Matt: After a dismal season, Florida fans everywhere are in emotional purgatory.
But the dread and angst inspired by the worst year of Gator football in decades has started to give way to some new feelings — excitement, anticipation and hope. National Signing Day is approaching fast, and for college football followers everywhere, that means the next class of athletes is nearly finalized.
A new crop of players, a sense of rebirth; it’s an exhilarating time to be a fan.
But not so fast.
Schools like Alabama, LSU and Oklahoma are reloading with top-15 classes, and Florida is right there with the nation’s fourth-ranked class, but there’s a distinct difference. Those teams are already good, and the Gators aren’t.
So, this year, temper your expectations for greatness and remain stoic, as hard as that might be. Tim Tebow and Percy Harvin are not walking through that door.
The Will Muschamp turnaround train is in motion, but it’s nowhere near the station yet.
Bryan: The Boom Train may not be in the station just yet, but that doesn’t mean it’s too far down the tracks either.
Don’t let Uncle Matt’s grumbles get you down. There is plenty to get excited about in the recruiting class Muschamp and friends are currently putting their final touches on.
Are Tebow or Harvin walking through the door? No, but an elite class of defensive players is, and two of the nation’s most explosive wide receivers in Nelson Agholor and Stefon Diggs could be as well.
For once, the Gators are building a team instead of stockpiles of wayward four- and five-stars that Urban Meyer stacked up and dumped on the Gainesville Police Department in his waning years at UF.
Muschamp is paying attention to needs more than rankings, and he is making the kind of team he has said he can win with: dominant on defense and more physical and tough on offense.
The result will be a group with more contributors and fewer milk jug pictures in two years.
Matt: While Muschamp has certainly made headway on the arrest front, there’s not much evidence that he has the tools in place — either currently on the roster, or en route — to play the style he wants.
For all the possibilities of playmakers like Diggs and Agholor coming to Gainesville, there’s also the possibility that those recruits don’t work out. Remember, Deonte Thompson was a four-star recruit and the nation’s No. 8 wide receiver in 2007.
How did that work out again?
UF’s offense was so bad this season that it’s clearly more than a receiver or two away from reaching even mediocre status. The offensive line is in tatters, the quarterback situation is sketchy at best and there isn’t a running back that can be trusted after Mr. Do Everything, Chris Rainey, graduated. (Ed. — Wait, Rainey actually graduated?)
Physical? Tough? Not next year, my friend.
Bryan: This class isn’t going to come in and win a national championship in 2012 with the current surroundings. In other news, Will Muschamp does not care for fumbles and Kerwin Bell was under-qualified to be Florida’s offensive coordinator.
But that doesn’t mean that excitement should be entirely ruled out.
D.J. Humphries and Jessamen Dunker can come in and immediately make the offensive line better at tackle and guard, respectively, and wide receiver Latroy Pittman and tight end Colin Thompson are more physical than anyone UF has at either position right now.
Rankings are overrated, but you can’t completely rule out elite talent because others have fallen before it. Besides running back — where the Gators are slated to clean up in 2013 — the offense will be exponentially more equipped than it was in 2011.
People will want to see results this fall, and they will, but at the same time, they have to realize these guys aren’t getting kicked out after one year and will be in Gainesville to build something special over the next three or four seasons.
Matt: Exponentially more equipped? What is that? A dick joke?
Like a less-than-well-endowed man, Florida will be looking to other avenues to compensate for where they fall short.
The Gators are going to be terrible on offense, even if D.J. Humphries doesn’t prove to be the next Xavier Nixon. They’re going to have to rely on the defense, where you say Florida has much to be excited about with incoming talents like Marcus Maye, Brian Poole and Jonathan Bullard.
But apart from Bullard, Muschamp and Florida’s staff have not addressed the biggest need: girth up front.
The Gators got pushed around on the line of scrimmage against good teams this season, and that will continue next season, even if they get some more talent on the line. The difference between an 18-year-old freshman and a 22-year-old senior is enormous.
But if there’s one thing we can agree on, it’s patience. Point being: Temper those expectations for a quick turnaround, because it’s not coming.
Bryan: Oh, Wattsy, always good for a mediocre genitalia joke and always bound to finish first.
There’s no doubt the defensive line has to get better to complement what’s behind it. Ever heard of Damien Jacobs? He’s the quick fix up the middle at 290 pounds (and 20 years of age). Jacobs is a junior college transfer who will be expected to contribute in a big way immediately.
Bullard allows Sharrif Floyd to move back inside where he’s more comfortable. Defensive tackle commits Dante Phillips and JaFar Mann are in the class, as well as 295-pound end Quinteze Williams.
Did I mention there’s a good chance five-star defensive end Darius Hamilton could quickly be turning more and more toward Florida?
If the offense is even vaguely mediocre in 2012, this defense will easily be good enough to make the season worth watching.
Get excited.
Contact Matt Watts at mwatts@alligator.org and Bryan Holt at bholt@alligator.org.
