With the Sept. 1 season opener 25 days away, recruiting coordinator and wide receivers coach Aubrey Hill resigned Friday morning according to a University of Florida press release.
Gators coach Will Muschamp called the resignation a personal matter for Hill.
“I met with our staff and our players late [Thursday] night, and they’re obviously disappointed in the situation,” he said.
“I really don’t have anything more to say. It’s a personal situation with Aubrey. It has nothing to do with the University of Florida. We wish him well. He’ll always be a Gator.”
Hill announced his resignation two weeks after a Yahoo! Sports report implicated him for the second time in the last year in an alleged University of Miami NCAA infraction.
Graduate assistant Bush Hamdan will coach the receivers, Muschamp said. Hill arrived at Florida with Muschamp in 2011.
Hill played receiver for Florida from 1991-1994 and helped carry the Gators to three Sugar Bowl appearances.
His contributions as a coach extended beyond the field where he coached redshirt junior Andre Debose to his most productive season at Florida.
As recruiting coordinator, Hill aided in bringing in potential players.
Currently, Florida has compiled the third-ranked 2013 recruiting class with 22 verbal commitments, according to Rivals.com.
Although newest commitment Chris Thompson (Gainesville, Fla.), a two-star wide receiver, will miss Hill, the Gainesville High receiver remained a firm pledge to Florida.
“Well, it hurts he has to leave, because we had a connection and a good relationship,” Thompson said. “Some coaches come and go.”
The Gators would not look for a new recruiting coordinator for now.
That responsibility will fall onto the head coach, which Muschamp said meant a lot to him.
“I’m the recruiting coordinator. I handle all of that,” he said.
“I’ve recruited every player we have. If you research recruiting, you’ll probably realize that.”
New offensive coordinator Brent Pease coached Hamdan at Boise State.
After playing from 2005-2008, Hamdan spent a year at Colorado and then the 2010 season as an assistant on the Maryland coaching staff.
Last season, he served as the tight ends coach for Sacramento State.
Pease handled the Boise State receivers for five seasons and served as offensive coordinator for the Broncos last year.
Florida players were disappointed with the decision, but UF gets in return an experienced young coach in Hamdan, Muschamp said.
The Gators coach isn’t the least bit worried about the change.
“I never blink. We’re going to be fine,” he said.
