About Will Muschamp ...

The predictable calls for Muschamp's head have started flying this week. The most demonstrative coming in the form of a column from Neil Shulman of Alligator Army.

While his piece is full of emotion and not entirely rational, I can't help but acknowledge the fact that after 28 games, Muschamps' record sits at 19-9. Ron Zook, after 28 games as Florida head coach, was 17-11.

Looking back, it's hard to argue that Florida didn't make the right decision by moving on from Zook after a harrowing loss to Mississippi State on Oct. 23, 2004. The Bulldogs were were 1-5 at the time and had dropped a 27-13 contest to UAB at home just two weeks earlier. This followed crushing losses at Tennessee, where a questionable late personal foul call against Dallas Baker directly allowed Tennessee the opportunity to move into field goal range to win the game. And, of course, there was the "Leak slide" at home, three weeks later that would also lead to setting up LSU for a game-winning score. The Mississippi State debacle what just the latest in a run of "oh-so-close" losses for Zook which eventually cost him his job.

But consider this:

– As many Floridians remember, 2004 was the "Year of the Hurricane," where the state was battered by four named storms (Bonnie, Charley, Frances, Jeanne.) Frances forced the postponement of the opening game against Middle Tennessee State to ... you guessed it, the bye that was scheduled for the week before Mississippi State. It didn't seem like a big deal at the time, but if the Gators get the week off, perhaps they pull off what was a very winnable contest on the road. But let's not forget that Starkville had proved to be a house of horrors for Steve Spurrier as well. He was 0-2 at Davis-Wade Stadium. In fact, Mississippi State was the only SEC road victory he lacked on his resume as head coach for the Gators.

– Then, there was the single yard – one measly yard! – that cost Florida the chance to run out the clock against LSU. A win would have given Zook his second straight victory over Lord Saban, by the way.

– And of course, we cant forget the Dallas Baker penalty (Which ramped up the "LACK OF DISCIPLINE!!!" chatter around Zook's regime ... sound familiar?) Although Baker was guilty of a foolish mistake, how the side judge elected to call Baker for a personal foul, after he clearly saw Jonathan Wade instigate the skirmish is still beyond explanation.

If anything, Zook was guilty of bad luck. Sometimes all it takes is one questionable call, one yard and one rescheduled game because of a Hurricane to cost a coach his job. Again, I don't think Gators fans are upset with the results, but you can still make a pretty strong case that Zook was never afforded the opportunity to succeed at UF. Of course, Florida coaches have to operate under a razor-thin margin of error. That comes with the territory, as a result of the incredible success Steve Spurrier, and then Urban Meyer achieved in Gainesville. If anyone knows that, it's Will Muschamp.

But back to this notion of the team being "undisciplined." Penalties seemed to be the biggest exception Shulman took with Muschamp to make this point. But Florida has had a penalty issue really dating back to Spurrier's first days as head coach in Gainesville. To wit, here are the penalty statistics for key years since the 1996 championship season:


1996: 10.4 for 91.3 yards (First National Title)
2001: 9.2 for 65.5 yards (Maybe Spur-dog's best team?)
2004: 8.8 for 70.3 yards (The year Zook was fired)
2006: 8.3 for 63.4 yards (Meyer's first championship)
2008: 7.3 for 59.9 yards (The second BCS title)
2009: 6.8 for 52.5 yards (Tim and the gang's final ride)

In 2012, the Gators averaged 8.1 penalties per game for 69.2 yards. Through two games this season (still much too small of a sample size), they have accrued an average of 10 penalties for 70 yards per game. Meyer actually did do a solid job of slowly getting the penalty numbers down. But under Muschamp, they haven't risen all that dramatically either. And they certainly aren't at the levels the Gators seemed to experience throughout their greatest successes in the 90's.

So, what it really comes down to, is trying to tilt the numbers to fit the narrative. Muschamp doesn't win in a way that is as stylish and as fun to watch as the Spurrier years, or even the pinnacle of offensive success under Meyer in 2007 and '08. If Muschamp is going to win with field position, special teams and defense (which should be noted, are three things Meyer strongly preached when he got to UF in 2004), then he will have to win. And win big. But Muschamp knows that. All I'm saying is, let's let the season play out before we start speculating about the future. Give the Florida staff a chance before throwing them under the bus. Because continuously cycling through coaches isn't always the answer either. And if you need an example as to why that's not the preferred route, look no further than the gold standard in college football today: Alabama.

Class of 1995: Another star-studded affair

This is the fifth installment in our running anthology of posts looking back at past recruiting classes for the Florida Gators. Today's entry highlights the Class of 1995.

Steve Spurrier put the finishing touches on a top-three recruiting class two days after National Signing Day (February 1, 1995) when Reggie McGrew signed with the Gators at Lafayette High School in nearby Mayo, rounding out a 24-man haul for Florida in the Class of 1995:

Ernie Badeaux, Line (6-5, 258), River Ridge, La. (John Curtis)
Tim Beauchamp, Line (6-2, 235), New Smyrna Beach
Cheston Blackshear, Line (6-3, 278), Jacksonville (Ed White)
Pat Browning, Line (6-3, 290), Tampa (Jesuit)
Scott Bryan, Line (6-4, 270), Longwood (Lake Mary)
Zuri Buchanan, Back (6-0, 215), DeSoto, Tex. (DeSoto)
Cooper Carlisle, Line (6-6, 265), McComb, Miss. (McComb)
Reggie Davis, Back (6-0, 175), Bradenton (Southeast)
Damian Hill, Back (6-1, 175), Dallas, Tex. (Carter)
Ryan Kalich, Line (6-3, 276), Houston, Tex. (Spring Woods)
Jevon Kearse, Back (6-5, 220), North Ft. Myers
Keith Kelsey, Back (6-1, 220), Newberry
Erron Kinney, Back (6-6, 256), Ashland, Va. (Patrick Henry)
Demetrius Lewis, Back (6-0, 195), Decatur, Ga. (Southwest Dekalb)
Eugene McCaslin, Back (6-1, 205), Tampa (Chamberlain)
Reggie McGrew, Line (6-2, 279), Mayo (Lafayette)
Anthony Mitchell, Line (6-5, 235), Louisville, Miss. (Louisville)
Dock Pollard, Back (5-8, 170), Bradenton (Manatee)
Jamie Richardson, Back (5-11, 175), Tallahassee (Godby)
Johnny Rutledge, Back (6-2, 225), Belle Glade (Glades Central)
Bobby Sablehaus, Quarterback (6-6, 225), Owings Mills, Md. (McDonogh)
Greg See, Line (6-5, 251), Denon, Pa. (Archbishop Carroll)
Robby Stevenson, Kicker (6-1, 177), Bradenton (Manatee)
Corey Yarborough, Line (6-2, 266), Glen St. Mary (Baker County)

– The Gators landed 12 of the state's top 50 prospects, good for second among the Big Three. Florida State (14) led all teams, while Miami only finished with two. Auburn led all out-of-state programs with four top-50 signees from Florida.

– 15 of the Gators' 24 players (62.5%) in the Class of 1995 hailed from the state of Florida.

– UF landed a pair of USA Today first team All-Americans in Badeaux and Stevenson. Most services regarded Sabelhaus (the #2 QB, behind USA Today Offensive Player of the Year Dan Kendra) as the top recruit in Florida's class.

– Buchanan was the only group from this class who failed to qualify, but he would enroll at Florida as a part of the Class of 1996.

Biggest Hits: Jevon Kearse and Reggie McGrew had celebrated careers in Orange & Blue and would eventually go on to be first-round picks in the NFL Draft as well. Five players from this group (Blackshear, Carlisle, Kearse, McGrew, Rutledge) would go on to win All-SEC honors.

Biggest Misses: There were several, highlighting the Jekell and Hyde nature of this class. But perhaps none was as big as that of Sabelhaus. Touted as the potential successor to Danny Wuerffel, Sabelhaus was gone within 18 months. A disastrous performance in the 1996 spring game proving to be the final nail in the coffin of Sabelhaus' brief UF career.

Badeaux's signing was highly celebrated, but the talented defensive lineman proved to be a handful off the field and was finally dismissed from the team in August of 1997 following a rash of incidents.

Jamie Richardson showed signs of promise early in his tenure at Florida, but was also dismissed following an incident at the Florida Theater in Gainesville back in January of 1998, resulting in Richardson's second battery arrest within a 14-month period.

Acclaimed as a Parade All-American, with 28 career interceptions at the prep level, Damian Hill was the big corner every major college program craves. He arrived at Florida with considerable fanfare, and the early reports indicated he would live up to the considerable expectations. But his time in Gainesville would prove to be short lived. Hill was ensnared in a textbook-selling scandal which also nailed fellow '95 signee Dock Pollard. Throwing additional academic issues into the mix, Hill was gone from Florida after the spring semester in 1996.

The ones who got away: Despite Florida's best efforts, several top prospects elected to sign elsewhere. The biggest name would prove to be Belle, W.Va. receiver Randy Moss, who elected to go with Notre Dame over Florida and Tennessee.

The other big-time receiver the Gators lost out on was Bradenton Southeast athlete Peter Warrick (6-1, 175), who elected not to follow several teammates (including '95 UF signee Reggie Davis) to Gainesville, and instead would head to Florida State.

The state's top quarterback, Ocala Vanguard passer Daunte Culpepper (6-4, 214), wound up at UCF after academic issues caused the Big Three to back off his recruitment. By the time Culpepper had put himself in a position to qualify, he decided to stick with the Knights, who had supported him through his academic issues.

With a need at the defensive tackle position, missing out on Belle Glade Glades Central lineman Robert Newkirk (6-4, 280) – a one-time UF commitment – to Michigan State was a tough pill to swallow for the Gators. Thankfully for Florida, the late commitment of Badeaux and the addition of Reggie McGrew 48 hours after the faxes had started coming in on National Signing Day filled their quota on the defensive front. Newkirk went on to play three seasons in the NFL.

Tampa Jefferson athlete Keith Newman (6-3, 225), a guy who could have played tight end, defensive end or linebacker at UF, elected to go with Mack Brown and North Carolina instead. Newman went on to play seven productive seasons at the pro level.

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Max Emfinger had the Gators ranked as the top recruiting class in the country as Florida reeled in what was generally considered to be the third best class in the country behind Notre Dame and Florida State.

The Gators had dealt with some issues recruiting the linebacker position in the prior two cycles – especially when going up with the Seminoles – but made up for those losses in 1995 with a haul that included Kearse, Kelsey and Rutledge.

Class of 1994: Loaded to the brim with NFL Talent

This is the fourth installment in our running anthology of posts looking back at past recruiting classes for the Florida Gators. Today's entry highlights the Class of 1994.

Although only one national publication had the Gators ranked among the nation's top ten (Max Emfinger, who slotted Florida in eighth), Steve Spurrier announced an 18-man recruiting class on February 2, 1994 that would prove to be one of the most talented groups ever hauled in by the University of Florida:

Reidel Anthony, Back (5-11, 165), Belle Glade (Glades Central)
Teako Brown, Back (5-11, 185), Miami (Carol City)
Ed Chester, Line (6-4, 270), Spring Hill (Springstead)
Antonio Cochran, Line (6-4, 235), Montezuma, Ga. (Macon County)
Willie Cohens, Line (6-3, 216), Starke (Bradford)
Mo Collins, Line, Charlotte, N.C (6-5, 265), Charlotte, N.C. (West Charlotte)
Tony George, Back (6-0, 180), Cincinnati, Ohio (Winton Woods)
Jacquez Green, Back (5-9, 170), Fort Valley, Ga. (Peach County)
Ike Hilliard, Back (6-0, 175), Patterson, La. (Patterson)
Mike Jackson, Line (6-5, 235), Wrightsville, Ga. (Johnson County)
Terry Jackson, Back (6-0, 200), Gainesville (P.K. Yonge)
Nafis Karim, Back (5-11, 165), Marietta, Ga. (Pope)
Travis McGriff, Back (5-11, 175), Gainesville (P.K. Yonge)
Mike Peterson, Back (6-1, 205), Alachua (Santa Fe)
Jamie Richardson, Back (5-11, 165), Tallhassee (Godby)
Dossy Robbins, Back (6-1, 235), Marathon
Deac Story, Line (6-4, 275), Winter Park
Fred Taylor, Back (6-1, 215), Belle Glades (Glades Central)

– Unlike Spurrier's prior classes, this one had a much stronger out-of-state feel to it. Only 11-of-18 players signed by Florida in 1994 hailed from inside the Sunshine State (61.1%).

– The Gators landed eight of the consensus top-50 prospects from inside the state borders in 1994, trailing FSU (9) by one. Miami finished with five. Auburn and Mississippi State led out-of-state programs with three signees each.

– Eventual UF Director of Player Personnel Jon Haskins makes an appearance in the top-50 rankings in 1994, as the 6-3, 228-pound linebacker out of Sarasota Riverview elected to sign with Stanford.

– Two of Florida's '94 signees failed to qualify. Antonio Cochran would later enroll at Georgia in 1997 after going the JUCO route (he started off at Okaloosa-Walton in Niceville before moving on to Middle Georgia College.) Jamie Richardson would eventually get to Florida after deferring his enrollment for a year.

Biggest Hits: Where to start. Ten members of this class went on to play in the NFL (Anthony, Collins, George, Green, Hilliard, T. Jackson, McGriff, Peterson,Taylor and Antonio Cochran, despite the fact he never ended up playing for Florida.) Ed Chester would have made 11, but his career would come to a grinding halt when LSU decided to take out his knees on a fateful night at the Swamp back in 1998. Teako Brown and Willie Cohens were also valued contributors during their time at Florida, despite the fact they never moved on to the next level.

Biggest Misses: Dossy Robbins was touted as the state's No. 1 fullback prospect, a player who even earned comparisons to Jerome Bettis from his high school coach for his combination of size and strength. Alas, Robbins never lettered at Florida. A suspected heart condition ended Mike Jackson's career after he collapsed during a workout in October of 1995.

The ones who got away: Merritt Island defensive lineman Antonio Ham (6-5, 235), went back-and-forth between Florida and Miami before deciding to sign with the Hurricanes on National Singing Day. Lake Worth defensive back Deon Humphrey (6-3, 218) – who converted to linebacker at Florida State – also passed on the Gators despite a spirited recruiting effort from UF. Both Ham and Humphrey would go on to play in the NFL.

Academic issues prevented Sarasota Riverview defensive back Amp Campbell (6-2, 175) from signing with UF. He had a solid, if unspectacular, career at Michigan State. Florida made a run at Ft. Lauderdale Dillard defensive lineman Charles Dorsey (6-2, 255), who elected to stick to school tradition and sign with Auburn. Dorsey was one of seven players from the high school to sign with Auburn over a four-year period.

Although the Gators heavily wooed Peyton Manning (6-5, 202, New Orleans, La./Isidore Newman), the future No. 1 overall pick wound up selecting Tennessee over a short list that included Florida, Ole Miss (where father Archie and brother Eli played) and Michigan. The Gators missed out on another highly-rated Louisiana prospect to Tennessee that year in Marrero offensive lineman Jarvis Reado (6-5, 284).

One guy who got away from Florida on Signing Day, but would eventually come back into the fold was Tallahassee Lincoln offensive lineman Zach Piller (6-5, 265). Piller transferred to UF after spending a year at Georgia Tech.

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Tennessee signed a consensus top-two class (along with Florida State), a 22-man group that included the above-mentioned Manning and Reado, along with DE Johnathan Brown, DT Ron Green, PK Jeff Hall, DB Terry Fair and WR Marcus Nash.

The Seminoles' class included Humphrey, along with USA Today Defensive Player of the Year Lamont Green, who failed to live up to the hype while suiting up for the 'Noles. Other significant contributors included CB Samari Rolle and DT Orpheus Roye in a group that was somewhat underwhelming considering it was considered by some services to be the nation's top class.

In terms of pure talent, there is little doubt that this is the greatest class Florida has ever signed, pound-for-pound. If you throw in Zach Piller (who signed with GT but ended up at UF a year later), 11 of the 19 players that either signed or played for Florida would up in the NFL. Three of them were first-round draft picks (Anthony, Collins and Taylor). Despite some misses for the Gators on the trail in 1994, particularly on the offensive line and at linebacker, their evaluations turned out to be spot on. Or they just got a little lucky. Either way, it worked out for Spurrier and staff.

Class of 1992: The Foundation for a National Championship

This is the third installment in our running anthology of posts looking back at past recruiting classes for the Florida Gators. Today's entry highlights the Class of 1992.

After falling behind the Seminoles and the Hurricanes in the recruiting wars, the Gators made a loud statement when Steve Spurrier announced a 25-man signing class on Feb. 6, 1992. A group that was considered the consensus-No. 1 group in the country included the following:

David Barnard, Line (6-3, 280), Miami (Miami Senior)

Jim Bates, Jr., Back (6-2, 215), Sevierville, Tenn. (Sevier County)

Johnie Church, Back (6-3, 218), Fort Myers (Cypress Lake)

Cameron Davis, Line (6-4, 230), Lauderhill (St. Thomas Aquinas)

Tony Davis, Back (5-11, 190), Chipley

Dexter Daniels, Back (6-2, 225), Valdosta, Ga. (Valdosta)

Bart Edmiston, Kicker (5-10, 170), Pensacola (Washington)

Jerome Evans, Back (6-2, 222), Arcadia (DeSoto County)

McDonald Ferguson, Line, (6-2, 245), Miami (North Miami)

Reggie Green, Line (6-7, 297), Bradenton (Southeast)

Demetric Jackson, Back (6-1, 180), Lake City (Columbia)

Eric Kresser, Quarterback (6-3, 200), Palm Beach Gardens

Antone Lott, Back, (5-10, 180), Jacksonville (Raines)

Jeff Mitchell, Line (6-4, 240), Clearwater (Countryside)

Dwayne Mobley, Back (6-0, 215), Brooksville (Hernando)

Shawn Nunn, Back (6-3, 230), Ocala (Vanguard)

Jason Odom, Line (6-6, 283), Bartow

Nick Quintana, Line (6-4, 290), Miami (Senior)

Shea Showers, Back (5-11, 170), Alachua (Santa Fe)

Kenny Times, Back (6-1, 218), Winter Park (Lake Howell)

Andre Washington, Back (6-1, 215), Jacksonville (Ribault/Georgia/Florida C.C.)

Shawn Wilson, Back (6-1, 180), Virginia Beach (Bayside)

Lawrence Wright, Back (6-2, 195), Miami (North Miami/Valley Forge)

Danny Wuerffel, Quarterback (6-3, 193), Fort Walton Beach

Donnie Young, Line (6-3, 260), Venice

– Allen Wallace declared this group the top-ranked recruiting class in the country, while Max Emfinger named the Gators “co-champions” with LSU.

– Dexter Daniels earned 1991 USA Today Defensive Player of the Year honors. To date, Daniels remains the only player to win that award and sign with Florida.

– 22 of the 25 members of this signing class were from inside the state of Florida (88%)

– Times did not qualify in 1992 and had to defer his enrollment to the following year.

– Florida closed out with 14 of the state's consensus top-50 recruits, while FSU came in a close second with 13. Miami landed eight. It was a dominant year inside the state borders for the Big Three. Clemson and Michigan were the only out-of-state programs to land more than one top-50 prospect from Florida, but both were only able to grab two.

Biggest Hits: Making a list of who didn't pan out in this class is considerably easier. Wuerffel was the 1996 Heisman Trophy winner. Bates, Daniels, Green, Lott, Odom, Wright and Young all picked up All-SEC honors during their stay in Gainesville as well. In total, this class produced a total of six NFL Draft picks.

It should be noted that Reggie Green had a fine career in Gainesville, despite dealing with knee issues that prevented him from a likely 10-year career at the pro level.

Biggest Misses: Quintana flunked out of UF after the fall semester of '92, and did not return to the squad. A highly-decorated player coming in, a knee injury kept Wilson from contributing at UF.

Andre Washington, who had previously pulled an eleventh-hour switcheroo in 1990 and elected to sign with Georgia instead to Florida, ended up signing with UF as a part of the 1992 class. He left Georgia after his freshman season and transferred to Florida Community College in Jacksonville. However, the long-awaited debut of Washington never took place at UF, as he failed to earn his A.A. Degree and was not able to enroll at Florida.

Tony Davis was never able to make a significant presence in the offensive backfield. After threatening to leave midway through his freshman season, he would eventually be expelled from school in the fall of 1994.

The ones who got away: Even with as good as Florida's offensive line haul was in 1992, the Gators nearly made it that-much-better with the presence of future NFL Hall-of-Famer Jonathan Ogden. The 6-foot-8, 340-pound behemoth from St. Albans School in Washington D.C. was also a highly-regarded shot-putter at the prep level. His short list included the Gators and Notre Dame, but Ogden eventually signed with UCLA.

Aside from that one, there weren't many misses. Although Dexter Daniels had a solid career in Gainesville, he was actually overshadowed in the long run by prep rival Randall Godfrey, who played at Lowndes High School in Valdosta and ended up at Georgia. Godfrey went on to play 12 years in the NFL.

Florida State signed a very good class as well. Although not quite on the level of Florida's, it was rated as a consensus top-five group, led by WR/KR Tamerick Vanover and OL Marcus Long, both named first team All-America by the USA Today. QB Danny Kannell, OL Todd Fordham, P Sean Liss, LB Todd Rebol, DT Connell Spain as well as the Crockett brothers – FB Zack and LB Henri – were major contributors for the 'Noles as well.

SEC recruiting co-champ LSU's crop included highly-regarded TE David LaFleur and WR Eddie Kennison, a pair of first-round NFL draft picks. Two-time All-SEC DE Gabe Northern was also a part of the 1992 class for the Tigers. Otherwise, it was a mostly forgettable group.

Tom Lemming, speaking on National Signing Day in 1992, would do an excellent job looking into the crystal ball many years into the future with this quote:

The SEC is so far ahead of everybody else in the nation,” Lemming said at the time. “It's phenomenal.”

Wise words, to be sure.

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.

Why Luther Campbell is an idiot

Luther Campbell (a.k.a. Luke Skywalker) is still famous nearly 25 years after he burst onto the rap scene as a part of the group 2 Live Crew. He's not making music these days, but Campbell is still active in Miami as a businessman, football coach, one-time mayoral candidate and as a columnist for the Miami New-Times.

Luther Campbell with Miami's favorite son, Nevin Shapiro.

Predictably, the notorious Miami fan (yes, he reportedly threw down "bounties" for big plays and injuring opposing players, an NCAA violation I might add) offered his commentary heading into a noon showdown between Florida and Miami at Sun Life Stadium in Miami Gardens on Saturday. Campbell decided to focus the majority of his vitriol towards UF in regards to its history as a "bastion of southern racism." Interestingly enough, Campbell forgot to check the records for "his school's" role in denying equal opportunity to African-Americans.

– In 1940, Miami cancelled a scheduled contest with UCLA because of the presence of four African-Americans on the Bruins' roster. In a twist of fate, one of the UCLA players that caused Miami to rescind their offer to play was Jackie Robinson, the man who would later break baseball's color barrier in 1947 with the Brooklyn Dodgers.

– In 1946, Penn State elected to eliminate a scheduled contest at Miami due to the same policy that forced UCLA to withdraw from the 'Canes 1940 slate of games. Halfback Wally Tripplett was one of two African-American players on the 1946 roster for the Nittany Lions. Selected 182nd overall by the Detroit Lions in 1949, he would go on to be the first African-American player to be drafted by and play in the NFL.

– Campbell points out that the University of Florida did not admit African-American students until 1962. Well, he's wrong. George Starke was the first African-American admitted to the College of Law on Sept. 15, 1958. Despite receiving police protection, Starke withdrew from the school shortly after beginning classes. W. George Allen became the first person of African-American descent to graduate from the College of Law in 1962. At the same time, the first seven UF undergraduates are admitted to UF. Campbell also conventionally forgets to leave out that the University of Miami only began the process of admitting African-American students a year earlier than that, with the Board of Trustees voting to de-segregate on January 31, 1961. This after the school was able to avoid compliance with the Brown v. Board of Education ruling for several years, due to the University of Miami being a private institution.

– Another allegation made by Campbell points out that former UF quarterback Derrick Crudup, Sr., was denied the opportunity to play quarterback at Florida because of his race. Crudup, who enrolled at UF in 1983, later transferred to Oklahoma (where he also didn't play quarterback.) Years later, his son, also a highly-touted signal-caller out of South Florida (Senior starred at Boca Raton, Derrick Crudup, Jr. played at Deerfield Beach). The younger Crudup wound up at Miami where he would himself MAKE CLAIMS OF RACISM after losing a battle for the starting job in 2003 to Brock Berlin. Shocking, right? The elder Crudup was to be passed over for the position by Wayne Peace and Kerwin Bell, two of the best quarterbacks in Florida history. Junior lost out to Brock Berlin. At least the son had a legitimate argument.

– Then of course, there was the Ryan Clement-Ryan Collins racism imbroglio that Campbell HIMSELF started in 1995. Collins, an African-American quarterback who shared the starting job with Frank Costa in 1993, was demoted to second-string in 1994 and lost the job to Clement in 1995 after getting hurt in an early-season loss to Virginia Tech, never made claims of racism against the Miami staff. But after Campbell's comments, he did seem to give off a sense of having never gotten a fair shake at the job during spring practice in 1995.

"He's one of my biggest fans, I guess," Collins said of Campbell in the above-linked article by Randall Mell of what was at the time, the Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel. "For once, somebody's supporting me. That's unusual."

– Finally, there's the assertion that Charlie Strong was passed over for the Florida head coaching job because of his race. This one is a little trickier to navigate. Florida had two opportunities to hire Strong as the head coach. The first in 2001, when Steve Spurrier stepped down. The second, in 2004, after Ron Zook was fired. Strong served as interim coach for Florida in the Peach Bowl, where they were trounced by Miami. At neither point was Strong considered a "hot" head coaching candidate.

That would come later, when his defenses under Urban Meyer were among the best in the country and helped lead the Gators to two national championships. Timing is everything. Had Strong remained on Meyer's staff in 2010, it's entirely possible he would be the head coach at Florida right now. There are lots of theories about that abortion of a season. Some believed it was an audition of sorts for Steve Addazio. But that obviously didn't work out, and he's now at Boston College. I doubt ol' Charlie has too many regrets with the way things turned out for him at Louisville. And, yes, that does include the good old-fashioned butt-whipping he handed the Gators back in January at the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans.

In any case, Strong's career is forever entwined with Florida. He served four stints as a coach at UF, as a graduate assistant from 1983-84 under Charley Pell (the same racist who didn't allow Derrick Crudup, Sr. to take the QB job, mind you), 1988-89 as an outside linebackers coach for Galen Hall, 1991-94 as a defensive line coach for Steve Spurrier, and finally as the defensive coordinator from 2002-09 under Ron Zook and Urban Meyer. UF fans will always have a soft spot for the guy.

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It should be noted that Miami was one of the first programs in the South to integrate their football program, when wide receiver Ray Bellamy joined the varsity football side in 1968 as a sophomore (freshmen weren't allowed to play in those days.) Nat Northington at Kentucky, who began his varsity career for the Wildcats a year earlier, was the only player in the so-called "Deep South" to help integrate a squad before Bellamy.

The University of Miami does have a great track record of helping to advance race relations since the mid-60's in many aspects. But the University of Florida has made considerable progress in those areas as well. To try and argue otherwise is foolish, and Campbell's commentary proves to be nothing more than that. Foolish.