HOOVER, Ala.-- Back in February Dan Mullen and his staff were on a high. Florida had just signed a top ten class which included one Rivals five-star and several four-stars.
Fast forward to SEC Media Days and Mullen's second class in Gainesville does not quite have the same shine to it.
Mullen's 2019 recruiting class has taken quite a number of hits.
The class has seen some players transfer with three-star quarterback Jalon Jones and four-star cornerback Chris Steele leaving the program, while signees four-star athlete Diwun Black and three-star lineman Deyvaie Hammond will both attend JuCo after not being cleared by university admissions.
"It didn't really shock us, the qualification ones," Mullen told reporters at the SEC Media Days. "Some of the guys we knew were really risks; we weren't expecting them to make it and there was a chance they might. I think we were kind of expecting the numbers to be a certain way and the way they are.
"But the transfer thing you can't really control in today's world."
Now the Gators are playing the waiting game with a few more of its signees: wide receivers Dionte Marks, Arjei Henderson and offensive lineman Wardrick Wilson.
Marks and Henderson are just waiting for the green light.
"We have one or two guys still working on paperwork stuff to get here," Mullen said. "We've got to finish the paperwork through the NCAA. It hasn't been filed, so I don't want to confirm it until they put the stamp on it, but it's July so I'm sure they do some summer vacations up there too."
Mullen, however is not concerned.
The good news is that as soon as the paperwork is signed off both Henderson and Marks can start practicing, even before enrolling in classes.
Mullen and company knew that both Marks and Henderson needed to work a bit in the classroom, however, the Gators were taken by surprise by Wilson's visa issues.
"Wardrick Wilson, obviously that's going to be a legal issue moving forward," Mullen said. "We didn't expect that. Full NCAA qualifier."
Florida currently is under the NCAA 85 scholarship limit. But that does not phase the Gators head coach.
"I think it's kind of the new era of college football," Mullen said. "Unless the NCAA does something to change the rules to let you sign over with guys that are transferring out, it's going to be hard to have a full roster.
"We were under last year a little bit. I'm sure we'll have a walk-on or two that's earned a scholarship."
With some risks not paying off, the question comes, why take those risks in the first place?
"Because there's a chance for them to make it. They want to be Gators," Mullen said. "They can still go to junior college and qualify there. They can go to prep school depending on their NCAA eligibility numbers. It's a guy that you start recruiting a little bit later in his career and you look at their freshman and sophomore grades and they really don't have much of a chance. But all the sudden they pick it up as they move on and you say, 'OK this guy is going to figure it out and can be a good player.' I've had success with that with junior college players in the past as a head coach."
Mullen has searched for talent through the junior college and prep school ranks as Mississippi State's head coach - signing 41 players that came through both.
According to Mullen he is more concerned about creating a balance between classes on the roster.
"I think we have a couple of initial spots still open," Mullen explained. "What you're trying to do now is balance out the numbers over several years. How many initials do we want to try to make sure we save for people leaving and the number of transfers as you continue to move forward."
