Some Gems from My Guy Coach Billy Napier

I've been following recruiting closely since the mid 90s. I don't follow every team as closely as our team, but I follow our rivals. In those 25+ years I don't think I've ever seen a team lose that many committed players so close signing day. I've only seen that when there was a head coach change.

So, no, it isn't in the "rule book". But it was terrible and nearly unprecedented by my observation.

I love many of the guys we got. DJ, LJ and Myles can be legends here. But what we should have been on signing day is MUCH different, from a high end quality and depth standpoint, than what we ended up with. There are several studs that will be playing for our rivals that we're all gonna wish were Gators when they ball out. And, damnit, they should have been. Hate so much about the new CFB. But I love our coach and wouldn't trade him for any of the turds that poached our players.

 

CBN had some back up plans but you can only have so many to get elite players in UF's position. Greg Smith will play regardless of losing Filsaime. He may not have Filsaime's elite speed and short area burst, but he is an equal or better in other aspects of his game. Essentially a taller and faster Castell, but rawer at db.

 

I finally got around to listening to the presser. Maybe I'm alone, but I thought coach did a great job. He knows a LOT about the kids we got. And not just measurables (which it is very obvious he LOVES). He knows about their character, their families, their "stories". I can see why he's a good recruiter and why kids (and their parents) want to play for him.

Now, will this approach produce results on the field? That remains to be answered. The early returns are, unforunately, "No". But I am pulling like heck for the guy.

 

I agree. He works hard, tries to do a good job to people who were let go and also to people he brings in. Unfortunately it feels like there is a concerted effort by people outside the gators program to target him and his tenure. He wants to be methodical..but the environment is not letting him do that. I think he realizes he made mistakes with the coaches he hired at the start of his gators tenure and recovering from that. I think he will be successful.

 

I e said before it may be a blessing in disguise. We need portal players to win a couple extra games that highschool kids wouldn’t provide. Yes it sucks for 25-26 but Napier needs those wins now. Pray we get another six starters tgat can improve this team or it’s going to get ugly.

 

If we get even 4 quality starters to replace the 8 we lost, I'll be ecstatic. And your point is valid, but it definitely stings to lose those that we lost. I think other than Kendall Jackson, these are players that our COACHES wanted badly to be Gators. Every one of them looked like a potential stud in 1-3 years.

 

He did more with less. 3 NY6 bowls.
Napier hasn’t sniffed a winning record and just watched his top 5 class meltdown.
Losing the last 5 and not really showing improvement has a ton to do with that.

 

Top recruits aren’t putting a fan base ahead of a coaching staff and what they see on the field.

Every top program has fans that bitch about their team.

 

And don’t forget all those starters who left in the last few years…
A pattern is forming and it’s not a good one.

Regardless the HbC isn’t getting canned anytime soon, that 7 year contract almost ensures this.
5 years should have been enough.
Well done SS. “rolls eyes”

 

How do you know this?

Is there some NIL list that shows what these kids are getting?

 

He just figured that out in the last 3 weeks… Funny

 

I love this post. It sums it up perfectly for me. I heard someone today on a podcast say that it isn't the 16th rated recruiting class that is going to show up on the field....it's the individuals within that class and while not all of them are superstars we've gone some really good ones and perhaps one on offense and one on defesnse that anybody in the country would die to have.

 

More like 2 to 3 years. Very rarely are any freshman impactful. I do agree that down the road it would be better for our program. As far as the ones that left, princely and ETN are the only ones that are going to hurt and ETN will not hurt that bad. I’m not even sure Princley is going to hurt much

 

And Auburn has what? 11 extra 3 star commits?

 

You might want to look at their class besides those three stars, and look at the teams that are under us. The teams under us are not very pretty

 

Because the kids are saying it on social media.

 

Not making excuses for our recent recruiting woes and our drop. I do like what this class has to offer and stars aside, if we do well in the portal cleanup we will be ok.

 

More with less? Huh? After mac's recruits were mostly gone he had a losing record his last year. You know...the team he left Napier

 

Very frustrating that a team with a head coaching change (aTm) finished ahead of us.

 

Yeah. Mac Didn’t have great classes.
Mullen’s last year went south as the D got worse and worse. Finally he fired Grantham but team(mostly the D) had pretty much quit.

Don’t ignore the numerous players that left after Mullen was canned who went to start at other D schools.

Point is Napier had now had two full cycles to recruit and the benefit of NIL and the portal to rebuild, better options than any new coach in UF history. Sad that the classes aren’t grading out higher, recruits who have been UF committed for months and months bailing in the last second and top notch players leaving via the portal.
In game same and even new and create mistakes are made, all that attention to detail seems to be missing somewhere.

I just see excuse after excuse.
I know trust the process… SMH.