Steve Addazio named nation’s top recruiter

By Adam Silverstein
February 8, 2010

Though he received plenty of flack throughout the 2009 season for his play calling and some other perceived miscues, Florida Gators offensive coordinator and interim head coach Steve Addazio has been universally praised by the team’s coaching staff and players for his heart, passion, leadership and character. Also propping up Addazio recently are the newest Gators recruits, who are likely not surprised to learn that he has been named ESPN’s college football recruiter of the year (link).

Addazio has been complimented for having a strong hand in keeping Florida’s near-unanimous No. 1-ranked 2010 recruiting class together through a change of heart by head coach Urban Meyer. He also hit the road hard over the past year, personally visiting and gaining commitments from a number of key recruits.

“Steve Addazio is certainly one of the very best recruiters I’ve ever been around,” Meyer said. “He brings the same passion and excellence to the recruiting trail that he does to coaching on the field. Our guys love him because he connects with them and cares about them, and that’s very evident to anyone who spends time around our program.”

Rivals, a college football recruiting service that was the sole party not to rank the Gators’ 2010 class as the best in the nation, also recognized Addazio this week by naming him one of their top 25 recruiters for 2010.

“It’s very difficult just to show up and say you are going to recruit a certain player,” Addazio said. “Recruiting is a relationship business and there are lots of components to it. You have to build relationships. Otherwise, you are a stranger in a strange land. I am one of the guys that has been recruiting the Northeast for that long of a period of time.”

Photo Credit: Dave Martin/Associated Press

6 Comments

  1. vsherrel says:

    As a lifelong gator fan, I think it is great Addazio received this recognition. However, I would like to remind everyone about what happened last time we let the “nation’s best recruiter,” step out of his comfort zone and rise to head coaching duties.

  2. O-town Gator says:

    Sherrel, Zook is no longer the “master recruiter”, thank God – that title now belongs to Urban Meyer. And speaking of the Zooker, Illinois’ class failed to crack the top 50 in most of the polls this year. If they have another sub-par season up there and don’t make it to a bowl, they’d be crazy to let Zook keep his job for another year. Why he wasn’t let go after the season ended, I still can’t figure out.

    Back to Meyer – in “Urban’s Way”, one of the duties he’s outlined for his assistants is “recruit every day”; one of the qualities he also looks for in a potential assistant is the ability to recruit as well as coach. Whoever is hired as the next DC needs to be able to be adept at this and not look at it as a “inconvenience”, for lack of a better word, like the last one we had who didn’t stick around for very long.

    Funny thing, when I had a chance to briefly talk to Steve Addazio last season I complimented him on how well UF’s staff has done in recruiting. What a coincidence that he’d be honored for just that, but IMO it’s well deserved on his part.

  3. Aligator says:

    Great Job!!

  4. Drew 4 Orange and Blue says:

    I think two big losers this year in recruiting where Zook and Shannon and it will probably be the end for both unless they have turn around seasons!!!

  5. vsherrel says:

    I think you are missing my point. Yes, hes a great recruiter. I said that is wonderful. When you met him did you tell him what a great job he did calling plays last year?

  6. O-town Gator says:

    No Sherrel, I refused to jump on the Bash Addazio bandwagon. I also hold the players themselves to a certain degree of accountability for what they do out there on the field (and what they fail to do).

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