear to be compensating for its weak quantity with higher quality, either, as we've seen in the past. This almost mirrors what we saw with Dooley in 2012.
Obviously, things can change between now and November, but back in mid-October 2012, I began to believe that Dooley was doomed even if he had a bounce-back campaign and finished the season 8-4 or 9-3. That didn't happen, of course, but Muschamp appears to be in a similar situation. Personally, I expect Florida to improve significantly this year (give him credit: Muschamp is a much better coach than Dooley), and I don't think we'll see a repeat of the 4-8 disaster, but if recruits have lost faith in Muschamp, I think he's doomed regardless.
This is particularly pertinent at Florida, where there's really no excuse for weak recruiting. With the sole exceptions of Texas and USC, there's no school with a better natural recruiting base than Florida.
Unless something dramatically changes in the next few months or Muschamp is able to pull out a 9-3 or 10-2 season, I think we might be staring at a lame duck coach down in Gainesville.
