Florida head coach Dan Mullen speaks to players during the first half of the Peach Bowl NCAA college football game against Michigan, Saturday, Dec. 29, 2018, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)

Mullen Speaks After Gators’ Success on National Signing Day

As the first day of National Signing Day comes to a close, the Gators have officially signed four players. Prior to today, the Gators signed 21 commits during the Early Signing Period.

Florida head coach Dan Mullen addressed the media today in a press conference discussing NSD. Mullen opened up the press conference stating:

“A really great day for us when you look at some of the additions we had today are huge for us, huge for the future, big pieces for the future of how we continue to build this program and not just in guys on the field but the character of guys off the field.”

Mullen put a lot of emphasis on how Florida is a family program and how the families are very involved in the decision making process. 

While Mullen focused a lot on this year’s recruits, he says the staff is already looking ahead to next year.

NSD Signees

The Gators started NSD this morning with four-star LB Diwun Black.

Diwun Black: four-star LB from Forest, Mississippi

  • 247sports.com National Ranking: 147
  • 247sports.com Position Ranking: 10
  • Height: 6-4
  • Weight: 215

Mullen had good things to say about Black and how he is committed for life.

Arjei Henderson: four-star WR from Sugar Land, Texas

  • 247sports.com National Ranking: 140
  • 247sports.com Position Ranking: 23
  • Height: 6-1
  • Weight: 183

The Gators also had a major win and so far one of the Gators biggest additions to the roster today with Khris Bogle. Four-star DE Bogle flipped from Alabama and signed to Florida this morning. Here are his stats:

Khris Bogle: four-star DE from Fort Lauderdale, Florida

  • 247sports.com National Ranking: 60
  • 247sports.com Position Ranking: 3
  • Height: 6-4
  • Weight: 209

And last but not least, Kaiir Elam was added to the Gators roster today. Elam is the nephew of Gator great Matt Elam, who was a safety at Florida during the 2010-2012 seasons.

Kaiir Elam: four-star DB from West Palm Beach, Florida

  • 247sports.com National Ranking: 61
  • 247sports.com Position Ranking: 7
  • Height: 6-1
  • Weight: 187

When asked why Mullen thought Florida won Elam and Bogle over, he said:

“They have very close families. They have a great family unit at home, and I think when they come up on campus and see one of the things we talk to our guys about in recruiting is the development of what we’re going to do and they see how, what our standards and expectations are, how hard we’re going to push them, on the field, in the classroom, and those expectations.”

Overall, Mullen is happy with the signees and is excited about the future.

About Sydney Jones

Sydney is a senior studying telecommunications with a specialization in sports media at the University of Florida. She is a multimedia sports reporter for ESPN 98.1 FM/850 AM WRUF and WUFT-TV.

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