The Stretch Run: Five Storylines

Florida fans, buckle your seat belts. This upcoming week is going to be a wild ride.

As new Gators head coach Jim McElwain hopes to salvage the 2015 recruiting class, Florida currently stands at No. 99 in Rivals.com's team recruiting rankings with National Signing Day approaching next Wednesday. UF's current class consists of 10 members - nine three-stars and a two-star. With a decent haul next week, UF could climb to the 20-30 range in the rankings. If the Gators can exceed expectations on the recruiting trail, you could be looking at a top 15-20 class when it's all said and done.

With the anticipation building until NSD approaches, here are five story lines Gators fans should watch leading up to that date.

1. How many members from the "Big 3" of Byron Cowart, Martez Ivey and CeCe Jefferson will the Gators land on NSD?

Obviously, landing all three would be an unbelievable coup for McElwain and his staff. This class would be in great shape if UF even can pull off two of the three, and Gators fans still can't complain if they do earn only one commitment from the talented trio. That then brings up the possibility of striking out on all three, which would be a Florida fan's worst nightmare.

Right now Cowart, the No. 1 recruit in the class, has crossed FSU off his list and has it down to Florida and Auburn. The five-star defensive end grew up a Gators fan, but has developed a strong relationship with Will Muschamp over the years. Cowart took an official to Auburn two weekends ago and visited Florida for an unofficial last weekend, spending that Saturday morning with McElwain before leaving early. He will not visit anywhere this weekend.

Martez Ivey, a five-star offensive tackle, is in the same boat with the Gators and Tigers as his final two options. Ivey lives less than two hours from Gainesville and grew up a Florida fan, but his good friend and former teammate, Chandler Cox, has enrolled early at Auburn.

Meanwhile, Jefferson, a five-star defensive end who lives not even an hour away from UF's campus, has Florida in his top five with Alabama, Auburn, LSU and Ole Miss. Jefferson, a big Gators fan growing up, visited UF this past well and it went well, but the Crimson Tide and the Rebels still remain Florida's biggest competition for him. Cowart, Ivey and Jefferson are all set to announce on NSD. Feb. 4 pans out to be the resolution of an all-out recruiting war between Florida and Auburn.

2. With only eight offensive linemen on scholarship returning next season, can UF successfully bolster its numbers at this position?

After losing Max Garcia, Trenton Brown, Chaz Green, D.J. Humphries and Tyler Moore, the Gators desperately need more numbers along the offensive line for perhaps their biggest need in this class. If everything holds up to plan, UF will bring in at least three-star center Tyler Jordan and three-star guards Michael Horton and Brandon Sandifer.

Outside of the crown jewel of this class' offensive linemen in Ivey, Florida has been pursuing Miami commit and four-star tackle Tyree St. Louis, three-star tackle Fred Johnson, Cal commit and three-star tackle Nick Buchanan, Syracuse commit and three-star offensive lineman Steven Clark, four-star guard Quarvez Boulware and South Carolina commit and three-star tackle Christian Pellage, among a few others. Three-star guard Trey Derouen is also on UF's radar, but the school hasn't offered him yet. Wrapping up the class with anywhere between 6-8 offensive linemen commitments would be a successful haul for McElwain.

3. How many linebackers will UF add to this 2015 recruiting class?

Thanks to Randy Shannon, the Gators landed a commitment from two-star outside linebacker Rayshad Jackson a few days ago after he spent last weekend in Gainesville. With Jackson in the mix, the Gators enter 2015 with seven linebackers on scholarship. That group isn't necessarily thin, but it isn't very deep either. The Gators could use at least 1-2 more linebackers in their class in addition to Jackson. So far the main candidates they've pursued at that position have been Auburn commit and four-star outside linebacker Richard McBryde, four-star outside linebacker Jeffery Holland (Auburn looks like the favorite for his services), and Alabama commit and four-star outside linebacker Adonis Thomas. UF could still offer Wisconsin commit and three-star inside linebacker Jordan Griffin, who goes to Armwood in Seffner, Fla., the same school as Cowart. UF will most likely finish this class with two linebackers, but we'll see how that pans out.

4. How will the Gators fare on the trail in the state of Florida after getting essentially shut out instate last year?

UF's in a good position this year in this category and should land a few quality recruits instate. UF has a good shot at landing Rivals100 receiver Ryan Davis (St. Petersburg, Fla.) and probably will land Rivals250 running back Jordan Cronkrite (Palmetto Bay, Fla.). Unless FSU does, the Gators could even have a shot at flipping Miami commit and four-star tailback Jordan Scarlett (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.). Four-star receiver Antonio Callaway (Miami, Fla.), who wants to play with Treon Harris (his former Booker T. Washington teammate), has Florida in the mix as well. Louisville commit and four-star dual-threat quarterback Lamar Jackson (Boynton Beach, Fla.) could also flip to the Gators with Deondre Francois fully committed to Florida State. Also, all three five-stars in Cowart, Ivey and Jefferson (who all hail from the state of Florida) will have a Gators hat on the table, so you can't forget that.

5. Will a lack of a wide receiver coach hurt UF on the recruiting trail?

Florida officially announced its other assistant coaching hires more than three weeks ago, but the wide receivers coaching spot still remains vacant. There's a good chance it won't be filled until after NSD, too. While McElwain tries to find the right guy for a coaching position at UF that's had six different coaches in six years, UF will continue to pursue Davis, Callaway and four-star Ole Miss commit Van Jefferson. UF is also trying to keep three-star wide receiver commit Derrick Dillon, who has had LSU on his tail but is set to visit Gainesville this weekend. Once NSD rolls around, it'll be interesting to see if UF not having a wide receivers coach in place had an effect on this class.

InsidetheGators.com recruiting analyst Blake Alderman contributed to this article.