MUSCHAMP ERA BEGINS TO TAKE SHAPE

With the first major event as leader of Gator Nation, national signing day, under his belt, new Gator coach Will Muschamp is beginning to put his stamp on the program. Coach Will cleared his first major hurdle in nice fashion. Despite the very adverse situation of a virtual total turnover of coaching staff, including recruiting coordinator, just days before signing day, Muschamp and his new crew kept prime recruits on board, out fought predators such as Alabama, Miami, Auburn and Ohio State and even picked up a few prime prospects of his own,6'5" DE Tevin Westbrook of South Florida for example. A quick review reveals that the Gators picked up the best QB prospect in the country, the best FB and TE prospects in America, a top notch RB, 2 outstanding WR prospects not to mention a couple of excellent DE prospects and an abundance of DB's. Most impressively to Gator Gridiron is that the new Head Gator showed the wisdom to not get caught up in chasing over-hyped recruits who are the darlings of the so-called "experts". Nothing is more meaningless that "stars" attatched to recruits by recruit-niks who, in most cases, can't tell a football player from a ballerina. Coach Will demonstrated the courage and good judgement to trust HIS instincts and knowledge of who can play football and disregard the hype and buzz of the pathetic assortment of self-proclaimed "experts" who assign "stars" based on newspaper clippings, computer printouts and whether a player is being recruited by Notre Dame (and possibly, as has been alleged in print, whether their pocket is greased). For Gator fans National Signing Day not only produced a nice crop of talented fledging Gators, but an up-close look at the ability, judgement and character of their new leader when "under fire".

Another positive development in the final days of the recruiting wars was Coach Muschamp's promotion of fromer Gator WR Aubrey Hill as Recruiting Coordinator. Coach Hill, a key WR in Coach Spurrier's Fun n Gun attack of the '90's, recently returned to Gainesville as an offensive assistant after spending the last couple of years as an assistant at Miami. A Miami native, Hill brings a wealth of contacts and relationships in the crucial South Florida region.