Gene Chizik: Florida needs to find on-field momentum for recruiting

The Florida Gators brought high hopes into the season, looking to build on 2020’s successful run with another SEC East title and possible College Football Playoff run. Those thoughts are a distant memory heading toward Jacksonville, Florida to face the red-hot Georgia Bulldogs.

After a close loss against defending SEC and national champion Alabama, the Gators slipped up against Kentucky and LSU. The path to a CFP berth closed with little hope of an SEC title either. With no major trophies in play, SEC football analyst Gene Chizik breaks down what Dan Mullen and Florida are playing for now.

“All joking aside, Florida needs to play well because after this game they need to win out,” Chizik said Saturday on SEC Football Final. “They’ve got four winnable games. They end up with Florida State on the schedule. They have to win that game. That’s eight wins because you know what in the end, guys, needs to not be affected: recruiting. If you get beat by Georgia and then you lose a couple more, that’s going to be real tough on recruiting and that’s the name of the game. They need some recruiting momentum to end the year.”

Florida has already lost three commitments in October, four-star cornerback Julian Humphrey, four-star linebacker Shemar James and three-star tight end CJ Hawkins.

The Gators are still recruiting several big-name recruits, making the final weeks of the season vitally important. In an attempt to hold off rival schools like Alabama and Georgia, Florida will need to navigate through South Carolina, Samford, Missouri and Florida State after this Saturday’s Georgia game.

Fixing the on-field problems

Former Auburn coach Gene Chizik offered some words of wisdom to head coach Dan Mullen, who is dealing with a quarterback controversy. While Emory Jones and Anthony Richardson have created balance at times, it might be time to commit.

“There’s a lot of stuff swirling out there,” said Chizik. “You’ve got the possible quarterback controversy. Emory Jones – who three weeks ago we were bragging about how well he was playing and how consistent he was – he’s got nine interceptions on the year. Then all of a sudden you have Anthony Richardson come in the game last week against LSU in the third quarter, and he takes them down on three straight scoring possessions.”

He continued: “Everybody’s now an Anthony Richardson fan. Do right, you’ve got to get that fixed in the locker room. Who’s going to be the starter?”