ATLANTA -- The Gators are one win away from a ten-win season and a Peach Bowl win - that is a huge accomplishment for a football team that ended the 2017 season 4-7.

So is Florida officially back?

According to junior nickel Chauncey Gardner-Johnson, the Gators have returned to national prominence, however, it was not due to their accomplishments on the field, but what the coaching staff has been able to accomplish on the trail.

"I want to say recruiting," said Gardner-Johnson on why Florida is back. "You go from having classes with more three-stars than four-stars to now having classes having majority four-stars and potential of two or three five-stars, recruiting is a big deal. We might not have the best facilities, this and that, but when you come to Florida you know we're playing for championships."

During his tenure at Florida, Jim McElwain signed 20 blue-chip players; Dan Mullen has already inked 27, and he is only halfway done with his second class as Florida's head coach.

"I feel like that all just had to do with the culture of the program," running back Jordan Scarlett said. "Some kids didn't want to come at that time because they just probably didn't feel like coach Mac was the best coach at the time and didn't feel comfortable with him."

"Probably showing them all them Jordan's they'll get if they come here," defensive end CeCe Jefferson joked. "I think coach Mullen's resume speaks for itself. The season that we had this past season, it definitely helps them recruit. We're about to win 10 games this season, not too many teams do that."

A resume that has seen Mullen build up Mississippi State, develop NFL talent, and quickly turn around a Florida program that seemed to be spiraling out of control.

"Coach Mullen came back here and brought back the Florida swag the way it used to be back in the day," said Scarlett. "He's going to get the right guys. He's looking for more in-state guys. He goes to out of state, too, but just for the majority of the people that want to come to Florida, I feel like coach Mac always tried to look for guys outside of Florida and just tried to be different. But you've got a lot of dudes right in your back yard that are ready to come play. I feel like coach Mullen does a great job of doing that."

"A facility ain't winning a football game," added Gardner-Johnson. "Coaches can only tell you so much. It's how you go out there and execute and just do what you've got to do. I feel like recruits bought into what was really being said and what is really being put out there, and that's just competing at the highest level you can compete at and being on the biggest stage, which is a New Year's Six bowl. Most recruits that we've got, they see us playing in Atlanta.

"First thing they think of is 'Dang, Atlanta is a big city. Lot of famous people there,'" added the Florida nickelback. "People want to come be a part of this. I shout out to coach Mullen and his staff for recruiting hard and bringing everything back."

According to the current Florida players, the staff approaches recruiting in the right manner.

"They keep it real with you. Most coaches in the country, they're going to sugar-coat everything," said Gardner-Johnson. "You've got to see the real in coaches. You can't just be here for the glitz and the glamour, because that ain't going to get you nowhere. If you're in it for the money and the girls and what the school's like when it's time to party, you're not going to get the full potential of yourself on the football field. So you've got to really just buy into what the coaches are telling you and just believe it."

However, like always, the product on the field is the biggest factor. This season, high school prospects were able to see quarterback Feleipe Franks go from being benched in the season opener last year to throwing 23 touchdown passes this season - the most since Tim Tebow in 2008.

So in other words, the staff are developing their players.

"I can speak for my position: I think it means everything," quarterback Feleipe Franks said. "I think that's the one thing that you want to look at the most as a recruit going to college. What program and specifically coach can develop you at your position the best to help you reach every high school player's dream of the next level, which is the NFL."

"When somebody comes in from having a little rough season and then have a complete turnaround with the new staff, that definitely lets the recruits know that this guy knows what he's talking about," added Jefferson.

"If you've got a D-lineman or a quarterback and they see that you're making progress with that position every week and you're winning every week, they want to be a part of that," said Gardner-Johnson. "They don't want to be a part of a team that can't produce, can't improve their players."

In addition to development, Florida players state that recruits can see the staff moving players around in order for them to succeed. Take for example Kyle Pitts. The freshman was recruited as a tight end, however, has spent some time training with the wide receivers, so he may be able to contribute earlier.

“I feel like our last staff never would take the next step to even move him," said Scarlett. "They would probably have left him all three years, and they would have recruited another tight end that was better than him and he would probably under the rope for 2-3 years and then transferred out of here. I've seen a lot of good players come out of Florida and they just end up leaving because a coach doesn't like them or they like another player over him because they didn't recruit the guy."

“I just feel like they’re going to put the players in the best positions," said wide receiver Van Jefferson.

The Gators still have some holes to fill before National Signing Day. However, if Gardner-Johnson and his teammates are correct, Florida's success on the trail is just the beginning.

"They should. If they don't see it, I don't know what they're looking at," said Van Jefferson. "If you want to win, you've got to go to Florida.