Tuesday, February 10, 2015

Graduate Assistant James Rowe an excellent addition to the UF staff

Although the majority of today's news regarding the Florida coaching staff focused on the hire of former FIU assistant Kerry Dixon as the new receivers coach, the nugget from coachingsearch.com regarding the appointment of former Jacksonville University DB coach James Rowe as a defensive graduate assistant for UF caught the eye of some as well.

It should have. Let me say this, the Gators got a good one in Rowe.

Having played against him in high school -- I attended nearby Titusville Astronaut at the same time he went to Cocoa -- I was always impressed by his presence on the field. He had that moxie about him. An undersized quarterback for legendary coach Gerald Odom (who played at UF, as did his son), Rowe helped begin to lay the foundation to turn Cocoa into the powerhouse program it is today under John Wilkinson (an Odom disciple).

Rowe also excelled in basketball and baseball in high school. Had he been a couple of inches taller and/or a couple of ticks faster on the stop-watch, I suspect he would have played football at the high-major level. Instead he headed off to USF and played baseball.

Upon finishing in Tampa, it was not much of a surprise to see Rowe back on the sidelines in Cocoa. His Dad was a well-known coach (leading Cocoa to a state basketball title in 2009), and James followed in his footsteps. Rowe helped coach up his brother, David, into the first of several BCS recruits out of Cocoa in recent years (the younger Rowe was a DB at Rutgers from 2008-12 and is now a GA at Western Michigan under former Rutgers assistant P.J. Fleck). On the sidelines for three consecutive state titles at Cocoa, Rowe was able to break into the college ranks, and after a successful stint at JU is now at UF.

So, what are the Gators getting in Rowe? Well, for starters, they are getting a coaching lifer who also happens to be an up-and-comer. They will get an intelligent guy who could eventually move into a few different spots down the line (QB, RB, WR, DB) as a full-time coach unless another program snaps him up first.

He should, also, help open up the door at Cocoa, a school that UF should not have any problems pulling talent out of. However, the Gators let Notre Dame nab talented RB Tarean Folston in 2013, and Ohio State grab superb speedster Jamel Dean in the 2015 recruiting cycle (despite his projection as a corner by most recruiting services, Dean is a guy who could have stepped in and competed for immediate playing time at receiver had he come to Florida).

With a pair of talented players coming down the pipe from Cocoa in 2016 DB Chauncey Gardner (a one-time UF commit) and 2017 ATH Bruce Judson, Rowe should help the Gators on the recruiting trail as well, despite the fact he isn't allowed on the road as a GA.

So, trust me when I say this. The Gators got a good one today. Hires like this to the support staff beyond the nine "full-time" assistants the Gators are allotted, shows me Jim McElwain is doing his homework and bringing in quality guys to fill out his growing support staff.

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