I'm going to say on defense: The DL must get pressure.Pup Howard and whoever plays star (Aaron Gates?). On offense: the five OL must play as a unit of one. If we cannot win in the trenches--we are in trouble! Florida must have two WR's step up, other than Trey Wilson. Probably, Chimere Dike, but we need both Aiden Mizell and Andy Jean to step up as well. Which creates a dilemma: what will be the production of Marcus Burke and Ja' Quavion Fraziars? My wish list for WR is not an unreasonable wish list. But, I feel that I am expecting too much!
Giannis said this about the Bucks after a loss a few months ago. It was funny but I love the way he included the equipment manager. "We have to be better. We have to play better. We have to defend better. We have to trust one another better. We have to be coached better. Every single thing, everybody has to be better. Everybody. It starts from the equipment manager. He has to wash our clothes better. The bench has to be better. The leaders of the team have to be more vocal. We have to make more shots. We have to defend better. We have to have better strategy. We have to be better... We have four months to get better, so let's see."
I've posted this before: We need a massive leap from 2nd year players (and the 2 OT transfers) to have a chance in 2024. We don't have the top-end talent outside of that class to compete in the SEC week in and week out. We do not have a bonafide pre-season ALL SEC player on the roster, so it'll take development and improvement to even stand a chance to be relevant. We have some (very few) players with the potential to be post-season ALL SEC, but again, that'll take a big leap.
Substantially better play from all the LB positions, and more pressure on the edge and I believe you'll see a 7-10 point reduction in points allowed by this defense. Offensively as a group if you could the guys on the OL to score at a minimum of a 70 with PFF, this team becomes one capable of winning 8-9 games.
You're being unreasonable when you don't mention Kahliel Jackson. Mertz is the main one on offense. I believe we'll see a next level from him. He will be the General. On defense it starts with Shemar James and Justus Boone.
Need a go-to WR to go along with the dynamic Tre Wilson, and our tight ends to get a little better in the passing game. Obviously OL needs to step it up. Entire defense needs to step up and I believe they will. Going to be plus side on turnovers this year and much better overall.
My take is: Has the team qualitatively improved under this regime? First two years, I was part of the group that put the onus of the situation squarely on Dan and third and you know who. Specifically the recruiting. Many of the higher ranking kids recruited by Dan never even saw the field for an assortment of issues. The bump class while good on paper was an unmitigated disaster as far as kids actually seeing the field. I.G.W.T. has pointed out several times UF players from Dan's late tenure were nary to be found on award lists, all SEC teams and in the NFL draft. But that is past tense. Thats a tough rock to hide behind in year three. The issues that plagued Napier in year 1 and 2, outside of talent: Penalties, Special Teams, Poor Clock Management, End of Half or Game Situations, Disorganization, Strength and Conditioning, THOSE things he must be held accountable for. Hey stepping into the mighty SEC from Lafayette, added to the tumult of the maniacs that brought about the annhiliation of amatuer College Football, must certainly be considered. Whom could have prepared for that out of the Sunbelt? So I will be like Tammy Wynette and "Stand by my Man". But it's time to step up and I think he has done so, but thats based on my opinion only. His recruiting is better IMO, although still not at the level we hoped. He hired some reputable assistants, he brought in legacy guys like Peterson and Spikes. The locker room seems stable, the GPD ain't hauling UF players to lock up. SO - IMO even the hard hearted may admit that UF has been "close" and "competitive" in most contests, what do I mean by THAT? Well - throw in a productive assistant coach here, A plug and play offensive guard there, a better linebacker, here, a special teams returner there and.............It's not completely unresonable to think with the talent qualitatively better (I think it is), experience at coaching at this level, better line play - Yeah, UF could be better, maybe even alot better - Because UF has Mertz and a possible up and comer with DJL. But this equation is close to flipping either way. For the better, or with injuries and depth issues, .............. well it could get historicly worse. For me, it's let it play out. I know some in the media, especially the podcast media, are a bit irritated with Napier right now, but I don't exactly blame him for closing ranks on the "noise in the system". For those that made it this far, thanks for the read and.....GOOOOO GATORS!
I was just being snarky, doc. No shade intended, but I still think as the defense goes so go The Gators.
Some other areas we need to improve to see success on the field... Landscapers need to cut the grass better Janitors need to mop better Admins need to file better IT needs to unlock accounts better
