GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Florida football offensive lineman Austin Barber was named to the College Football News (CFN) Freshman All-American First Team, while running back Trevor Etienne and linebacker Shemar James earned CFN All-American honorable mention honors. Barber, who was named the CFN Midseason Freshman All-American First Team on Oct. 19, has appeared in 12 games this season, making five starts at right tackle. The Jacksonville native is a part of a line has only allowed 15 sacks this season, which is second-least in the SEC and tied for 15th in the nation. He is ranked 22nd among all offensive tackles by Pro Football Focus (PFF) with a grade of 80.7. Etienne ended the regular season with a career-high 129 rushing yards at Florida State on Nov. 25. The Jennings, Louisiana product has recorded 704 rushing yards this season, and is the fourth true freshman running back to surpass 700 rushing yards in Florida history, joining Emmitt Smith, Tony Green, and Fred Taylor. He leads all true freshman running backs who have at least 100 carries in yards per carry at 6.4. The Gators have rushed for 213.7 yards per game, the 16th most in the country. Shemar James has played 322 snaps this season for Florida. James played in all 12 games for Florida this season, making three starts. His 40 tackles on the season are the second-most among SEC true freshmen linebackers and the sixth-most on the Gators. The Mobile, Alabama native is also tied for second in sacks and forced fumbles among SEC true freshmen. James posted a career-high eight tackles against Eastern Washington, while recovering a fumble against South Florida on the game's first possession. Florida will conclude its 2022 campaign Dec. 17 at the Las Vegas Bowl against No. 14 Oregon State. Barber, Etienne, James Earn College Football News Freshman All-American Honors - Florida Gators
This says a lot about Billy's recruiting and player development prowess. When was the last time the Gators had three freshmen AAs?
Great news and am planning to get used to much more. The recruiting under Billy Napier is going to be jaw dropping, and we are finally on our way to the brightest of futures not seen in over 15 years. The Dark Ages are OVER!
Irritating that they didn't link to the whole team announcement because I was curious who beat out Etienne. It was Judkins from Ole Miss and Reese out of Baylor FYI.
For sure, plus OCyrus and Johnson are BN guys. As a FYI though, Barber is a RS Freshman...recruited by The Other Guy, but developed by the current staff. What a gem Barber has been!
Billy talked a lot about “their” evaluations in the PC. I’m hoping their eye for talent continues and 90% of our signees are around by their junior year. Attrition is inevitable, but if we can keep most of our recruiting classes intact and contrinuting at a high level good things lie ahead.
From Growl’s linked article on Etienne: The Jennings, Louisiana product has recorded 704 rushing yards this season, and is the fourth true freshman running back to surpass 700 rushing yards in Florida history, joining Emmitt Smith, Tony Green, and Fred Taylor. Damn, that’s some seriously good company!
As we are so close to Christmas I really don't want to pour hot water on your igloo. But success on the field is about 70% coaching/scheme and 30% recruiting IMHO. Just look at Notre Dame for a history of details. Or closer to home...see Ron Zook. And we're not going to out-recruit Saban, Smart, O'Brien and many others anyway. Right now we have the makings of a Big 12 team...we give up as much as we score. Until Sunbelt Billy out-schemes and out-coaches the other SEC coaches we're toast. And the odds don't look good in that happening.
Jury's still out on that Player, next year will provide a clearer picture. I'm hoping for success for coach.
