Former Florida Gators WR Helping Urban Meyer Recruit Free Agents

Urban Meyer called on a former Florida Gators football player to help him navigate his first free agency as an NFL head coach.

Urban Meyer knows a thing or two about recruiting high school football players to play for his college team. 

Recruiting NFL players in free agency, however, is a totally different ball-game for the Jacksonville Jaguars new head coach.

Meyer is in the process of wrapping up his first class of free agent signings as an NFL head coach, after filling the Jaguars' vacancy in January. Unlike college recruiting where Meyer not only sold his football program, but also education and a home-away-from-home for teenagers and young adults, finances and immediate team needs set the foundation for recruiting at the pro level.

Oh, and until the league year kicks off, teams aren't allowed to meet with free agents - even if they have agreed to terms on a contract during the legal tampering period.

"That was awful, and I don't believe it should be that way," Meyer said on Friday about the tampering process. "Not when you're making organizational decisions. I'm not sure how that rule came about, but to me that's not good business."

So, the former Florida and Ohio State (among other universities) head coach found a bit of a loophole to navigate the madness. Meyer contacted a player that he coached at Florida who went through free agency twice in his NFL career, wide receiver Louis Murphy, for help in recruiting cornerback Shaquill Griffin and safety Rayshawn Jenkins to Jacksonville over the past week. 

“Louis Murphy helped me though. He helped me with these guys, just what kind of players they are, what kind of people," Meyer made note of.

The Jaguars signed Griffin and Jenkins officially on Wednesday, after agreeing to terms on a three-year, $44.5 million deal with the former and a four-year, $35 million contract with the latter earlier in the week. The two are expected to immediately emerge as starters as Jacksonville revamps its secondary.

But, how did Murphy get involved? The three played high school football at Lakewood in St. Petersburg, Fla - Murphy took the field for the Spartans a couple of years before Griffin and Jenkins, but crossed paths with the two free agents as an alum and native of the region.

"He feels very strong about the quality of football in the St. Pete area obviously," Meyer said of Murphy. "So he was a cheerleader more than anything, but he did help.”

Meyer suggested that this may not be the last time Murphy lends a hand as the head coach becomes acclimated to the structure of the NFL. The former Gators wide receiver from 2005-08 has been out of the NFL since last playing for the San Francisco 49ers in 2017.