GAINESVILLE — While the Gators prepare to close out the season at the Birmingham Bowl, new head coach Jim McElwain is already recruiting.
McElwain, who on Monday was named the American Football Coaches Association's 2014 regional coach of the year, has just one week before next week's dead period to introduce himself to recruits, attempt to rekindle high school connections he once had and salvage current commits.
"We'll hit the road (this) week, get to as many places as humanly possible from the recruiting standpoint because it's one of those things — recruit daily or die now," McElwain said Saturday at his introductory news conference. "We've got to make sure we secure a great class. There's some great commitments right now. There are guys waiting to see what's going to happen, what's going on. That's first and foremost what we do, is go out and do that."
He has his work cut out for him.
The Gators have just seven oral commitments, last in the SEC. An eighth, OL George Brown, flipped to LSU over the weekend. The next closest SEC school is Missouri with 12 commits. Mississippi State has 28, South Carolina 27 and Georgia and Tennessee 25 each.
"The first thing he needs to do is secure the commitments they have," ESPN SEC recruiting analyst Derek Tyson said. "With (offensive linemen) Tyler Moore and Drew Sarvary leaving the program as well, they're really thin on the offensive line, so that becomes a serious need for them.
"What I've noticed he's done over the last 24 hours is he's contacted Mike Horton who's an offensive line commit, he contacted Tyler Jordan, who actually went down to Gainesville to visit the coach and meet him. And his first visit (Monday) was to Jalen Merrick, which is one of their top offensive line targets. He's also going to visit Martez Ivey, another top offensive line target, he's a five-star guy. So clearly what he needs to do right now is focus on the guys that have committed, and his focus is clearly on the offensive line going forward."
Tyson said the state has an unusual number of five-star recruits in this class, which means the Gators still have a chance to land quality players. But McElwain hasn't announced a staff, so he's basically going to have to go out and sell Florida — and his past accomplishments.
"He's got to wow them," Tyson said. "You've got to introduce yourself to these recruits who have no idea who you are. So that's what he's going to be doing, is getting his face in front of as many recruits as he can right now."
HARGREAVES FIRST-TEAM: UF sophomore CB Vernon Hargreaves was a first-team All-SEC selection by the Associated Press. The former Wharton standout played in all 11 games and had 45 tackles (26 unassisted), two interceptions, 13 pass breakups and two recovered fumbles. Of five Gators named to the team he was the only first-team selection. LB Antonio Morrison and P Kyle Christy were selected to the second team.
Gators DT Dante Fowler Jr. was an honorable mention, a serious snub for the junior from St. Petersburg. Fowler had just five sacks but was a dominating force at the position all season.
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Explore all your optionsAlabama WR Amari Cooper was the AP offensive player of the year, Missouri's Shane Ray the defensive player of the year and Mississippi State's Dan Mullen the coach of the year. Georgia RB Nick Chubb was freshman of the year.
Contact Antonya English at aenglish@tampabay.com. Follow @TBTimes_Gators.