The Dan Mullen era is now in full swing at Florida and, despite the Gators' struggles that led to coach Jim McElwain’s dismissal, it only takes one look at the Gators' roster to see a team loaded with former elite recruits. The failure of some of those players to live up to the hype is part of the reason McElwain is now gone, but with a new coach on board many will get fresh starts. Today we look at five former elite recruits who have a chance to turn their careers around once they’re given a second chance to make a first impression.
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As a recruit: Franks made an early commitment to LSU despite offers from in-state programs Florida and Florida State. But the Gators never gave up on Franks and he eventually backed off his pledge to the Tigers and committed to Gators in late 2015.
What he’s done: Franks redshirted his first year on campus and came into this year in a heated quarterback battle. He ended up winning the job, starting the season opener only to be pulled in the second half. He came back to start several more games and had his best performance of the year in the Gators' miracle victory over Tennessee in September. Despite being inconsistent, Franks appeared in every game and finished the year with 1,438 yards passing, nine touchdowns and eight interceptions.
Why Mullen will help: Mullen and his staff are already on the road working to recruit a quarterback to fit their system but it’s not like he doesn’t have a history of molding his offense to suit the strengths of his signal callers. Franks is a pass-first quarterback whose athleticism is underrated and given the chance to work with Mullen for the entire offseason he will have every chance to win the starting job. With past quarterbacks like Alex Smith, Chris Leak, Tim Tebow and Dak Prescott on his resume you can’t downplay Mullen’s track record of developing players at the position.
As a recruit: An elite pass rusher from the same small town in Georgia that produced five-star Montravius Adams, Clayton had his share of interest from coast-to-coast. His recruitment came down to Florida and Auburn and he committed to the Gators in the middle of his senior season.
What he’s done: Clayton has found playing time hard to come by thanks to Florida’s deep talent on the defensive line. He had five tackles and a fumble recovery as a true freshman in 2016 and had seven tackles and one sack in 2017.
Why Mullen will help: With Florida likely to produce several NFL Draft picks among its current defensive linemen, Clayton was going to have a chance to earn more playing time in 2018 regardless. But given Mullen and defensive coordinator Todd Grantham’s track record of developing defensive linemen, it’s possible that Clayton can take a big step forward next year if he can put in the work this offseason. He’s a long way off from living up to his five-star billing but Gators fans have seen flashes of his ability and would like to see more consistency in 2018.
As a recruit: The younger brother of former Florida Gators standout Frankie Hammond, it seemed like only a matter of time before the younger Hammond would join the fold after picking up an offer from the Gators. He eventually did, joining the class in the summer following his junior season.
What he’s done: Hammond has shown some very impressive flashes in his first two years on campus but instability at the quarterback position has hampered his growth. As a true freshman in 2016, Hammond caught 14 passes for 177 yards and he followed that up with a solid campaign in 2017, catching 18 passes for 246 yards.
Why Mullen might help: As mentioned above, stabilizing the quarterback position will be the biggest benefit to Hammond, who has shown that he can be a reliable option for the rotating cast of quarterbacks he’s played with in his first two seasons. If he’s willing to block and can stay healthy, Hammond’s production should only increase under the new staff.
As a recruit: Carter collected offers from programs all over the country but it never appeared like he was going to stray far from home and that was the case when he committed to the Gators in the summer following his junior year. He took a late official visit to USF but ended up sticking with UF.
What he’s done: Carter redshirted as a freshman in 2017.
Why Mullen might help: Much like Clayton, Carter has a chance to earn more playing time simply by attrition but it’s worth nothing that players of his pedigree have had tremendous success under Mullen in the past. A perfect example is former five-star defensive end Chris Jones, who came into Mississippi State at 6-5, 250 pounds, only to grow into a defensive tackle. Carter has gone from 6-foot-4 and 237 pounds in high school to 6-4, 270 pounds in his first year on campus. Could he get even bigger and move inside in Mullen’s scheme like Jones did? Time will tell but Gators fans would be thrilled if Carter had the same type of career that led to Jones being a second round NFL Draft pick.
As a recruit: Lemons had a roller coaster recruitment that saw him initially commit to North Carolina, only to later flip to Florida. He would decommit from the Gators two months later, but then re-commit the next day. After running into trouble at his high school, Lemons then decommitted again, only to end up committing and signing with the Gators on National Signing Day earlier this year.
What he’s done: After not recording a statistic in the Gators first seven games, Lemons broke into the lineup later in the year and showed flashes of his talent. He ran for a career high 89 yards in the team’s win over UAB and finished the year with 139 yards on 19 carries.
Why Mullen will help: Lemons talent has never been in question and after earning the trust of the previous coaching staff late in the season, perhaps he’s turned a corner from a maturity standpoint. Mullen’s offenses have featured several productive running backs and while Lemons will have to share carries with Malik Davis and Lamichal Perine, there will likely be many more carries to go around in 2018 and beyond.
