Alabama survived a shootout against Florida to claim last year’s SEC title. However, the battle between the Crimson Tide and the Gators on the recruiting trail has been a bit more one-sided, especially when it comes to pulling in elite talent from the Sunshine State.
Nick Saban has ravaged the state of Florida for talent in recent years, pulling in a combined 26 signees over the past five recruiting classes. That includes seven five-stars and 15 four-star talents. By comparison, the Gators have secured just two five-star commitments from in-state athletes over that span.
It’s worth noting that some of Alabama’s five-star signees from Florida have been transplants. Dylan Moses (Alexandria, La.) and J.C Latham (Oak Creek, Wis.) both transferred to IMG Academy from out of state before signing on with the Tide. Still, Alabama’s dominance in Florida is worth noting.
During this year’s class alone, the Tide pulled in seven Florida signees, all of which were rated inside the Rivals100. Alabama is already piling up Florida talent for next year as well, securing commitments from offensive lineman Tyler Booker and athlete Amari Niblack.
During his appearance at SEC Media Days on Monday, Florida head coach Dan Mullen was asked if he is concerned about the Tide’s presence in his team’s home state as well as his plan to turn the tables on Saban and company moving forward.
“They’ve built the program,” Mullen said. “Nick’s been there a long time and has done a good job of building a consistent program and consistency within his program. I guess the short answer of that is — I mean, there’s — nobody asked my opinion on ratings. So maybe I’d rate everybody differently on who we go after and who we want, that way.
“But for us, I think the facilities that we’re getting caught up with, when you look at the University of Florida now and you look at the only school in America that is a top ten public university academically and really considered a top-10 football program consistently over the last three years, you’re looking at that change. You look at the facilities we have academically, the opportunity to play in The Swamp, the opportunity now with name, image, and likeness and what that means to kids in Florida and how they’ll be able to brand themselves within their hometowns in Florida.
“Then you look at the Heavener Football Complex coming up, now to catch us up facility-wise with other teams in America, that’s really, I think, how it’s going to change where, if you look at it, that’s a school of saying, hey, I don’t know if there’s a better place you can go in America than Florida. If you want the complete package, if you want every aspect of it with alumni connections, with the education, with the opportunity to play for championships and the facilities, I don’t know if there’s a better place than Florida.”
Alabama is set to invade Gators territory this season as the Tide will make its first trip to Gainesville, Fla. since 2001 when it takes on Florida for a Week 3 meeting against Florida on Sept. 18. Mullen was also asked about that matchup, stating he is excited to host Alabama in The Swamp this season.
“I don’t want to get the commissioner in trouble here, but I’d love us to maybe do away with the permanent crossover team so you get these types of games more often,” he said. “I think for the players, for the fan bases, I really think it’s exciting to see some more of maybe mixing up the teams from the west and playing two different teams each year instead of a permanent crossover. I think that would be really exciting so you get this matchup.
“I think that’s going to be an exciting day. It’s going to be a great atmosphere. It’s going to be a fun game to be a part of, and as you said, for 10 years we haven’t seen it. We’d love to see that more.”