mGrowOld

December 12th, 2013 at 11:37 PM ^

"Of the 71 players Muschamp has signed since he's been at Florida, 15 have transferred, two never made it to campus, one took a medical hardship and one left early for the NFL draft."

First losing record since 1979 last year and their 34 year bowl streak snapped.  Players transferring and a HC under fire from the fan base.

Hmmmm.....this sounds vaguely familar.  I believe I've seen this movie before and I don't think I liked the ending much.

m1817

December 12th, 2013 at 11:40 PM ^

Will Muschamp was head coach in waiting at Texas.  Looks like they dodged a bullet when Florida hired him.  Texas shouldn't be complaining about Mack Brown.  As medioce as Texas has been the last few years, it could have been a lot worse under Muschamp.

Forgive me.

December 12th, 2013 at 11:45 PM ^

A more responsible/thorough report from the Sentinel might actually mention the programs to which said transfers are transferring, no?.  I realize that likely wasn't part of the official announcement from UF, but I sort of expect a professionsl reporter to anticipate the questions of his/her readers. Regardless, I suppose I won't begrudge a little late night schadenfreude. 

shorts

December 12th, 2013 at 11:56 PM ^

They probably don't know where they're transferring yet. Usually in these situations, the player will announce he is leaving and then take visits, talk with other coaches, etc., before deciding on his next school and signing a new letter of intent.

That appears to be the case here as well -- tight end Kent Taylor, for one, says he has "no idea" where he's transferring.

http://www.tampabay.com/blogs/gators/land-olakes-alum-kent-taylor-among-five-florida-gators-transfters/2156773

westwardwolverine

December 13th, 2013 at 12:18 AM ^

From what I'm reading, it sounds like these guys are mainly transferring for playing time. 

I'm also reluctant to call out Muschamp as a failure so far. They had so many injuries this year (If we'd suffered Florida's injuries we'd probably have ended up 2-10) it seemed to cause a snowball effect that culminated in the loss to Georgia Southern and the beatdown at the hands of Florida State.

They were 11-2 last year and 7-1 in the SEC and beat LSU, Texas A&M, South Carolina and Florida State. So its not like Florida under Muschamp hasn't been able to compete when healthy. I'm willing to bet they rebound nicely next year. 

pb1234

December 13th, 2013 at 1:11 AM ^

Is just an abject disaster, and has been for his entire tenure, injuries or no. It's Florida so he had a shitton of highly rated defensive talent (seriously, Florida's D has been studded with former 5*'s recently), but he's basically pulled a reverse Rich Rod.

OHbornUMfan

December 13th, 2013 at 9:57 AM ^

are so annoying when I'm trying to get really sucked into the narrative.  Never mind that this narrative could completely shift at any given moment, because one of the necessities of 24 hour everything is the insatiable need for something fresh and new - right now I REALLY want to think about the Muschamp is terrible narrative because everything is and always has been completely reducible to something as basic as one person's inherent goodness or badness at a simple thing like "coaching" that is in no way complicated or multifaceted and context is for the weak.

MI Expat NY

December 13th, 2013 at 10:09 AM ^

Exactly.  At least three of the these transfers makes absolute sense: A freshman QB who just saw another freshman QB get significant playing time, a fifth year lineman who wants to start if he's going to continue the grind of football, a third string TE who has two receptions in two seasons.  Then you have a RS-Fr. lineman, a RS-Fr. fullback and a true FR lineman, the latter who seems like a project at best.  I'd have to know the Florida roster better than I do to know how the latter departures would affect Florida, but I sure don't see the "Muschamp is horrible" storyline being furthered by this story.  Sure, 23% of his recruits no longer being on the team isn't great, but it doesn't seem like an unreasonably high percentage.  

MGoRob

December 13th, 2013 at 1:37 AM ^

What's even more amazing is that Florida also just got a commit from #2 OT today.  The first line of this article says it all though:

"The Florida Gators may not have an offensive coordinator or offensive line coach, but they still managed to land a commitment from the No. 2-ranked offensive tackle in the country, David Sharpe (Jacksonville, Fla./Providence), on Thursday."

So they don't have an OC.  Or an O-line coach.  They lose 6 players to transfers.  What is going on?  It's a pure tire fire there, yet somehow they still get a player to commit.

maizenbluenc

December 13th, 2013 at 10:35 AM ^

a.) Recruits want a reason to believe they will be developed for the NFL and showcased in a positive way (e.g., there was a long period of time where Michigan was Quarterback U. That meant QBs, and WRs had reason to believe choosing Michigan would increase their chances of getting to the NFL.)

b.) After three seasons of seeming offensive decline, that reason to believe may not so strong right now

c) Al Borges does not do reportedly do much recruiting anyway. However Funk does a lot of it.

So if we are having trouble landing top offensive prospects, then we need to make a change that increases the reason to believe Michigan is one of the top places to develop and be showcased on that side of the ball.