The Florida football coaching staff is finally completed as head coach Jim McElwain announces that Kerry Dixon II will be the new wide receivers coach, filling in the last vacancy on the staff.
“Kerry is a young, energetic, up-and-coming coach,” said McElwain. “He has strong recruiting ties throughout the state and as a former offensive coordinator he will bring value to the offensive game plan.”
It is those recruiting ties that make Dixon an interesting hire. Florida’s newest coach comes off three years coaching running backs at Florida Atlantic and at Florida International, right in the heart of the high school football factory that is South Florida. That means both Dixon and linebackers coach Randy Shannon have deep connections within a key national area of recruiting.
One of the first things Jim McElwain talked about when he arrived in Gainesville two months ago was relationships, and now he is emphasizing two guys with recruiting ties and relationships in South Florida. Even though the Gators got the “playmaker they wanted from South Florida” in Antonio Callaway for the 2015 class, it’s clear that the Gators look to make further strides there in their first full year recruiting as this new coaching staff puts together the 2016 class.