“This is the best class in the history of this school,” Pelini said.

FAU’s recruiting class consists of 25 players, with 17 hailing from the state of Florida.

“We said we wanted to build a cross section from the state of Florida,” Pelini said.

Pelini signed five players from the tri-county area and 10 players from Pensacola to Jacksonville, and the traveling was definitely unforgettable.

“Believe me,” Pelini said. “I know it because I made that drive last week.”

Coming off of a 3-9 season in his first year as a head coach, Pelini, an Ohio native, is still learning his new state.

“A big question mark when I was hired was, ‘How is this guy gonna be able to recruit the state of Florida when he has never recruited the state of Florida?’” Pelini said.

With FAU’s roster primarily consisting of players from Florida, Pelini believed it was vital to continue mining the state for its players.

One of the recruits Pelini was able to make a lasting impression on was incoming freshman offensive lineman Austin Bland, from Fort Lauderdale. Out of St.Thomas Aquinas, Bland is considered to be FAU’s best recruit according to recruiting services (ESPN 150, Scouts, Rivals), and is expected to compete for playing time right away.

“We developed a relationship with Austin early,” Pelini said. “He came to a number of our events, here during camps, and he was here for some games.”

Bland received scholarship offers from Purdue and Cincinnati, among others, but never budged.

“Austin never wavered from the very beginning and we were proud to have him as one of our initial commits,” Pelini said.

One of Pelini’s main focal points while on the recruiting trail was to infuse the football program with students first and athletes second.

“I don’t know if there’s another school in the country that can say this in Division 1 football, but our overall average GPA of the class of 2013 is 2.95, almost a 3.0,” stated Pelini. “We’re very proud of that.”

Five of the commits in the 2013 class have been enrolled since January.

With the 2013 recruiting class officially finalized, Pelini is now given the ability to reflect on the players brought in and his coaching staff’s effort within the last year to increase the talent level at FAU.

“I’m proud of my coaching staff,” Pelini said. “I’m proud of the class we brought in.”

2013 FAU Recruiting Class

Jace Banfell, OL, 6-3, 290, Pensacola Catholic
Austin Bland, OL, 6-3, 270, St. Thomas Aquinas
Dustin Bowens, TE, 6-5, 235, Flagler-Palm Coast
Reggie Brown, CB, 5-11, 170, Tampa-Jesuit
Lance Burlingame, DT, 6-5, 290, Dean College
Derek Butcher, DL, 6-4, 295, North Dakota State
Marcus Clark, CB, 5-8, 185, Tallahassee-North Florida Christian
Andrew Curtis, LB, 6-2, 220, Brophy Prep Arizona
Jeremy Faulk, OL, 6-3, 270, Palatka
Greg Handkerson, QB, 6-0, 170, Boyd Anderson
Tyler Henderson, S, 5-11, 195, Crestview
Jacquez Johnson, QB, 6-1, 225, East Mississippi
Branden Lyons, OL, 6-5, 295, City College San Francisco
Marc Mauro, S, 6-1, 195, Nassau (N.Y.) CC
Robert Miller, DB, 6-2, 190, Taravella
Bobby Mitchell, ATH, 6-2, 175, St. Augustine
Robert Relf, LB, 6-3, 220, Brophy Prep Arizona
Jakobi Smith, OL, 6-4, 250, Coral Reef
Lester Thomas, DB, 5-10, 165, Tallahassee-Godby
Jay Warren, RB, 6-0, 210, Navarre
Lucky Whitehead, WR, 5-9, 164, Dean College
Kalib Woods, WR, 6-3, 180, Jacksonville-Fletcher