Florida Gators 2009 Recruiting Class

[Escambia94]

For historical purposes, here is the 2009 recruiting class, ranked number 7 in the country. If you count Jordan Reed as a QB, then this was the last complete recruiting class of the Urban Meyer Era.

This class had 3 five-star, 9 four-star, and 5 three-star athletes. This class had 7 NFL players, with 5 being drafted. 4 members of this class retired due to medical issues.

• OL - 5
• LB - 2
• WR - 1
• DB - 2
• RB - 1
• DT - 2
• DE - 1
• QB/TE - 1

Player	Pos	School	HT	WT	RAT	NFL	Last NFL	TR OUT	RET
Dee Finley​	S​	Auburn, AL Auburn High School​	6'3''​	210​	88​	​	​	​	​
Jelani Jenkins​	LB​	Wheaton, MD Good Counsel High School​	6'1''​	210​	87​	2013​	(HOU 2017)​	​	​
Andre Debose​	WR​	Sanford, FL Seminole High School​	6'0''​	180​	85​	2015​	(CFL 2017)​	​	​
Gary Brown​	DT​	Quincy, FL West Gadsden High School​	6'3''​	275​	84​	​	​	​	2011​
Xavier Nixon​	OL​	Fayetteville, NC Jack Britt High School​	6'6''​	263​	83​	2013​	(WAS 2015)​	​	​
Nick Alajajian ​	OL​	Naples, FL Naples High School​	6'4''​	280​	82​	​	​	​	​
Jon Bostic ​	LB​	Wellington, FL Palm Beach Central High School​	6'1''​	218​	81​	2013​	(WAS 2022)​	​	​
Jordan Reed​	QB​	New London, CT New London High School​	6'3''​	230​	81​	2013​	(SF 2020)​	​	​
Mike Gillislee​	RB​	DeLand, FL DeLand High School​	6'0''​	190​	81​	​	​	​	​
Glen Watson​	DT​	Escambia, Pensacola, FL​	6’2”​	299​	80​	​	​	​	​
Josh Evans​	S​	Irvington, NJ Irvington High School​	6'1''​	185​	80​	​	​	​	​
Desmond Parks​	TE​	Greer, SC Greer Senior High School​	6'6''​	215​	78​	​	​	​	2011​
Kedric Johnson​	DE​	Palmetto, FL Palmetto High School​	6'4''​	220​	77​	​	​	​	2012​
Kyle Koehne​	OL​	Indianapolis, IN Cathedral High School​	6'6''​	290​	77​	​	​	​	​
Stephen Alli​	WR​	Andover, NH Proctor Academy​	6'5''​	205​	77​	​	​	​	​
Jonotthan Harrison​	OL​	Groveland, FL South Lake High School​	6'4''​	290​	75​	2014​	ATL​	​	​
Jon Halapio​	OL​	Saint Petersburg, FL Saint Petersburg Catholic H. S.​	6'4''​	302​	73​	2014​	(SF 2021)​	​	​
Edwin Herbert​	DT​	Fairfield, CA City College of San Francisco​	6'3''​	290​	70​	​	​	​	2010​

 

[DRU2012]

Is this "The One"?--you know, the Class somewhere in that stretch (o8-09-10) that had ENORMOUS buzz/expectation, based on the number-of-stars and "expert's ratings", but turned out a bust, cited (depending on analyst's slant) as REASON for Meyer bailing and/or a RESULT of his inattention, the parallel decline in our once-sparkling outlook during the same period, and so on--it had a LOT of guys that LEFT over subsequent seasons, too, as I recall...

 

[Escambia94]

Here is how I would rate this class. This class gets a 2.25 GPA, or high C, mostly due to studs Gillislee, Reed, and Jenkins.

A:

1. Mike Gillislee
2. Jordan Reed
3. Jelani Jenkins
4. Jon Bostic

B:

1. Josh Evans
2. Johnnathan Harrison
3. Kyle Koehne
4. John Halapio

C:

1. Xavier Nixon
2. Andre Debose
3. Nick Alajajian

D:

1. Desmond Parks
2. Kedric Johnson

F:

1. Edwin Herbert
2. Dee Finley
3. Gary Brown

 

[DRU2012]

Gillislee, then, was "the difference maker" here, wouldn't you say, E-?--Especially in overall impression and "objective rating" of this class between last year at this time, and now--though he showed signs of his potential before now whenever he got a chance to do so (a source of frustration and "potential-game-changing-what-might-have-beens" in and of itself--though beside-the-point and too late to mean much NOW), that "chance to do so" only came in his last (senior) year. As an example of how arbitrary, even capricious "Fate" IS--and how those "Fates" are each both separate and discrete, on the one hand, yet interrelated--in the form of Coaching (who leaves, who stays, etc.), Recruiting (same as above, plus chemistry, history, family and greed), Health (and who is prone to injury--emotional as WELL as physical) and so on, I wonder how that "overall score" above would be affected if you took Gillislee out of the picture (and your calculations here), as the last regime (and Weis when he stepped in as OC) literally DID, in a practical sense.
(I'm just genuinely interested, as it goes a long way towards making a NUMBER of points about concerns I raise above, AND in the final analysis points to how complexly inter-connected these and OTHER choices, moves and less-and-less controllable EXTERIOR factors can affect and influence every part of a team and program's season and/or long-term development and success.)

 

[Escambia94]

Gillislee was absolutely the difference maker. Without him, this class GPA could have easily been a high D.