In his nine seasons guiding Mississippi State’s football program, 2009-17, Dan Mullen developed a stout reputation as a coach but never had a relentless image as a recruiter.
The Bulldogs signed just two top-20 classes during Mullen’s tenure, ranking 18th in 2009 and again in 2015 in the 247Sports.com team rankings. Yet they earned bowl invitations in each of his last eight seasons, attained at least nine wins on four separate occasions and ascended to the program’s first No. 1 national ranking in October 2014 due to the development of former three-star quarterback Dak Prescott.
As his second season at Florida draws to a close with a looming Orange Bowl date against Virginia, Mullen is excelling both on the field and in the homes of prospects.
The Gators had the nation’s No. 9 signing class during the 2019 recruiting cycle and enter Wednesday’s early signing period with the No. 7 crop of commitments. Florida, which had stellar signing classes under Steve Spurrier during the 1990s and again more than a decade ago under Urban Meyer, finished outside the top 10 in recruiting four straight cycles from 2015 to 2018.
It’s notable progress to accompany Mullen’s 20-5 start in Gainesville, which followed a mediocre five-year run of 34-28 under predecessors Will Muschamp and Jim McElwain.