Prior to Thursday’s commitment from the nation’s No. 3 inside linebacker Diwun Black, there appeared to be some concern regarding new Florida coach Dan Mullen and his staff’s efforts and strategy on the recruiting trail, particularly on message boards, regarding regarding this 2019 cycle.

And comparing the Gators class that currently ranks No. 28 nationally and No. 11 in the Southeastern Conference in the 247Sports Composite Team Rankings, to those led by new staffs at Texas A&M (No. 3), Oregon (No. 5), Florida State (No. 9), Tennessee (No. 14), even Mississippi State where Mullen came from (No. 19) and Arkansas (No. 21), it’s easy to see why anxiety and worry would creep in.

I wouldn’t panic just yet.

People seem to quickly forget Florida’s close in 2018, as Mullen and company rallied for a few key wins, signing Top247 quarterback Emory Jones, inking the jewel of the class in Top247 receiver Jacob Copeland and committing four-star safety Trey Dean, four-star defensive end Andrew Chatfield and four-star defensive end Malik Langham as well. The new staff showed their chops at the end of that cycle and that was mooching off a body of work done over the last nine years at Mississippi State.

I believe several targets will be watching closely this fall to see what this new regime can do inside The Swamp.

Mullen’s approach on the recruiting trail isn’t going to be as sexy as some of his peers. In Gainesville it definitely doesn’t have to be as long as he does what he’s hired to do on the field.

Win.

Mullen’s hire wasn’t a recruiting hire. He was brought in to rebuild a Florida program that should never have four-win campaigns and they’ve had two in the last five seasons. A 4-7 team a year ago, top Florida targets will be looking for strides made on the field this fall.

I would expect the Gators to show a spark this season and it’s hard to imagine four-win campaigns under this command, a staff from top to bottom that elevated the football acumen inside the facility compared to the one they replaced. Mullen is one of America’s top coaches, taking a Mississippi State program that had only been to 11 bowl games in school history prior to his arrival and leading them to eight straight including six victories. He knows what a winner looks like, helping Florida rack up 13 victories twice as an assistant on Urban Meyer’s staff en route to two National Championships. He was part of an undefeated season at Utah and mentored 42 NFL Draft picks from those three posts.

That’s why Florida hired Mullen. To evaluate well, to maximize the talent on the roster and to give his team a schematic advantage.

The buzz on the trail from Mullen’s hire is gone. And he’s not going to recruit with the same style as Taggart does in Tallahassee. While I believe in head coaches being prominent from start to finish throughout the recruiting cycle, the Florida job doesn’t call for it. The Gators took their swing in California this round, investing time, resources and energy in prospects like Chris Steele and Mycah Pittman, and should never try that again. There’s too much talent in-state and in SEC country to be wasting time trying to lure West Coast blue-chippers away from the Pac 12. You would hope that’s a lessoned learned moving forward but it’s not going to define this 2019 class.

Flipping Black from Ole Miss shows what UF is capable of once they get prospects to campus. There’s going to be a lot of blue-chippers waiting to see what happens on the field from Kaiir Elam, to Tyrique Stevenson to Keon Zipperer, Mohamoud Diabate and Lloyd Summerall.

I would think we’re going to see Florida gain some momentum on the trail this cycle before it’s all said and done.