Andy Staples article on “why Florida has fallen behind”

Good points but isn't this a chicken-end-egg problem? Recruiting high 4-star and 5-star players are most likely to go to the NFL and excel and we clearly haven't gotten a lot of them the last few years . . . so we haven't had NFL excellence . . . so we haven't recruited high 4-star and 5-star players. Florida has put some players in the last couple of years though: Trask, Pitts, Toney, Pierce, Torrence, AR (leaving quite a few out) and recruiting is improving.

Still, a good, interesting point.

 

I agree. But did you enjoy our last bowl game? It was not about the loss, but how inept we looked. That's on the coaches.

I rarely comment on message boards but speak with my wallet. Stopped going to games after the Mushchamp do you know what a midline is season, but still watched every game for a few more years. Now I barely watch one or two games a season.

I don't need championships every year, just something to be excited for. Thought mullen was headed in the right direction but that imploded fast.

 

We've recruited a LOT of 4 star and a handful of 5 star guys in that era. Outside of the McElwain era, we weren't recruiting a whole lot of 3 stars. The talent has been there.

But look at the 5 star guys - Ivey, CC Jefferson, Teez Tabor, VH3, Kelvin Taylor, DJ Humphries, Bullard, Dante Fowler and Jeff Driskel. A few have played multiple seasons in the NFL, but none of them are anything close to NFL superstars. Did any of them even live up to their 5-star expectations in college? Maybe VH3 and Fowler?

 

It all starts with recruiting-recruiting-recruiting top-shelf HS & portal talent. Keeping more of the high quality in state talent home is a must too. Bama, UGA, pOSU and a few others have been pillaging the best HS players in Florida for some time now. UF plays second fiddle in its own talent rich state. That’s gotta change, but probably won’t until UF can prove on and off (development) the field that they can compete with them. ET’s chicken before the egg problem.

 

LSU is there

“Wes Chandler was Percy Harvin before Percy Harvin was born.”

 

https://www.ncaa.com/news/football/...lege-football-teams-most-nfl-draft-picks-2000

For being at a significant disadvantage talent wise to some of the talent hoarders in college football florida has done very well getting players drafted.

 

Ah yes how dare my generation hold a proud football program to high standards that doesn’t include getting bitch slapped by Kentucky and Vanderbilt

 

Fascinating. Arrogance on top of ignorance is a really bad combination. You’re the one who brought up age - I’m simply agreeing with you

 

I think you are kind of embellishing the Spurrier era. We had good players to be sure, but 2 out of every 3 years FSU had better players who became better pros. Miami didn't always have better players because they went through peaks and valleys, but when they were on, they had players better than we could dream of. UGA had some really great players starting during the Donnan era. The only time we ever had super team talent was 2007-2009.

We may have had more players drafted high 20-30 years ago than now, but a lot of them were pretty mediocre pros - all the Spurrier WR's were busts to journeymen, Mo Collins was pretty below average, same with Kenyatta Walker, Reggie McGrew was a bust, and Gerard Warren was just ok. Just between 1998-2001 UGA sent Hines Ward, Champ Bailey, Marcus Stroud, and Richard Seymour to the NFL, and that is not even including the just pretty good players they had. We haven't put a player in the NFL HOF since Emmitt. UGA had Champ Bailey and Richard Seymour playing on the same team! And Hines could still make it one day, too. Miami had Warren Sapp and Ray Lewis on the same team.

 

2010 - 2023 and UFs record and accomplishments during that period would be my answer to you.

No SEC championship, no playoff appearances and what? 4 losing seasons??

Reality bites but it is what it is.

 

Ain’t that the truth

 

All three play second fiddle in their own state and I don't see it changing anytime soon. None have the money and/or commitment to do the truly scummy things needed to reach the top. Remember that Kirby Smart mocked our coach for spending time with his family. That's the era we are living in and the kind of cynical scumbaggery needed to win championships in this era.

 

Agree. The only thing even more absurd is climbing up Billy Napier’s back for a 10+ year slump, 90% of which preceded him here

 

I’m in the Billy Napier needs more time camp, but at the same time I realize that fans are entitled to their opinions on him based off what they gathered after his one season in charge.

 

Nice use of the word “entitled”. I couldn’t have made the point any better myself

 

I was actually referring more specifically to the era prior to Spurrier when I was at UF. Specifically The Great Wall of Florida, running backs Emmitt Smith, John L. Williams, Neal Anderson, James Jones and Lorenzo Hampton, plus Ricky Nattiel. Then there were guys like Wilber Marshall, Louis Oliver, Trace Armstrong, Jarvis Williams, Clifford Charleton and Huey Richardson. From 1983-1990, UF had 12 first round picks. Most of them had very good NFL careers.

Agree that the Spurrier era, for all the offensive stars we had, didn't produce as many successful NFL stars.

 

Yup, entitled to their opinions on any and everyone. Which is how it should be.

 

Yeah before my time but I am aware of the pro success we had during that era. I don't really know what to say about why that happened then and why we haven't really been able to touch it since.

 

Always surprised me that Quezzie, Ike and Reidel didn't have more stellar NFL careers.

 

Where are you coming up with all this crap zilla?

I quoted FACT.

As a fan I want to win a ring every year, I would think you would know that. But I don't pretend that, since 2009, which is going on 14 seasons ago, UF has been far below the standards of 1990-2009. FAR FAR below.

I support the gators in every way, including financially.

Of course I want UF to meet - "NO" EXCEED the 90-09 run!

But it's boorish to read post after post of fans implying a pedigree we do not live up to.

Chris D was RIGHT!