TAMPA -- At a Tampa Gator club event on Wednesday night, Florida football head coach Dan Mullen addressed the recent negative headlines surrounding his program.  

"Obviously when you look at the situation that goes on, to me it's really disappointing for us when we have individuals, whether it's a student-athlete or a staff member, make a decision that really negatively affects them but also shines a little bit of a negative on the program," Mullen said. "To me that's really disappointing, because we spend a lot of time on decision-making with our guys."

Florida’s offseason has taken a big turn in the past week and a half – two transfers, two recruiting misses and a player’s arrest.

Not exactly the Gator Standard Mullen wanted to re-establish.

“We’re spending a lot of time on our guys on decision-making, on how to make good decisions in life, how to make good social decisions and how to better themselves in life,” Mullen explained. “So, when these types of things happen, obviously, it’s very disappointing to us when there are a couple of individuals that do that.”

Florida’s recruiting class has fallen from No. 9 to 14 in the nation.

One of the transfers was defensive back Chris Steele, the Gators’ top recruit. Mullen said Steele’s decision to transfer involved more than a request to change dorms.

“There were a bunch of things that went into that decision,” Mullen explained. “I don’t want to get into all of them because they were really a private conversation between us and his family.”

However, the sexual assault accusations against quarterback Jalon Jones and arrest of cornerback Brian Edwards for battery, raises questions about the culture of the program.

 “Obviously, perception is always important, but there’s a lot of reality behind it,” Mullen said. “I think there’s a lot of reality behind the positive direction that we’re headed in the program as a whole, despite the disappointment of some of the decisions that a couple individuals have made.”

While Mullen calls the string of incidents disappointing, he says Florida football remains committed to winning the right way.