1990: Spurrier's First Recruiting Class

This will be the first installment of a running anthology of articles as we look back at how Florida has done on the recruiting trail over the past 25 (or so) years. First up: the recruiting class of 1990.

Duke head coach Steve Spurrier was announced as the new head coach at Florida on Dec. 31, 1989. He had approximately six weeks to put/hold together the Class of 1990 for UF, and by most accounts, he did a solid job of rounding up his first incoming crop of freshmen in Gainesville. The Gators announced an 19-man recruiting class on Feb. 14, 1990:

Pete Archie, Back (6-0, 185), Houston, Tex. (C.E. King)

Jay Austin, Quarterback (6-3, 202), St. Petersburg (Northeast)

Chris Bilkie, Back (6-3, 215), Bradenton (Manatee)

Craig Carey, Line (6-3, 285), Houston, Tex. (Wentworth Military Academy)

Kendall Cook, Kicker (5-10, 170), Lakeland (Lake Gibson)

Zach Crockett, Back (6-3, 215), Pompano Beach (Ely)

Terry Dean, Quarterback (6-2, 180), Naples (Barron Collier)

Kevin Freeman, Back (6-1, 190), Bradenton (Manatee)

Michael Gilmore, Back (6-0, 190), Chipley

Greg Gingeleski, Line (6-8, 270), Sarasota (Riverview)

Dean Golden, Line (6-5, 230), Plantation (South Plantation)

Aubrey Hill, Back (5-11, 175) Miami (Carol City)

Harrison Houston, Back (5-9, 160), Pensacola (Pine Forest)

Eddie Lake, Back (5-11, 175), Tarpon Springs

Kedra Malone, Back (5-9, 175), Niceville

George Rushing, Back (6-4, 225), Miami (American)

David Swain, Line (6-4, 255), Altamonte Springs (Lake Brantley)

Lateef Travis, Back (6-4, 215), Pensacola (Pine Forest)

Scott Travis, Line (6-5, 245), New Rochelle, N.Y. (New Rochelle)

– 10 members of this class were considered to be among the Top 50 prospects in the state of Florida (Austin, Bilkie, Dean, Freeman, Gilmore, Gingelski, Houston, Malone, Swain and Travis.) Florida State would land 12, while Miami was only able to haul in four in 1990. Among out-of-state programs, Notre Dame had the most success in Florida in 1990, grabbing four top-50 prospects, including future starting quarterback Kevin McDougale (6-2, 183) out of Pompano Beach Ely.

– 17 of the Gators' 19 signees (89.4%) hailed from the state of Florida. All 19 players also came directly out of the high school ranks.

– At 6-9, Gingelski is one of the tallest players to ever suit up for the gridiron Gators.

– Travis was named as the Gatorade Player of the Year for the state of Florida in 1989. He was a part of back-to-back Class 5A state championship squads at Pine Forest in 1987 and 1988. He was considered by most outlets to be the crown jewel of Florida's recruiting class.

Biggest hits: Although the class was considered strong on paper, it didn't prove to be overly productive in Gainesville. Houston was the only NFL Draft pick out of the bunch (Atlanta, 138^th overall, 1994.) He was a valued member of the receiving corps along with Aubrey Hill. Dean was originally slated to be Shane Matthews' heir apparent, but shared the quarterbacking duties with Danny Wuerffel in 1993 and 1994 before Wuerffel eventually took over full-time midway through the '94 season. Bilkie, Dean, Gilmore and Swain would all be named to the SEC Academic Honor Roll at least once in their careers. Bilkie may be best remembered for his involvement in this "hidden ball" trick play in the 1994 Sugar Bowl against West Virginia:

Biggest misses: Already considered an academic risk when he signed, Travis was officially jettisoned after drug-related arrests in June of 1990. He wound up at Pearl River Community College before transferring to Mississippi State, where he would letter for the Bulldogs in 1992 and 1993. Crockett failed to qualify, and would later sign with Florida State alongside his younger brother Henri in 1992. Crockett would put together an impressive 13-season career in the pros.

The ones who got away: Despite being born in Gainesville and playing at nearby Chiefland, tight end Oscar McBride (6-5, 260) elected to attend Notre Dame. He also played two seasons in the NFL with the Arizona Cardinals.

Lake Wales linebacker James Roberson (6-3, 220) decided to sign with Florida State after originally committing to Florida. Roberson grew into a defensive end with the 'Noles and later played four years in the NFL. Roberson would attribute his decision to go with FSU over fear Florida would fall under major NCAA sanctions after being in the governing body's doghouse for most of the 1980's. Florida was eventually put on probation, and did not play in a bowl game following the 1990 season, but avoided any other serious penalties.

Tallahassee Lincoln placekicker Dan Mowery (5-11, 165) also reneged on a pledge to UF to attend FSU. He would later become famous as the victim of “Wide Right II” at the Orange Bowl, as the 'Noles dropped a 19-16 decision to Miami. Following the de-commitment, Florida moved to offer Kendall Cook of Lakeland, who signed with the Gators. Mowery was one of two top-rated placekicking prospects in the state of Florida for 1990, the other being Aaron Mills of Satellite Beach, who inked with Stanford.

Wide receiver Chris T. Jones (6-3, 197, West Palm Beach/Cardinal Newman) was so torn as to his college choice, he elected to wait until after National Signing Day to turn in his letter-of-intent to Miami, this despite the fact he was originally expected to select between Florida, Michigan and Michigan State. Jones was a third-round pick of the Eagles in 1995, but a promising start with Philadelphia was short-circuited in his third season by a knee injury on the notoriously rough Veterans Stadium turf in 1997.

Notre Dame signed what most services considered to be the nation's top class. But Florida State, with a crop of 23 players, was not far behind. The Seminoles landed a pair of USA Today first team All-Americans in Miami Northwestern LB Marvin Jones (6-2, 220) and St. Paul (Minn.) Cretin-Durham quarterback Chris Weinke (6-5, 205). DB Clifton Abraham, DE Ken Alexander, RB Sean Jackson, TE Lonnie Johnson and DB Corey Sawyer were among the other major contributors from that class.

The top class in the SEC belonged to Georgia, which signed four USA Today All-Americans, headlined by wide receiver Andre Hastings and 6-9 lineman Bernard Williams, who went on to be a first round pick of the Eagles. In-state star Garrison Hearst was also a part of the Bulldogs' haul, which included 27 players in total.

Have some other thoughts on this group? Add them in the comments below.