Billy Napier
Gators QB1?
By: Colin Lacy
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Turmoil has been a consistent descriptor for the Florida Gators the last couple of seasons and the start of 2024 has been no different.
Florida felt a little bit of confidence and optimism entering the season but was quickly squashed with the season-opening loss against rival Miami 41-17.
In that lid-lifting loss, Gator quarterback Graham Mertz took a tough hit in the fourth quarter and was diagnosed with a concussion. True freshman phenom D.J. Lagway took over for Mertz to finish off the Miami game then started and played the majority of the Gators 45-7 victory over FCS Samford.
Now the questions of “who is QB1 for the Gators” have caught fire. So, who are these two and where does the toasted rear’ of Billy Napier go for the season?
Graham Mertz is the experienced sixth year signal caller who transferred into the Florida program after four years at Wisconsin.
In his debut season with the Gators, Mertz was on track with his best statistical season of his career with 20 touchdowns to just 3 interceptions while racking up 264 yards per game on average through the first 11 games of the season before fracturing his collarbone in the week eleven loss to Missouri and missing the finale against Florida State.
The offseason and preseason leading into the 2024 season was filled with optimism around Mertz but the Miami game suggests it may be a bit premature. Mertz, before leaving the game with the concussion in the fourth quarter, went 11-20 passing with only 91 yards through the air. Mertz didn’t record a score while throwing an interception and was sacked three times.
D.J. Lagway was a highly sought-after recruit out of Willis, Texas (just north of Houston) after totaling over 5,500 all-purpose yards and 73 touchdowns as a senior in high school in route to winning the 2023 Gatorade National Player of the Year.
Lagway essentially had his pick of the litter where to take his talents in the collegiate ranks but saw the vision of Napier and the Gators.
In his Gator debut, Lagway connected on 3 of 6 of the passes for 31 yards and added 20 rushing yards and his first career touchdown on the ground in less than a quarter in the Miami matchup.
Lagway followed that up with his first career start for the Gators against Samford (again because of Mertz’ concussion holding him out). Against the FCS’ Bulldogs, Lagway impressed with 456 yards through the air and 3 scores while completing 18 of 25 passes including an 85-yard reception to Eugene Wilson III.
Now the question goes to “what happens now?”
Most are expecting Napier and company to play Graham Mertz as QB1, but many in Gator Nation are wanting to turn the page and see what D.J. Lagway does with the full keys to the program.
Personally, I think (at least for the time being), Mertz has earned the right to get the opportunity to lose his job as QB1.
In his 6-year career, Mertz has amassed over 8,300 career passing yards and 58 touchdowns.
The experience factor plays a huge role in this decision. Mertz should be the guy. That being said, I think it’s only a question of “IF” not “WHEN” D.J. Lagway takes the reigns and runs with it.
Sunshine State Heat
By: Robert Craft
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The University of Florida is set to open their regular season against Miami on Saturday at 3 PM at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. It is Billy Napier and Mario Cristoball’s third season at their respective programs.
Though it’s just Week 1, there’s a lot on the line for both teams, particularly with their head coaches. Both Billy and Mario have a lot to prove to fans and athletic departments in their third seasons, with losing records.
For Napier and the Gators, wins are scarce this season, as they face the toughest schedule in the country.
For Cristobal and Miami, the competition gets more manageable after Saturday. Neither coach wants to take a loss right off the bat.
Is the Florida defense strong enough to win tough games like this? They started strong last season but crashed soon after.
The Gators should be better this year, but the Hurricanes are far stronger offensively thanks to former Washington State Cougar Cam Ward.
Ward might be the best quarterback transfer in the 2024 cycle. He has all the tools and experience, and he gets the ball out of his hands in a hurry.
In addition, Oregon State running back Damien Martinez should be a star behind an improved Hurricanes offensive line that should dominate the trenches against the rebuilt Gators front.
On the other side of the ball, Miami’s defensive front is undergoing a bit of an overhaul. They have several talented players that might take time to acclimate.
Florida’s offensive line has been an issue over the last few years. Injuries are the Gator’s biggest problem, but their roster has improved through the transfer portal, and the health concerns are okay as of Week 0.
The Hurricane secondary, like the line, will be good, but it’s counting on a slew of transfers to rise up and perform right away.
Florida needs to get QB Graham Mertz going quickly after he completed 73% of his throws for close to 3,000 yards and 20 touchdowns last season.
So, this all comes down to…Which defensive front can be more disruptive?
Miami has the pieces in place to finally win with Mario Cristobal, but The Canes are about to face 2023 Week 3 University of Florida.
That team rose up and rocked defensively in an energy-charged win over Tennessee, and it’s about to happen again in week 1 of 2024.
The Florida defense will hold on in the fourth quarter, and Mertz will be just a bit better than Ward.
Miami is the team playing with more pressure to play well, given the NIL investment that have been made on both sides of the ball.
Florida 31 Miami 27.
This keeps the fans off of Billie‘s back for a few weeks until the gators face Texas A&M at home during week 3.
I think Miami finishes first or second in the ACC and still has a shot at the college football playoffs even with this loss.
The Florida Heat
By: Robert Craft
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The Florida Gators enter the 2024 season expected to finish 12th out of 16 teams in the SEC, according to their preseason poll.
The expectations for Florida football entering 2024 are not at all high. Billy Napier is heading into his third season as the head coach and Billy is on the hot seat. He has posted a very disappointing 11-14 record across his first two seasons, and Florida will have one of the most brutal schedules and college football in 2024.
Game 1, 8/31. Miami Hurricanes: If you want to talk about the single most important game on the Florida Gator schedule it’s absolutely this game.
The Florida Gators must absolutely win this game to create momentum for 2024. The Miami Hurricanes are a talented team under second year coach Mario Cristobal. The advantage for Florida is The Swamp. Florida Gators 30 Miami Hurricanes 27.
Game 2, 9/7. Samford Bulldogs: This is the one and only cupcake game on the Florida schedule in 2024. Florida 49 Sanford 10.
Game 3, 9/14 Texas A&M: With new coach Mike Elko and a new quarterback on the Aggies roster, expect turn over in this program. Expect even more turnover than Florida’s off-season.
While Texas A&M promises to have plenty of talent. Some of that talent they imported from Gainesville. Can all that talent cohesively come together in time for this game?
Home-field advantage and a returning quarterback will hopefully lead Florida to their third victory of the year. Florida 27 A&M 17.
Game 4, 9/21 @ Mississippi State: This game is tricky. It is on the road, against new head coach Jeff Libby; and Jeff has a lot of work to do.
To start, a new quarterback is needed after Will Rogers went to the transfer portal. The Bulldogs defense also requires roster retooling.
Coach Napier has a horrible road record. At the end of the day, he must prove that he can win on the road this season and this is a convincing opportunity. Florida 28 Mississippi State 17.
Game 5, 10/5 UCF: This is definitely another game that Billy Napier must win to survive. I know Napier has a problem as an endgame coach, but you have to bet on the Home team. UCF will come into this game with a huge chip on their shoulders. It will be way too close. Florida 38 UCF 35.
Game 6, 10/12 @ Tennessee: Josh Heupel knows how to dump points on teams in bunches.
His easy to run, hard to defend offensive system is a concerning combination.
Also, Nico Iamaleava is an upgrade from Joe Milton. The Gator’s defense better be ready. Florida has owned the Vols over the past 20 years, Tennessee won’t go easy on them.
Tennessee 49 Florida 27.
Game 7, 10/19 Kentucky: I can’t believe I’m saying this, but this is the year Florida finally beats Kentucky!
Oh, if only my 2010 self could hear me talk now. Kentucky is going to play big boy football in the trenches, and Billy Napier must address the need of the O- and D-Line to control the line of scrimmage.
Once again, I give Florida a slight nod because they’re playing in the Swamp. Florida 23 Kentucky 20.
Game 8, 11/2 Georgia: November will be the most hellacious month of Florida football in recent memory.
I do not believe Florida has closed the talent gap on Georgia, and this year Georgia will be playing for a top seed in the college football playoffs. Georgia 38 Florida 17.
Game 9, 11/9 @ Texas: The brutal five week stretch to close season continues in Austin, where the Gators will lock horns with Texas for the first time since 1940.
Sounds fun, right? Texas is definitely a more talented team and will also be playing for a playoff spot in 2024. Texas 44 Florida 27.
Game 10, 11/16 LSU: LSU has beaten Florida five in a row.
This game will be close because it’s played in the Swamp, But LSU will pull it out late on a coaching mistake by Billy Napier. LSU 31 Florida 27.
Game 11, 11/23 Ole Miss: Lane Kippen will return to the swamp. This time as head coach of Ole Miss. The fact that Ole Miss gets one more year out of Jackson Dart could go a long way towards deciding this game. Ole Miss 27 Florida 24.
Game 12, 11/30 @FSU: Mike Norville has proven adept at working the transfer portal, so reloading for another great season isn’t out of the realm of possibilities.
It’s a rivalry game, which means that even if there are no other emotional components to this game (like the future of Billy Napier), the Florida Gators will have a puncher’s chance.
With that being said, Billy is a putrid 2-10 on the road. FSU 31 Florida 17.
Later Gators
By: Robert Craft
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Recently it was announced that the Florida football program is under NCAA investigation, and yes, that investigation is still ongoing.
Moreover, the investigation started months before the NCAA sent a Notice of Inquiry to Florida President Ben Sasse back in June.
Multiple sources have confirmed that the investigation centers around the recruitment of four-star quarterback Jaden Rashada. He flipped from Miami to Florida on Nov. 10, 2022, after signing an NIL deal with the now-defunct Gator Collective for $13.85 million over four years.
The contract was terminated on Dec. 7, less than a month later. Rashada still signed early with UF but never enrolled last January and was released from his letter of intent after the NIL deal fell through.
He landed at Arizona State and opened last season as the starter, and only played three games due to injury.
According to sources, the NCAA investigation into Rashada’s recruitment involves Marcus Castro-Walker and Hugh Hathcock. Castro-Walker serves as the director of player engagement and NIL for the football program, while Hathcock a longtime UF donor pledged a record-setting $12.6 million to Gator Boosters in 2022 and has spearheaded Florida’s NIL efforts.
NCAA rules prohibit boosters from using NIL as an incentive or inducement to recruit high school or transfer players.
California became the first state to allow high school athletes to be paid through NIL contracts, so Rashada was legally allowed to sign with Gator Collective. The issue at hand, however, is when, how and by whom that deal was facilitated.
Florida recently came under NCAA investigation in 2020 under former coach Dan Mullen. The inquiry found two violations: a Level II violation with Mullen and an assistant- they met a recruit before his junior year of high school, as well as a Level III violation involving members of the Gators’ coaching staff having impermissible contact with over 120 prospects when seven 7-on-7 football teams visited the campus and toured the football facilities.
The assistant coach had incidental and impermissible contacts with several prospects, according to the agreement.
Last May, the NCAA Board of Directors sent out a new guidance to its Division I member schools clarifying their NIL stance and prohibiting.
“The guidance is effective immediately,” the NCAA release stated. “For violations that occurred prior to May 9, 2022, the board directed the enforcement staff to review the facts of individual cases but to pursue only those actions that clearly are contrary to the published interim policy, including the most severe violations of recruiting rules or payment for athletics performance. Schools are reminded of their obligation to report any potential violations through the traditional self-reporting process.
Today, the Division I Board of Directors took a significant first step to address some of the challenges and improper behaviors that exist in the name, image and likeness environment that may violate our long-established recruiting rules. While the NCAA may pursue the most outrageous violations that were clearly contrary to the interim policy adopted last summer, our focus is on the future. The new guidance establishes a common set of expectations for the Division I institutions moving forward, and the board expects all Division I institutions to follow our recruiting rules and operate within these reasonable expectations,” board chair Jere Morehead, president, University of Georgia, said in the statement
The NCAA is out to make a statement, but a toothless statement, because they are so afraid of a lawsuit and court date. Is Rashada going to haunt the Florida Football?
You’re Fired
By: Kipp Branch
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The Florida Gators football team began their second spring practice under head coach Billy Napier last week.
With new players and coaching staff, there are many storylines and position battles to watch this spring.
The Gators have big questions in a lot of position groups entering spring practice. Who will replace Anthony Richardson at QB is a huge question mark.
Florida lost all three starters from 2022 at linebacker, who steps up there? Questions abound across the board with this program.
Here is the main question in my mind and it is one that Florida does not have a great track record in regards to. Will Florida be patient and allow Billy Napier to build this program the right way?
Florida was one of the founding members of the SEC in 1933. It took Florida 58 years for them to win their first SEC Football Championship in 1991. Florida has won 8 SEC Football Championships overall and none since 2008.
It has been 15 years since Florida has won anything of significance in football. In the same time frame Florida has had 5 head football coaches. Doing the math Florida hires and fires head football coaches every three years.
Florida is never going to be successful again until they give a coach a chance to build a program.
Napier went 40-12 at Louisiana in four years prior to taking the Florida job, which included a 7-7 season in year one.
Florida is a huge step up from the Sun Belt Conference, and in many ways Florida was in much worse shape than Louisiana was when Napier took over.
Napier had to improve his overall talent at UL which he did, but that isn’t the case at Florida.
Florida always has elite talent in football. Did you watch Anthony Richardson at the NFL Combine put up the best performance for a QB ever?
Talent is not and never has been an issue at The University of Florida. Vince Dooley used to say that Florida was the most talented team in the SEC annually when he coached at UGA from 1964-1988. Dooley’s teams went 17-7-1 against more talented UF football teams during his tenure.
Steve Spurrier was hired in 1990 and he came in with his innovative offensive mind and made Florida the best football program in the SEC while going 122-27-1 in a 12-year run that is the best in school history.
During that window Florida won 6 SEC Championships and a national title in 1996.
Urban Meyer came in and recruited Tim Tebow and won national titles in 2006 and 2008.
My point is that Florida’s entire football history is compressed into a 19-year window from 1990-2008. Other than that Florida football has been nothing special.
Billy Napier inherited a culture problem at UF that he has been working to improve since he walked on campus.
SEC coaches privately tell reporters that Florida has consistently been one of the most undisciplined teams in the conference over the past 5 seasons.
I believe Napier is the right man for the job in Gainesville. He just had a top 15 recruiting class and hit the transfer portal hard to address position groups like LB and QB.
Florida just opened an $85 million dollar football facility last summer that is state of the art.
The money, talent, and facilities are in place for Billy Napier to get UF back among the elite programs in the country.
Napier needs time to fix the culture and build the type of program that all associated with the University of Florida will be proud of. Billy Napier is the right man for the job at UF.
Will Florida give him the time needed to accomplish? Back-to-back 6-7 seasons while UGA is winning back-to-back National Championships makes the Gator nation impatient.
They must realize that it took Kirby 6 years to build Georgia into that status. Florida will not be elite anytime soon unless they stop firing head football coaches every 3 years.
Rome Wasn’t Built In A Day
By: Robert Craft
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
With Florida’s season over and the early signees on board for 2023, Florida Gators’ coach Billy Napier has officially turned the page on his first year with the Gators.
Following Florida’s regular season finale at Florida State, a recruiting drought went into effect on Nov. 28. A flood of transfers and bowl opt-outs soon followed.
Sixteen of UF’s 22 outgoing transfers announced they were leaving after the FSU game, although a handful of players stayed with the team through the bowl. The Gators also had four key starters skip the Las Vegas Bowl after declaring for the NFL Draft.
To complicate matters more for Napier and his assistant coaches, Florida’s selection for the Dec. 17 bowl meant the trip would take away from their in-home visits before signing day. Two days after the contact period opened on Dec. 2, UF was matched up with Oregon State.
With the team flying out on Dec. 13, Napier managed to make 30 different stops on the recruiting trail over a five-day stretch. The contact period ended on the day Florida returned from the bowl game, so he had to fit in enough in-home visits and trips to high schools before traveling to Las Vegas.
During the first week of the contact period, Napier likely made more recruiting stops than any coach in the country.
The juggling act of bowl practices, portal exits and recruiting visits created a challenging and hectic month for Napier and his staff to close out 2022.
The Gators ended the year on a low note, dropping their third straight game with a depleted roster. Despite the lopsided loss to Oregon State and UF’s 6-7 record, Napier still expressed that his team made progress over the course of the season.
Despite the losses on the field and the portal, Napier and his staff scored some big wins on the recruiting trail. UF inked a top 10 class on signing day, with 15 blue chips.
Quarterback signee Jaden Rashada has not enrolled at the University of Florida for the spring semester. Rumors are he has requested to be released from his National Letter of Intent.
With 80 percent of the class holding a four-star rating or higher, it marked Florida’s best blue-chip ratio since Urban Meyer’s No. 1-ranked recruiting class in 2010.
Prospects from Florida also comprised 70 percent of the Gators’ class for the fourth time since 2000. Most importantly, Napier and his staff got a feel for the recruiting landscape along with a better understanding of how to navigate the new and ever-evolving NIL market.
The Gators not only flipped some of their top signees such as Rashada (Miami), Dijon Johnson (Ohio State) and Roderick Kearney (Florida State), but down the stretch they also prevented Alabama, FSU and Michigan from poaching pledges Kelby Collins, Andy Jean and Aaron Gates respectively.
As Florida prepares to welcome 20 mid-year enrollees to campus and begin Phase 1 of the offseason program, Napier reflects on his first year at UF and what the future holds for 2023.
It created the silly narrative of questioning whether Napier is the savior that many of these same fans made him out to be when he was introduced as the head coach in December.
So, consider this a recommendation not just to UF supporters, but all those irrational college football fans with knee-jerk reactions to many recruiting developments involving their program: relax and take a deep breath. Rome was not built in a day, and neither were your delusions.
Napier and the rest of the program needs time to get there. Who knows if he’s going to be a transformative coach? Time will tell if Billy Napier will be the SEC’s next big thing, or if he will end up a small flash in a big pan. He clearly inherited a so-so roster from Mullen, so this recruiting bounce back is a good sign.
An uphill summit is never climbed immediately. The same goes for consistently recruiting top-10 national classes.
While UGA repeats as national champions, Napier has challenged UF’s players and staff to stay focused on what winning looks like to improve the team’s long-term trajectory.
Gator fans, let’s not kick sanity to the curb or kill the Billy Napier honeymoon after his first year. Quit the mental gymnastics, and enjoy the ride
Tame Gators
By: Kenneth Harrison
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
This was a tough first season in Gainesville for first year head coach Billy Napier. The Gators started the season off with a win over No. 7 in the Swamp. It looked like they were going to have a great season.
That was the best game quarterback Anthony Richardson played this season. They finished the regular season 6 – 6 and 3 – 5 in SEC play. They lost to Vanderbilt and Kentucky, which is shocking.
The average season landed Florida in the Las Vegas Bowl against No. 17 Oregon State.
Florida was down to their third string quarterback because Anthony Richardson declared for the NFL Draft and skipped the bowl game. I have to wonder who is advising him because there’s no way he’s getting drafted in the first two rounds.
Backup quarterback Jalen Kitna, son of former NFL quarterback John Kitna was arrested on child pornography charges.
This was the first start for Florida redshirt freshman quarterback Jack Miller, and it showed. He completed 13 of 22 passes for 180 yards. Miller is a transfer from Ohio State.
The Beavers dominated and won the game 30 – 3.
“It’s my job to have the team ready to play,” Napier said. “We were not as ready to play as we needed to be.”
The Beavers reached 10 victories for the third time program history and the first time in 16 years. They first accomplished the feat in 2000, when coach Jonathan Smith was the team’s quarterback.
OSU running back Deshaun Fenwick rushed for 107 yards. He took up the load when Pac-12 Conference offensive freshman of the year Damien Martinez went out with an apparent shoulder injury on the Beavers’ second drive.
Martinez had rushed for at least 100 yards in six consecutive games and needed just 30 yards to become the fourth freshman in program history to gain 1,000 for the season. He had 12 yards on three carries before the injury.
Florida was 16th in the nation with 213.7 yards rushing per game, but Oregon State also had the 20th-best rush defense in allowing a 114-yard average. This was the fifth time the Beavers didn’t allow an opponent to rush for 100 yards, holding the Gators to 39.
Oregon State allowed just 219 yards while gaining 353.
Florida committed 11 penalties for 82 yards, including six for false starts. Back-to-back false starts wiped out a potential touchdown drive in the first quarter.
“I don’t know if we’ve had that many in an entire season, much less one game,” Napier said. “We lived in third-and-long today as a result of inefficiency, missed opportunities, penalties. When you live in third-and-long, your percentages of having success are not good.”
The Gators will begin next season with a trip to Pac-12 champion Utah. The roster will be very different so this will be a tough game.
One positive thing is they are a “serious contender” for Coastal Carolina signal caller Grayson McCall. He entered the transfer portal on December 12.
McCall took over as the Chanticleers starting quarterback in 2020 and never looked back. He’s since started 32 games, compiling a completion percentage of 70.4, 8,019 passing yards, 78 touchdowns, eight interceptions, 1,053 rushing yards and 16 rushing touchdowns along the way.
He’s the only player to earn Sun Belt Player of the Year honors three times in conference history.
Finishing 6 – 7 is disappointing but Napier should be able to improve in his second season.
Gator Bait?
By: Robert Craft
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
There is a new era beginning for the Florida Gators football program.
Billy Napier’s era will officially begin on September 3, as the Gators host the No. 7 Utah Utes.
Utah finished the 2021 campaign as the Pac-12 Champions. Kyle Whittingham’s team finished the regular season with a 9-3 record. They beat Oregon in the Pac-12 Championship game and fell three points short of beating Ohio State in the Rose Bowl. They finished 10-4.
Whittingham has a small connection to UF. He took the head coaching job at Utah in 2005, replacing Urban Meyer.
Meyer, of course, left Utah to accept the head coaching job at Florida and went on to win two National Championships in Gainesville.
The Gators don’t have a coach entering their 18th season at the helm, like Whittingham at Utah. Billy Napier was hired 276 days before the game kicked off. There are much easier ways to begin your tenure, something Napier jokingly acknowledged at SEC Media Day.
One of the biggest question marks for the Gators in 2022 is: Can they stop the run? Last season Florida finished 10th in the SEC allowing 163.92 yards per game. That was nearly 100 yards more than Georgia and nearly 78 more than Alabama.
The Gators have a ton of pass rushers but they’re thin on the interior defensive line. Is Florida stout enough to plug up the middle and stop Utah from running it up the gut? It won’t take long to find out what kind of defense the Gators will have this season.
Cameron Rising and Tavion Thomas are a very tough combo to beat. Rising was a 64% passer last season with 20 TDs and just five picks, while Thomas added a school-record 21 rushing touchdowns, third-most in the FBS last season, with a 5.4 ypc average.
Returning that core, which tortured Ohio State’s D in the Rose Bowl, is vital in a cross-country road opener, especially against a soft Gator front.
This game is incredibly conflicting to me. If we know anything about the Pac 12 in recent years, it’s that they will eliminate themselves from playoff contention as soon as possible. The best team in the conference suffers a big loss at the beginning of the year almost every year. This would be that spot.
Last year, however, Florida was one of the worst teams against the spread because they were simply given credit for being Florida; even though they were a bad team. They went 6-7 and played in the SEC, yet they were only a home underdog once.
Now, Billy Napier comes to town after an incredible run at Louisiana and has Anthony Richardson at quarterback. Richardson only attempted 64 passes last year and is already considered a potential first round pick in the NFL draft. That’s how good he is.
Napier brought in a lot of transfers from Louisiana on the offensive line and in the backfield. The team should become familiar with his system quickly and the offense could hit the ground running.
The Swamp will be sold out and the weather should be welcoming. Game time temperature is expected to be 81 degrees with 88% humidity and 50% chance of rain with close to 89,000 hyped up Florida fans.
The weather, crowd and The Gators will make this a miserable trip for the Utes.
The Utes Don’t Care About The Weather or The Crowd, this is the most important opening game in Utah’s history. UTAH 31 FLORIDA 24
Return Of The Chomp?
By: Robert Craft
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The Florida Gators are under new management for the fourth time in the last decade. That much turnover can be necessary and detrimental to a program.
There’s not much debate that Florida needed to move on from Will Muschamp in 2014. Or that Jim McElwain’s self-destruction and death threats didn’t warrant a change.
Dan Mullen’s recruiting incompetence was written off because the team was winning. He was the first head coach in UF history to win 10 games in each of his first two seasons. In the end, it became clear that the direction of the program under Mullen was going the wrong way — and just on the trail.
Billy Napier was hired to rebuild the Gators. He was tasked with reviving UF recruiting and getting talent back to Gainesville. He called college football a “talent-acquisition business” and began by building the biggest support staff UF ever seen. The Gators hauled several blue-chip recruits like Kamari Wilson, Shemar James, and Chris McClellan.
The team also has Anthony Richardson returning, who should give the Gators a chance anytime he’s on the field.
The Gators only leave the state of Florida three times in 2022. Their home schedule is fantastic. Utah, LSU and Kentucky are all great games to host in The Swamp.
With that being said, the opponents are strong. The Gators draw, somehow again, Texas A&M from the West. UF has played the Aggies three times since they joined the SEC and 2022 will be the fourth matchup. Meanwhile, Florida has played a former yearly rival in Auburn just once in that same time period.
The Gators also begin a home-and-home series with Utah. The Utes are the reigning Pac-12 Champions. Utah returns 60 letter winners and 17 total starters in 2022.
Billy Napier prescribes to a motto of “put the ball down and let’s play” but it would be easy to put the ball down against a small directional school rather than a loaded defending conference champion.
The Gators have also lost twice to Kentucky in the last four seasons. Mark Stoops has built that UK program for a decade. What was once an assured win, is now a presumed toss up.
Every year the SEC is tough. This year, will be a very difficult one for the Gators, thanks to their tough season opener and road trip to College Station.
Optimistic: 9-3, with three straight wins to end the year and all sorts of hype heading into 2023. Anthony Richardson proves to be the perfect dual-threat quarterback in Billy Napier’s system.
Tailback Lorenzo Lingard looks like the 5-star who signed with Miami out of high school, same for wideout Justin Shorter.
The Gators’ defense takes a big step forward without Todd Grantham calling the shots. Gervon Dexter emerges as the best defensive lineman in the conference.
Pessimistic: 5-7 and no postseason appearance in Year 1 for Napier. Florida opens the year 0-2, with home losses to Utah and Kentucky. After dismantling South Florida, the Gators lose at Tennessee for just the second time in 18 years.
They stumble at Tallahassee against Florida State to end the season. Richardson is up and down — or worse, gets hurt again and Jack Miller isn’t up to snuff. The lack of explosiveness at receiver is problematic all season.
The front-seven once again struggles to stop the run. Penalties, team character and chemistry remain lingering issues despite the coaching change.
Realistic: 7-5 with one signature upset against either Utah, Kentucky, Tennessee or Texas A&M.
The Gators certainly could go 0-2 to start the year, but I see a split. While the roster has depth issues (particularly at receiver, defensive line and linebacker), there’s a lot of quality talent in Gainesville.
The pass rush, led by Brenton Cox Jr., is fierce, and cornerback Jason Marshall is one of the better defensive backs in the SEC.
Richardson has flashes of brilliance and frustration, ultimately leading him to return to the team in 2023.
Arizona State transfer Ricky Pearsall has a solid season but is not the band aid solution to Florida’s receiver problems.
Key Points: Starting out against Utah isn’t a given at home, and finishing up at Florida State in Tallahassee will be tough.
In between there’s a road game at Tennessee, LSU – as always – is on the slate, and then there’s the killer two-week stretch against Georgia and at Texas A&M.
It’s Florida. It’s going to be a problem for the other teams in those tough games, too. It’ll work its way to eight wins in an improved year, but factor in three losses somewhere in the mix to go along with one 50/50 game.
Seven wins will be okay, eight will be fine, nine or more would be terrific, but …
It’s the Florida Gators. It’s time to start winning more.
Gator Goals
By: Robert Craft
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
A year ago, Florida fans were questioning the program’s coaching decision (Dan Mullen), but Florida football was fresh off an SEC title game and the program seemed to be trending in the right direction.
As you can see, things change. Quickly.
Florida finished the 2021 season with a 6-7 record. As a result, Mullen was let go. The Gators rebounded with one of the hottest names on the market- Billy Napier. The move was a home run in the coaching world and it showed that Florida is serious about winning.
With spring ball starting up, it’s time to take a glance at our new-looking Gators. What storylines should I be following? Easy, it all starts with recruiting!
During Napier’s Signing Day press conference, he made it clear: there’s plenty of work to be done. For example, the Gators signed only six players from their talent-rich home state.
While the Gators shifted their focus to the upcoming class paired with Napier’s first full season UF’s head coach — the coaching staff made it clear: Florida plans to scour the talent from the Sunshine State.
“That’s the approach that we will take and certainly with the ’23 group, which we’ve already started on,” Napier said. “That will be the mentality, for sure.”
It’s not as if Napier underestimated what Florida has to offer in the first place. Rather, he’s looking to forge new relationships in the final two months of a player’s recruitment; historically, the Gators relied on previously established connections.
Evidenced by his previous team’s (University of Louisiana Lafayette) improvement from year one to year two, there’s tangible reason to believe the Gators will make a massive leap in the recruiting rankings next season under Napier.
The University of Louisiana Lafayette improved 28 places in the team rankings from Napier’s first season to his second. After finishing fourth in the Sun Belt conference his first year, the Ragin’ Cajuns would rank atop the conference in recruiting for each of the next three seasons.
The blueprint looks to already be in place.
“I think you build your schedule based off of the ’22s. And then maybe the ’23 players in that area. You try to do the best job you can,” Napier said. “And certainly, each assistant coach kind of is taking the same philosophy.”
Katie Turner, Florida’s newly hired assistant athletic director of recruiting strategy, may not technically be a coach, but she’s a vital part of the team’s talent acquisition efforts.
Napier and his coaching staff know they’ll have to maintain the intensity on the recruiting trail if they hope to have a stress-free National Signing Day in 2023.
“We’re hopeful that we won’t be doing this much business in February next year, and we’ll be able to be a little bit more strategic about our time on the road relative to the next group,” Napier said. “But I think we made the most of it, for sure.”
Florida can be a pressure cooker, but that may be said of every high-level Division I football program. The expectations across the country have risen, along with budgets and coaches’ salaries. You’re expected to win fast or die young.
The 2023 recruiting cycle is well underway, and the Florida Gators have several goals in mind as l Billy Napier puts together his first full class of signees after a transitional 2022 haul.
One of those goals, simply put, is to recruit more effectively than the Gators’ past, which consistently missed opportunities and underwhelmed year after year on the trail.
The second goal is to put a fence around the state of Florida, being able to keep elite talent home rather than allowing non-locals to tap into Florida’s top talent and prospects as they please.
Florida has the most blue-chips of any other state (and the most 5-stars) by leaps in 2023. We’ll see if new head coaches in Florida’s Billy Napier can make some progress getting in-state prospects to stay closer to home.
In my review, Napier will be evaluated by this first class. He needs a top 5 class or this may be another short tenure for Coach Napier.
