The work isn’t over yet, but the Florida Gators welcomed 21 new members to their football team on Early Signing Day.

There was a heavy emphasis on the defensive side of the ball, with 12 of the 21 signees expected to play defense. Florida also signed two quarterbacks, won a recruiting battle with Stanford for a prospect who valued academics, and stands with the No. 7 ranked class in the country.

Dan Mullen spoke with the media about his class on Wednesday night.

Florida values itself as one of the premier public universities, not just in the South, but in the country. That was what helped the Gators land linebacker, Chief Borders. Getting accepted into a school like Stanford is no small task, and the opportunities that come down the road with a degree from that university are nothing to bat an eye at. Ultimately, Borders felt that Florida would give him similar opportunities off the field, but something else Stanford couldn’t match.

“Academics were a huge part of his recruiting but he also wanted the opportunity to go play big-time football. I think that’s the thing that attracted him. When he was trying to decide, where he was looking at schools, what was going to be best for his future, that’s what Florida brings to the table. When academically you’re recruiting on the same level of Stanford and the same football level as, I mean, a playoff team. It just we’re kind of the only university that’s in that combination.”

Florida signed Diwun Black in the 2018 signing class but knew that it was unlikely he would qualify academically.

“We knew when he signed a couple of years ago there was an uphill battle for him to get qualified.”

Black ended up at a community college, which means even though he had committed to Florida, he would be free to sign wherever he wanted. That meant the staff needed to continue recruiting him for two more years.

“We knew we wanted a part of his family,” Mullen said. “I give him a lot of credit because I've been around it, you see a lot of these guys as it pertains to junior college, you know, that's not an easy route. He went there, he did junior college, took care of his business, took care of the things he needed to academically. Started fast, which, the opposite of what happened to him in high school, and able to get his work done. And we're excited, because I know he's a phenomenal athlete, a great leader, a great personality, a guy you want around the program, and a guy you want around the team. So we're excited that he took care of his business, and obviously, it just shows the character he has.”

The Gators’ three-highest signees all hail from Broward and Miami-Dade counties. Defensive backs Corey Collier, Jason Marshall, and defensive lineman Tyreak Sapp all boosted the Gators’ class this cycle. If you include the Tampa area, the Gators signed six prospects from South Florida this cycle.