National signing day: Dan Mullen on the Florida Gators’ early class

GAINESVILLE – Florida coach Dan Mullen said the Gators are at the halfway point in their recruiting process after the first day of the early signing period.

Mullen said Wednesday afternoon that UF will reset after the period ends Friday to evaluate its roster and the remaining talent pool. Among the remaining needs: cornerback, offensive line, defensive line, receiver and outside linebacker.

The Gators were at somewhat of a disadvantage because of their coaching turnover, which gave Mullen less than a month to start signing his class. He said they "missed a couple of opportunities" as a result.

"We came in and worked with what we had," Mullen said.

Mullen was happy to land four-star quarterback Emory Jones, a top-50 talent from Georgia. Don't be surprised if Jones competes for the starting job, but it's not a given, either.

"There's some talented quarterbacks on campus," Mullen said. "I think we just signed an extremely talented young man."

As of 3:30, UF's class had risen from the 30s to No. 14 nationally.