True, but in the SEC you have a much smaller margin of error. Too many weekends can end your chances, even with the expanded playoffs. And now we're making it even tougher adding OU and Texas. I know they wanted the money, but long run it will cost us titles.
Mullen is a great play caller. One of the best. He wouldn't put the work in, refused to recruit at a level necessary to keep us competitive with the top of our conference. I'd take a little drop off in the play calling department if it meant we loaded up on 4 and 5 stars. Without them, all Mullen's scheming and drawing plays in the dirt means nothing.
LSU lost twice and will still get in if they beat Georgia. Teo loss teams in other conferences are the ones with little margin for error. Usc has to hope others lose for them to get in.
Still think it was a better move for him personally. He can rake in millions for years out there, with little pressure and he'll get results and he'll win a natty or two. Florida and LSU include a lot more pressure. And I'm skeptical if our program can get back to where we were with Meyer, regardless of who is the coach.
Usc fires coaches just as quick. Easier pat to the playoff for sure. Nobody has won out there in 20 years.
Hopefully he is laying ground work for major improvement because the performance we've seen this season does not deserve a passing grade. Call it harsh, but top level coaching should be able to create improvement in anybody. And in the last two games of the regular season we are still seeing too much of the same problems that have plagued us all season or longer.
Man I can’t even hand out a C-..you’ve got supposedly the number 1 pick in the draft at qb and the kid looks worse now than game one. You lose to every one of your rivals plus Vandy and Ky in the same year plus make some head scratching play calls every game and field one of the worst defenses in ncaa ball. Compliments to th o line and rbs but it’s a reach to get to C- for me.
I could probably get to D with great recruiting and the quality of the o line and rbs this year but it really hinges on if he can make necessary changes off season…and they damn sure are necessary.
Based on his on-field performance he gets a D. In reality more like an Incomplete as I have no clue what we truly have in Billy Napier. How can someone who gets the “big picture” so well, not get so many of the small details at all? How can you talk such a beautiful game in press conferences and recruiting pitches, yet be so underwhelming and bland with playcalling, aggressiveness, adjustments, etc? It is almost like a Jelyll and Hyde scenario.
Napier: Off-field (B+), on-field (D). Doing the right things on the trail and building a culture behind the scenes, but there are ALARMING issues to his in-game coaching acumen (namely clock management and overall “feel” of a game). Toney: (D). Tough to blame all of it on him because these are still Grantham/Mullen guys, but aside from the South Carolina game and half of the A&M game, there wasn't much improvement and we saw much of the same garbage (big cushions, poor 3rd down defense, lack of edge setting etc. etc.). Next year will give me a better picture on his future with (likely) more of his guys out there. He also handles the safety room, which, yikes. Sale/Stapleton (B+): OL was definitely much improved, so he scores positively there. Recruiting could definitely be better though. Juluke (A): Zero complaints about the RBs this year. Johnson/Etienne will be a top 5 duo in 2023 and he's holding his weight on the trail. Colbert (B+): Considering the names we had in the WR room this year, we did about as well as we possibly could've there. His grade gets bumped for the work he's doing on the trail as he's got a great class coming in. Peagler (I): Zero idea what to make of him, aside from Odom making a couple plays, the TE's did nothing and we're not recruiting one this cycle. So IDK. They block well, I guess? Spencer (C): Great recruiter, but the DL play was maddingly inconsistent. Like Toney, I'll judge more when he gets his guys in there. Watson is the only guy who showed clear improvement this year on the DL. Bateman/Peterson: (B): Honestly not upset with the LB play this year. Miller was the MVP of the defense and even Burney stepped up to make plays. Shemar James also has big promise, we just need to find another to go with him. Raymond (C): Not what I expected out of the CB's this year under C-Ray. Marshall, in particular, didn't show any improvement and may have actually regressed. Still a dog on the trail though, even w/o landing Cormani. The two guys he brought in either showed promise (Moore) or did nothing (Kimber).
Not ready to bury coach just yet as that would not be fair. But for those leaning on recruiting prowess YTD, it should be noted that we are exactly one spot higher than Dan Mullen after his first year. One. Staff absolutely has more energy on the trail. That said it is not like we are recruiting at some absolute elite level.
and to remind you of our special teams grade I would use the famous Dean Wormer/Blutarski scene from animal house where he looks at Blutarski to deliver his grade point average of zero point zero.
We are not recruiting a TE this year?!? WTH. We need two from the portal. If you take away Pearsall, I’d give the WR coach a C- at best as we choked against our #1 rival yesterday with 6-7 drops. and we need a WR coach who gets As every year. This is the mighty Gators with in-state speed to spare after all
People seem to forget that of the six losses, three were to top 10 teams. At the time of the UK loss, they were also a ranked team. The Vandy loss was the only really bad one, and that was a perfect storm of negativity. They were in every game at the end. CBN needs to find a consistent QB who can do the QB things well. RBs can do the RB things. It would also help to have WRs who can win one on one battles consistently. He needs defensive depth, and maybe better defensive coaching; that is hard to evaluate considering the other factors. (The Vandy DC was at UVA last year and considered terrible for instance. Did not look bad against UF.)
Outside of the top 3 or 4 teams, early season rankinigs are usless. I don't agree with "they were in every game at the end". What does that even mean? Several of these teams/games shouldhave never came down to the wire like that. We had more talent then USF, Vanderbilt and even fsu. The truth is our special teams were the poorest I have seen since I started following the Gators. Much of the in-game coaching, especially friday with the lack of running the football with such a talented group of running backs is a head scratcher.