You would expect that if there was almost nowhere to go but up, right? I'm thinking about injured QBs this season and last. Not putting that completely on OL but at the same time, yeah, kind of. But nonetheless, is this Sale's offense? No. Get out the pretend planning room and recruit OL. If Napier really believes the recruiting services are accurate, get out there and get more top recruits.
DJ got hurt on a run. Over all they played well. Yes like to see him get a couple 5 stars OL of course but like the ones he did get. Hardest position to requit
1. The Defense is the starting place for optimism. Our secondary may be the best wr have had in years, because of the playing time this season. 2. I expect great portal response from closing the season with 8 wins and defeating LSU, Ole Miss, and FSU. 3. Our running game is going to tough to stop. 4. DJ has a year under his belt and hopefully develops a consistent mid range pass. Go Gators!
Goes along with this thread title – reason for optimism in 2025. Looks like a player or two that are good enough for first round are staying for some unfinished business next year!
Agree with your assessment. The SEC has the best coordinators in the country, schemes are complex. BN needs a young, innovative OC to bring the offense to a higher level. As stated, this frees him up to focus on head coaching and recruiting responsibilities.
Taking on a rebuild project was a big order for Billy. Now that the a good portion of the rebuild is now completed, hopefully Billy will find someone that he can work with as an Offensive Coordinator.
I did not view your remarks as negativity at all. Everyone remembers how badly Trask looked against Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl, with four receivers out. Trask looked pedestrian without them. Replacing Dike and Badger will be critical for DJ in year two! DJ had great route runners, and he will need that again. There are some sports columnists who believe most of Florida's receivers do not collectively have the experience to support DJ next year; and I agree. The coaching staff has done an excellent job of evaluating talent, and I am hoping they will hit a homerun again!
Badger was money this year and DJ loved throwing to him. At season's end we tend to think those big time receivers we had are irreplaceable. But usually we find some guys to step up for us. A few names I can think of who might ball out for us are Wilson, Mizell, Hawkins or perhaps one of the freshmen (Brown for example), and then there's transfer players. We've picked up many good receivers in the portal: Badger, Dike, Pearsall, Shorter, Grimes, Van Jefferson
I'm hoping Jackson comes back from his injury and is a baller! We still need some experienced WR from the TP. You never know about injuries!
I try to keep my opinions near the middle of the extremes, but I lean pessimistic with Napier unless he does something different in 2025 that provides UF with a unique advantage over the opponents. Spurrier had a rare ability to design offensive strategies and adjust tactics in a game. Meyer and Mullen were pretty good at it as well. Napier has never shown that ability—not at any of his previous jobs as OC or HC/OC. He has shown the ability to identify talent for his coaching staff and his roster, so go find an OC who will give the Gators a tactical advantage over the opponents in 2025 and I will be optimistic. For a few months in 2023 he had a top-5 recruiting class that would have rivaled some of Meyer’s and Muschamp’s best classes, so go repeat that in the transfer portal sweepstakes and I will be optimistic. I am happy for the three good weeks of football that Florida had, but that does not erase his 18–19 (10–14) record. He needs to win 5 SEC at a minimum to get above 0.500 in conference play. He needs to win 9 games to get above Bob Woodruff’s winning percentage. In the grand scheme of things there is not much to be optimistic about unless something changes that tips the scales towards Napier. The obvious answer is an OC to unlock Lagway’s full potential. Without that, we are hanging optimism on a lowered Gator Standard (TM).
Billy should not be in charge of calling plays or managing the game. He isn't good at it and should be hands off on gameday. He needs to focus on managing the program and the team, not the game itself. I think if he can do this, there is good reason to be optimistic about Florida football going forward.
IMO, my optimism for 2025 will be predicated on Napier identifying and signing two all-SEC type TEs. After I read the article on the success of both the 11 and 12 personnel, that seems to be his biggest missing piece. Spend the money wisely. Failing to address this and I won't be getting optimistic anytime soon. We may get another Pearsall/Badger at WR but I am not sure we need them. I do believe in personal growth. The rest is just filling up the roster with balance.