Give Jim McElwain this: He appears to have the closing gene.

After a late start and a major game of catch-up for Florida's brand new staff, McElwain & Co. were able to finish stronger than most expected in this staff's first recruiting season in Gainesville. A week ago, the Gators weren't even a blip on the SEC recruiting radar. Light years away from even top-40 class, the general consensus was that McElwain's first class with the orange and blue was going to be a dud -- maybe the worst in school history.

The firing of Will Muschamp coupled with the simple fact that McElwain wasn't the big-name coach that would electrify recruits appeared to be weighing on Florida's 2015 recruiting class, which was in the single digits at the end of January.

Then, the final recruiting push happened, and the Gators roared to a solid finish by bringing in seven four- or- five-star prospects in the last week, including five-star gems Martez Ivey and CeCe Jefferson. (Jefferson committed Wednesday but Florida has still has not received his letter of intent. According to Jefferson’s father, Leo Jefferson, Jefferson is still thinking about his decision.) Not counting Jefferson, four of those six eventual signees were ESPN 300 members, giving the Gators five for their 2015 class. Nineteen of Florida's 20 signees came from the states of Florida and Georgia.

It wasn't the elite class that a school like Florida expects, but after mired in a recruiting funk and even with the prospect of not signing Jefferson, it's hard to argue that McElwain delivered one of the best closing acts of the 2015 recruiting season.

"For our first signing class, first and foremost, the momentum that we've gained has been fantastic," McElwain said. "The doors that we've opened in this short period of time back in the places that we need to be successful at when we go out and recruit, go out and recruit, and obviously that's in the state of Florida first, and bumping into that five-hour radius part as we go up into Georgia is something that we need to make sure that we work on and keep getting better at.

"We knew it was going to be late because we were getting in late on a lot of guys. We had to go back and re-evaluate a lot of players to fit the criteria that we felt were going to be successful Gators and I feel really good about those guys that ended up coming."

Disaster seemed to be the theme of this class until the Gators got Ivey's much-needed commitment. The nation's No. 1 offensive tackle temporarily washed away the pain of losing out on RecruitingNation's No. 1 overall recruit, defensive end Byron Cowart, who picked Auburn over the Gators. You know, the school where Muschamp is now the defensive coordinator. A string of prospects then began picking Auburn over Florida, including ESPN 300 members Jeffery Holland (linebacker) and Ryan Davis (athlete). Not to mention the fact that ESPN 300 offensive lineman Mike Horton flipped to the Tigers early on signing day.

But Ivey was the prized possession of the class -- he always was. With the pitiful offensive line numbers the Gators currently have on campus, landing Ivey, who could start immediately at one of the tackle spots, was critical.

As the day went on, Florida addressed its needs at offensive line (signing five linemen), got a playmaker at receiver in ESPN 300 member Antonio Callaway and snatched up four-star athletes Jordan Cronkrite and D'Anfernee McGriff (an Auburn flip), who could both play running back.

On Monday, the first real momentum-building domino fell when the Gators grabbed former Miami running back commit Jordan Scarlett, also an ESPN 300 member. So while this wasn't exactly a who's who of a recruiting class, Florida's late surge shows recruiting promise for the future.

And that's now where the focus lies.

McElwain and his staff have to get more elite players on campus. Florida didn't sign a quarterback in this class, which means that McElwain now has a full year to find one. Only two receivers signed, and everyone knows the need for playmaking receivers is crucial to turning Florida's offense around. And of course, Florida will need to continue to build on that offensive line.

McElwain's finish to the 2015 class was very impressive, and it just makes you wonder what he and his staff can do with a head start of a full year.