So I’m right that we haven’t had top 10 recruiting classes previously. It appears we will this year - as I said doesn’t mean anything til they sign. Top 10 means you’re entering the realm of great classes. That’s where you need to be consistently to get the CFP conversation. Of course you have to win your games too. Winning games where we were double digit underdogs = performing at a high level. I don’t care what the stats are, no one gave us any chance to win those games either at the beginning of the season or the week of the game. Herbstreit, like him or hate him is a top tier college football pundit, not a C level: Don’t dismiss my comment on NIL. We were being painted in a bad light previously with the Rashada situation. Thats gone away for now. We aren’t entitled to a top5 class as you make it seem. I think Mullen showed that nicely. You’re a pessimist. I get it. Like I said glass half empty. Put your stats down and acknowledge that Napier has this program with some momentum for the first time in a while. I think we can say that and enjoy it without being complete sunshine pumpers. “Stats are for losers.” - Stephen Orr Spurrier
I get it, you guys get pissy with his consistency in posting negative stuff, but I didn't find that post worth a shut up. He's not all that off base in the post.
Respectfully, I simply disagree and I'm not sure why this being Napier's first potential Top 10 class should be viewed as a good thing. (we're back down to #11 as of this morning) Napier should have been getting Top 10 classes all along with our pedigree and resources in the state. That he's just now able to maybe pull it off isn't a testament that he's broken through somehow. Top 10 does not mean you are entering the "realm of great classes." Not when 7 SEC teams have classes rated higher. Yes, we're back down to #11 and there are 7 SEC team ahead of us as of this morning. That's not "great". That is mediocre for the SEC. And yes, I agree, you have to win your games too..... I was referring to the trash announcers ESPN gave us for our signature rivalry game this past Saturday. It was an act of disrespect. Who's fault is the Rashada situation? Either way, the Gators have one of the most robust NIL budgets in the nation. NIL has been a scapegoat. We have more than enough NIL money. You telling me the Canes have more NIL money? Yet they've been outrecruiting Billy and the flagship university of the state. But Mullen hated to recruit, right?? And even so, Mullen's performance on the field usually met or slightly exceeded his talent level (minus his last season). I'm perfectly fine with #13 classes so long as we kick ass on the field of play. I'm familiar with the quote and you're taking his quote of out context. It wasn't being applied the same as I am here. And the most important stats are wins and losses. Do you think Spurrier would have said "stats are for losers" in response to a question about him losing 19 games in 3 seasons? I'm going to guess no, he would not have.
Ftr the terrible telecast and crew for the game was directly related to the crap opponent and their historically inept team and season. Those factors were totally out of any control by the UF.
Potentially having a top 10 class shouldn’t be viewed as a good thing? It’s certainly better than it was a month ago. Do you really expect that it’s all the sudden anyone gets a #1 class? Thats just not how it works. Your point on Mullen - I believe he is an amazing offensive mind and play caller. But no vision in terms of running a program. I would’ve loved for him to do better. He clearly quit on the job. I believe it was more than just football - something in private life that just threw him off kilter. Theoretically say we go 10-2 next year and don’t make the playoffs. You’re still not happy. And you’re still moaning about stuff Billy should’ve done better and it shouldn’t have taken 4 years to get there. I don’t think we’ve had “robust NIL” and the Rashada thing showed it. We were clueless. We shut down the first NIL group and started a new one. I don’t think that’s on Napier. In fact I’ve said for a few years that it seemed UF administration (not Napier) was happy to be in the middle of the pack and that’s either a Stricklin or BOT problem. When you have Nick Saban on national TV questioning the program and not the coach - I think that shows what I’m saying. I know I’m taking it out of context. But my point is the wins have improved. Playing a ton of freshman that should get better. Sure we won with defense, had some luck in turnovers. But the winning is what matters - and it’s directly related to recruiting going from 30s to ~10 in 4 weeks time. So we won ugly. It’s certainly better than losing. I know - it shouldn’t have taken 3 years so Napier must be incompetent. Clearly this program has momentum right now even if some of it is misplaced. And we had ZERO before. I don’t think Napier would’ve been fired if we were 4-8. Simply because of the administration changes - interim Prez, an AD that would likely be fired prior to hiring a new football coach. it’s got to continue to get better on the field. I don’t think anyone is crowning Napier as the savior or anything. I just don’t understand the need to continue to woulda/shoulda/coulda the entire tenure. There’s not a magic wand that just turns us into Bama or UGA. We have momentum and at 10-2 Ohio State wants to fire their coach. What a country
I guess. Not to be a dick, but this feels a bit like giving Muschamp that 4th year. Just sayin' That said, if "the guy" isn't out there, then might as well stick with the current plan.
What threw Mullen off is that almost half the fanbase (Recruiting Guy) was still up his arse after 3 very good seasons. Right or wrong, I think he expected more deferment of criticism and adulation. When he goes into the spring after a 3rd good season (and major turnaround from previous two coaches) and they're still up his arse because we didn't finish ahead of UGa in recruiting rankings, I think he started looking around and ultimately checked out. Point being, it was a two-way street.
It's the juxtaposition of his ridiculous praise of deion and Colorado irrespective of context against his backhanded comments about anything positive about Napier and Florida which only look at numbers regardless of context for opposite reasons. His agenda drives his posts instead of objective analysis.
Last years class was considered #7 with portal additions included. The high school class alone was around 12-15th.
This seems to be what I'm up against a lot in this particular thread. At 10-2 next season, with our schedule, we would most definitely be in the CFP. Even in the unrealistic event that we somehow went 10-2 and didn't make the CFP, I would be much more concerned with why we were screwed out of a CFP and I would be 100% on board with Billy Napier. When did Nick Saban directly question our NIL? I may have missed that. Why is it okay to blame the BOT and at the same time not hold Napier accountable for his underperformance as head coach? His classes have been more than good enough to win a lot more than 19 games in 3 seasons. I'm never going to celebrate a 7-5 (or 8-5) season at UF. That such a record actually serves as "improvement" is quite scary and it is not as if the improvement is versus a previous coach's record. It was his own 5-7 records in his first two years that serves as the basis for the "improvement". If you're content with a 1-4 record against the Top 25, with the lone victory being over the current #15 ranked team, you don't care about winning championships at Florida. And that's okay. You can be a fan and be satisfied with mediocrity. It's not against the law. I'm just not one of those fans. None of this changes whether Napier is earning his contract or not. Based on what? I could have said Mullen won 10 and 11 games, so yeah he had a bad year, but it's got to get much better, because after all, he just reeled off 10 and 11 win seasons. I would have had more basis for making such a proclamation then than you have right now. At best, Napier has proven to you he can win 7 games in a season. That he can win 4 games in the SEC. You can't just say "it's got to get much better" because you want it to. Some sort of evidence or track record (as was the case with the previous 3 coaches) has to be a basis for making that argument. Otherwise, you're speculating and hoping at best. I don't mean that as an insult and by all means, you continue to do you. But I operate based on evidence. And as I said before, how many posters here would have been pushing Stricklin to hire Napier in late 2021 if they knew ahead of time that his first three years would generate 19 losses? And a god awful record against our rivals? So, we should stop acting like I'm way off base here, because nobody would have signed up for it then. But in any case, all I want to see is this program thrive. I happen to believe in holding the coaching staff accountable and not accepting mediocrity is a better recipe for success than ignoring the many elephants in the room.
According 247, we're #4 in the country in NIL budget at $763 million. Obviously, that's being spent on a lot of other things than our football roster, but it's not like UF doesn't have a robust NIL apparatus. https://247sports.com/longformartic...rams-ranked-by-nil-efforts-235181311/#2472529 Side note: DJ Lagway's NIL is scary.. he's making less than half of what Arch Manning is making. He's even making less than Nico.
