Dan Mullen is returning to Gainesville. Florida finalized the deal with the now former Mississippi State head coach on Sunday. Mullen is no stranger to the Gators program. He spent five seasons under Urban Meyer as the offensive coordinator and has plenty of ties to the area. A good step in the right direction on the recruiting front.

But how has the one time Florida assistant adapted as a recruiter as a head coach.

"The first thing is Dan trusts his own evaluation and his staff's evaluation," said Mississippi State beat writer and recruiting reporter Steve Robertson. "He does not chase guys with 25-30 offers on the list just because everybody else has offered."

According to the GenesPage.com writer, Mullen follows the recruiting process from the beginning, and to Mullen it's not about the stars, it's about the fit.

"He goes and gets the guys that fits what he wants in a football player - especially with the quarterback position," explained Robertson. "He is a good judge of developmental talent. Nick Fitzgerald was on an option style offense and now he is one of the most prolific quarterbacks in the SEC - not necessarily a great thrower but Dan has been able to find guys that fits what he wants.

"Dak Prescott is another guy Mullen was able to see potential," added Robertson. "A lot of people were on the fence about Dak and now he is the most iconic player in Mississippi State football history because of Dan Mullen."

Prescott was a 2014 Heismann candidate, meanwhile Florida continues to struggle to find the man that could lead the offense. There is no question that Florida fans need to see some improvement at the quarterback position. It has been a revolving door under center since Tim Tebow left the program. Mullen has the reputation of producing at that very position.

"The number one thing with Dan is he wants a winner," said Robertson about Mullen's preferred quarterback recruit."He does not just want a kid that puts up a ton of numbers. Nick Fitzgerald was a kid in high school that only started his senior year, but he led his high school to the winningest season in school history. He took them deeper to the playoffs than any other quarterback they had. He willed his team along, and the exact same thing with Dak Prescott.

"He doesn't want the show pumping. He wants kids that go out and win football games, no matter the circumstances. There are going to be times that they are going to have to go out there and make a play and thats what he is looking for."

This goes far beyond the quarterback position, however. Mullen has a check list when it comes to the players he offers.

"Mullen wants to find these kids that have a strong work ethic," explained Robertson. "Dan puts a lot of emphasis in the camping experience. The guys come in and he puts them through a work out and then they evaluate on how the kids work. He is real cerebral in that respect. It's not just about what you see on film with him. He wants to get to know the guys; he wants to know their upbringing; he wants to know what they are used to; what other sports they played. It's not just a simple: how fast do these guys run in the 40 and lets look at his highlights tape. He is very, very thorough."

Although Mullen does like to have a hand in who the team recruits, he does rely heavily on his assistants - assistants that he has learned to trust after working with them for several years. Robertson tells FightinGators.com that Mullen expects his coaches to lead the charge when it comes to offering and recruiting players for their respective positions.

"He expects them [his assistants] to understand their needs and lead in the pursuit of those players," said Robertson. "Not just leaving it up to the area recruiters to say, 'I think this kid can play'. If you know you got to go out and get two or three kids, than you need to be driving the process."

What this means is that an area recruiter needs to touch base with the position coach before extending an offer.

"The area recruiter will go out and find kids, then they will come back and they have to get with the position coach and then they watch film together," stated Robertson. "Then if the area recruiter and the position coach will decide if the player is worth of an offer. Then as a staff Mullen and the group would watch film together and then decide on the offer.

"There are situations when the kid is no brainer, like if they go watch Cam Newton, then go ahead and make an offer," he added. "But if it's a developmental kid, they won't put an offer at him right away. He does not have to sign off on every offer but before they accept a commitment, the big man has to make the call."

RELATED: Recruits React to Dan Mullen's Hire at Florida

Whenever a head coach lives his current head coaching position for another, the next question that needs answered, is which assistants follow. Robertson describes defensive coordinator Todd Grantham as Mullen's "Robin to his Batman," and he could see the coach moving on from Mississippi State to join Mullen at Florida.

However Grantham is not the only assistant to watch out for. Mullen built a staff that has had several successes on the trail through the years and many of them could join him in Gainesville. Could recruits follow as well?

"A lot of kids that are Mississippi type kids, don't expect them to go to Florida," he said. "But Myles Mason, he is a kid out of Alabama, and he was being recruited by Alabama and Auburn, they kind of slow played him, and he picked up Mississippi State. The out of state kids like him will be interesting to watch."

Stay with FightinGators.com for the latest on the Dan Mullen hire.