Recruiting at the University of Florida should be easy.

The Florida Gators have a rich football history and are one of the premier football teams in the state — a state flush with some of the best football prospects that the country has to offer. A degree from the University of Florida means something in the state and the academics Florida can offer are second to none in the state.

To be successful at Florida, one does not have to travel far to find the talent necessary to do so. 20 of the Gators 21 commitments in the class are from either Florida or neighboring Georgia.

“When we go out and recruit and obviously that’s in the state of Florida first, and then bumping into that five-hour radius part as we go up into Georgia is something that we need to make sure we work on and keep getting better at,” McElwain said.

There are recruiting hotbeds all throughout Florida and inside that five-hour radius that McElwain referenced. The Gators have had success in Tampa, in Jacksonville, Orlando and throughout Georgia. Where Will Muschamp had failed to be as successful as he should was in South Florida. In four years, Muschamp was able to recruit 15 players from what is the most densely populated area of skill athletes in the state.

It took McElwain less than a month to identify South Florida as the recruiting treasure trove he was seeking and he attacked it. In his first recruiting class McElwain secured seven commitments from South Florida, addressing needs on the offensive line with the additions of Richerd Desir-Jones (St. Thomas Aquinas, Ft. Lauderdale) and Fredrick Johnson (Royal Palm Beach, West Palm Beach). And then what South Florida is known for producing — skill position players.

McElwain brought in two running backs Jordan Scarlett (St. Thomas Aquinas, Ft. Lauderdale) and Jordan Cronkite (Westminster Christian, Miami) as well as receiver Antonio Callaway (Booker T. Washington, Miami).

These five players from south of I-4 are talented and are the foundation of the offensive rejuvenation that McElwain is engineering in Gainesville. Ivey, Cronkite and Scarlett will all see major playing time in their freshmen seasons and the exciting thing is, there are more like them waiting for Florida in the 2016 recruiting class.

Setting up the South Florida Pipeline

Florida has a nice history with kids from St. Thomas. Scarlett and Desir-Jones follow in the footsteps of players like Marcus Roberson, Cody Riggs, Bryan Cox Jr. Major Wright and Marcus Gilbert. St. Thomas is a football powerhouse in South Florida and the relationships that McElwain is building there will continue to pay dividends in the future — maybe as soon as next year with two talented recruits in Nick Bosa and Sam Bruce who will be on Florida’s radar.

McElwain also made inroad deep in he heart of Cane country, pulling Antonio Callaway away from Miami, continuing the line of Booker T. Washington players at Florida (Quinton Dunbar, Treon Harris).

Despite Florida’s down year, McElwain was able to go down to South Florida and close the deal on seven prospects. That’s almost half of what the former coach was able to do in four years in just over one month.

South Florida seemingly grows talented football players on trees and McElwain looks ready to continue heading south to pick up recruits that will bring Florida back to the top of the SEC.