Recruits high on McElwains start, style

It's December 2012 and Alabama's offensive coordinator has been tabbed as the new head coach of struggling Colorado State. Jim McElwain is used to winning, and the program he now leads has done very little of that in recent years. It's why he's arrived at his first team meeting packing insults.

All that nice-to-meet-you junk will have to wait. McElwain has other things on his mind at the moment.

"He comes in to that first meeting and things get serious with him quickly," said Garrett Grayson, who started at quarterback under McElwain for the better part of three seasons at CSU and is now with the New Orleans Saints. "After about one minute, his voice changes. He told us that we were nothing but a bunch of selfish players. Coming from a coach that had been hired an hour prior, you're like 'Okay. Who is this guy? Who is he to call us names?' "

It's September 2015 and McElwain is in his first year as head coach at traditional SEC power Florida. His successful three-season stint at Colorado State is in the past. He's now charged with the task for righting yet another wayward ship and he's lobbing insults yet again. This time around, they're coming with more vigor. This time around, they're being hurled on national television.

His verbal undressing of running back Kelvin Taylor, who drew a flag for making a throat-slash gesture following a touchdown, during the Gators' week-two win over East Carolina would be replayed on highlight shows and the Internet millions of times. Recruits saw it. So did former players. And one man in particular wasn't shocked in the slightest.

I love coach Mac!!! He's going make me a better person Got nothing , but respect for him! #GatorNation 🐊🐊- KT21 (@Kelvintaylor21) September 13, 2015

"A bunch of us players from CSU were joking about that video when it was making the rounds," said Grayson, CSU's all-time leading passer. "We were all like, 'Yeah, I've seen that plenty of times before.' That's just his way of handling things. He did that all the time at CSU; it just never made the Internet because we aren't on ESPN every weekend. It's his way of coaching and it obviously works."

But what of current recruits? What of prospects that were and are considering playing for McElwain and the Gators in the years ahead? They met the video with a shoulder shrug. The fact that McElwain has yet to lose a game as Florida's head coach is also probably a factor. Tough love is endearing when it works, and nothing drives that point home like Florida's 6-0 start.

"Coach McElwain is a passionate guy," said four-star quarterback Jake Allen, who is committed to Florida in the class of 2017. "I think that video shows that he cares. Kelvin Taylor made a dumb mistake with the throat slash. I actually thought it was a positive seeing that because it showed me how much he cares. It made no difference to me, man. I've been yelled at before."

Allen characterizes McElwain as a "goofball" and "hilarious," away from the field and says the dichotomy is the perfect blend for a football coach. The passion is there, sure, but Allen says the other, softer side of the first-year Gators coach is just as important and will play well on the recruiting trail in Florida.

"He takes the edge off of you," Allen said. "He makes you comfortable and he's never awkward. He's just a fun guy to be around."

McElwain is no longer the little-known head coach that appeared from obscurity to lead a storied SEC power. Sometimes, the splash comes well after the hire.

"Nobody down here knew who he was when he got the job -- nobody," said Vosean Joseph, a linebacker committed to the Gators in the class of 2016. "The first time I learned anything about him was seriously the first time I met him. At first I thought, 'Here comes another coach that thinks he's gonna get Florida on track, but we'll see.' Now everybody knows him, though. Now people see what he's doing and now they all want to be a part of it."

It took a conversation or two with McElwain to convince Joseph that the plan would work. It took some Internet research for Allen to convince himself. These days, however, it doesn't take as much faith to buy into what the new head coach is selling.

Has McElwain cemented his legacy as a success in Gainesville? Not even close. But six wins and zero losses certainly say something.

"I started believing in him after a few talks," Joseph said.

And, these days, more people are starting to follow the linebacker's lead.

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