For those who were around when Dan Mullen was Urban Meyer’s offensive coordinator at Florida, there is one nagging concern about Mullen being the Gators’ new head coach.
What kind of a recruiter is he going to be?
It’s a serious and legit question, and one we probably won’t have an answer for until a year or two from now.
What we do know is that when Mullen was at Florida before, he was a dynamic offensive coach who was, let’s just say, less than dynamic on the recruiting trail. During some recruiting periods, in fact, Mullen would stay back in the office instead of traveling to meet prospects.
Things, of course, are different now. Mullen is the head coach and he’s been traveling all over the country meeting recruits and their families — and by all accounts he’s bringing a lot of energy and positive vibes wherever he goes.
Now, will the commitments come?
Since he’s gotten off to such a late start, it’s going to be a difficult challenge putting his first class together, so he won’t be judged on where this class eventually ends up being ranked.
But we can look back on his nine-year recruiting track record at Mississippi State and make some assumptions.
With the Bulldogs, Mullen won with less. That usually means two things: he struggles to sign elite prospects, but excels in player development. That’s probably the best way to describe Mullen’s nine years in Starkville, where the Bulldogs experienced what MSU rarely had in the past — sustained success.
Mullen had unprecedented success on the field at MSU, but endured a constant tough sell in recruiting. Starkville would be tough for any coach.
In his nine years, Mullen’s best recruiting year was in 2015, when his class was ranked No. 16 by Rivals. He had only one other top-25 class in the other eight years — the 2009 class that was ranked No. 25.
Mullen’s other classes were ranked No. 38, No. 44, No. 30, No. 26, No. 37, No. 34 and No. 27.
Over those nine years, he signed two-five star prospects, 37 with four stars, 153 with three stars and 28 with two stars.
Here’s a brief breakdown of Mullen’s nine recruiting classes at MSU:
2009
Number signed: 26.
Rivals class ranking: No. 25.
Counting stars: 0 five stars, 7 four stars, 17 three stars, 2 two stars.
Top prospects: DE Fletcher Cox (now in the NFL), WR Chad Bumphis and OL Pernell McPhee.
2010
Number signed: 26.
Rivals class ranking: No. 38
Counting stars: 0 five stars, 5 four stars, 14 three stars, 7 two stars.
Top prospects: OL Damien Robinson, WR Robert Johnson, ATH Michael Carr.
2011
Number signed: 22.
Rivals class ranking: No. 44.
Counting stars: 0 five stars, 1 four star, 21 three stars.
Top prospects: QB Dak Prescott (who was only a three-star recruit), DT P.J. Jones, DE Johnathan Harris.
2012
Number signed: 28.
Rivals class ranking: No. 30.
Counting stars: 0 five stars, 4 four stars, 21 three stars, 3 two stars.
Top prospects: LB Richie Brown, DT Quay Evans, ATH Will Redmond.
2013
Number signed: 21.
Rivals class ranking: No. 26,
Counting stars: 1 five star, 2 four stars, 16 three stars, 2 two stars.
Top prospects: WR Fred Ross, DE Chris Jones, WR B.J. Hammond.
2014
Number signed: 24.
Rivals class ranking: No. 37.
Counting stars: 0 five stars, 2 four stars, 15 three stars, 7 two stars.
Top prospects: LB Gerrie Green, ATH Jamoral Graham, DB Brandon Bryant.
2015
Number signed: 28.
Rivals class ranking: No. 16.
Counting stars: 0 five stars, 6 four stars, 20 three stars, 2 two stars.
Top prospects: LB Leo Lewis, DE Fletcher Adams, RB Nick Gibson.
2016
Number signed: 20.
Rivals class ranking: No. 34.
Counting stars: 1 five star, 4 four stars, 15 three stars.
Top prospects: DE Jeffery Simmons, DE Breland Porter, LB Jamal Couch.
2017
Number signed: 24.
Rivals class ranking: No. 27.
Counting stars: 0 five stars, 6 four stars, 14 three stars, 4 two stars.
Top prospects: LB Willie Gay, QB Keytaon Thompson, LB Tyler Dunn.
