Steve Addazio named nation’s top recruiter

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