Photo credit: UAA
A new football season is upon us, and there is no team outside the top 25 that has received more attention in 2024 than the Florida Gators. Unfortunately, this has mostly been for undesirable reasons.
Head coach Billy Napier enters his third year in Gainesville, Florida, after two straight losing seasons and a 6-10 record in the SEC. Including the final year of the Dan Mullen era, the Gators have posted three consecutive seasons below .500 for the first time since 1945-47.
Florida will try to buck that trend starting Saturday … while facing the toughest schedule in the country and arguably the most difficult single season in college football history. (Only the Gators will address that topic in more detail later this week.) And they’ll do so while welcoming a completely new coaching staff, two true five-star recruits and a hungry fan base seeking respect and maybe even a title in the first year of the 12-team College Football Playoff.
In other words, there’s a lot at stake when Florida hosts rival Miami at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. But before the Gators can kick off, they’ve spent the offseason making drastic improvements to a team that has desperately needed them of late.
Let’s take a look at what happened during summer training and fall camp.
The block Seat is hot
Yes, Napier is on the hot seat. In fact, you could argue that more than 90% of all FBS coaches are on the hot seat at the start of a season, but Napier’s coach is one of the hottest. There were numerous extenuating circumstances for this – from Napier’s play-calling to his staff hires to his initial opinion of the transfer portal and the bad luck Florida has had on the field – but the bottom line is undeniable: UF’s coach needs to start winning while showing significant improvement.
There is no set number of wins or a list of opponents that must be beaten to secure Napier’s job. Given the difficult schedule and several other elements, it’s possible the Gators could be significantly better without a significantly higher win total. Athletic director Scott Stricklin, who has somehow held onto his job despite numerous failures over the years, is closely tied to Napier’s performance; he will not get the opportunity to hire a third football coach.
“Every year you have a number of problems, whether you lack momentum or you have it, whether you’ve had a great offseason and had a fantastic year or you’ve had problems and haven’t quite performed as well as you’d like. Every team is its own entity,” Napier explained last month.
“You have to be objective in your decisions. With leadership comes difficult decisions, right? Every good story has challenges. We are in the midst of that right now and I am confident that the things we have done to bring about change will help us perform better. I am a firm believer that sometimes you have to go through difficulties. We have done that and I am confident that it will be rewarded when we actually achieve significant things.”
It was Napier’s duty to block out all that noise as he prepared for a crucial season in Florida, a job and an opportunity he accepted after turning down so many other high-profile opportunities to stay in Louisiana.
“One thing about this game, just the big picture, from a perspective, this game – like most careers – is conditional,” he explained. “I’m a person of faith and there’s an unconditional element to life too. It gives you a certain perspective.”
Napier said Week 1 against Miami is a chance for the much-maligned Florida team to tell its story. He sees it as a starting point for the next phase of his career: “I’ve been here 20 (years) and I hope to play a few more rounds.”
Forming a union
Napier has emphasized team chemistry since the day he started wearing orange and blue (that’s black with the Gators logo). He believes his 2024 squad is stronger than any he’s coached at this university – not only because Napier has had all of his players in the system for three years, but also because of a concerted effort to build an agreement between players and coaches during the offseason program.
Florida’s players camped together – in unusual pairs of rooms – in Tolbert Hall on Stadium Road rather than staying in their apartments during summer training. Napier believed this created an old-fashioned training camp atmosphere that would also lead to a greater appreciation of the players when they returned to their luxurious quarters.
Phones are banned in training rooms and recreation centers so players interact with each other more often. They were told to keep the locker rooms sparkling clean to convey responsibility and gratitude while countering a sense of entitlement. Players even had a hand in assembling the roster, Napier said, as the coaching staff asked them about potential transfer portal additions after visits to campus.
He believes that these efforts, combined with improved play on the field and coaching on the sidelines, will make the difference that has existed recently between the top teams and the Gators: “We know where the gap is and what we need to do to close it.”
New faces everywhere
Anyone watching Florida football games this season may be scratching their heads. Hopefully it’s not because of the play on the field, but because of the different faces you’ll see in jerseys and polos on Saturdays. Of course, Only Gators has been reporting on all of these new additions, but allow us to give you a refresher:
trainer
- Ron Roberts – Executive Head Defense Coach, Co-Defensive Coordinator: A veteran defensive leader who spent two years as coordinator under Napier at Louisiana (2018-19), he moved to Baylor from 2020-22 before serving in the same capacity at Auburn last season. Roberts now oversees defensive coordinator Austin Armstrong — who has been alive as a football coach longer than the 30-year-old — as the architect of the Napier-led defense. Roberts filled a vacancy on the staff when linebackers coach Jay Bateman left for Texas A&M.
- Will Harris – Assistant Coach: Napier was waiting for Harris’ availability, as he was the Los Angeles Chargers’ assistant secondary coach in 2022 after serving as defensive coordinator at Georgia Southern. He had spent the previous four seasons as defensive backs coach in Washington. The former USC star, who has a professional relationship with Snoop Dogg, had brief stints in the NFL and CFL before moving into coaching. Harris replaces former secondary coach Corey Raymond, the most notable assistant hired as part of Napier’s first coaching staff.
- Gerald Chatman – Defensive Line Coach: Chatman previously held the same position at Tulane and was a defensive assistant with the Cincinnati Bengals from 2019-2020 before becoming a defensive analyst at LSU in 2021. He then joined Colorado as a defensive line coach (ultimately interim defensive coordinator) before serving as interim defensive line coach at LSU, only to accept a previously agreed-upon job at Tulane. Chatman replaces former DL coach Sean Spencer, who was hired at Texas A&M.
- Joe Houston – Lead Special Teams Analyst: Napier breathed new life into the beleaguered special teams unit by bringing in the New England Patriots’ third assistant in another off-field role, while “GameChanger” coordinator Chris Couch remained with the team. At one point, Houston was slated to become Nick Saban’s on-field special teams coach at Alabama before the 2020 season, but instead took the job under Bill Belichick. The Gators continue to be an enigma, as they are one of the few teams nationwide that doesn’t have an on-field special teams coach on game days, though NCAA rule changes allowed Houston and Couch to work with players during practices.
Transfer players
- LB Grayson Howard (South Carolina): He is expected to start alongside Shemar James.
- DB Asa Turner (Washington): He is expected to start alongside Jordan Castell.
- WR Chimere Dike (Wisconsin): Because he knows quarterback Graham Mertz and has experience on the field, Dike will likely see a lot of action and possibly earn a spot in the starting lineup.
- OT Brandon Crenshaw-Dickson (San Diego State): He is expected to start at right tackle, but there is significant competition for that job.
- DL Joey Slackman (UPenn): Potential starter or frequently used defensive tackle. Highly praised by Napier for his character and ability to impact the game.
- CB Cormani McClain (Colorado): McClain, a former five-star prospect who spurned Florida for Miami only to sign with CU as a recruit, had a difficult experience with the Buffaloes and joined the Gators without a scholarship. He will look to earn opportunities as the season progresses.
- Offensive backups: WR Elijah Badger (Arizona State), OL Jason Zandamela (USC), QB Clay Millen (Colorado State), OT Devon Manuel (Arkansas), TE Caleb Rillos (Air Force)
- Defensive backups: EDGE George Gumbs Jr. (Northern Illinois), CB Jamar Grimsley (Alabama), CB Trikweze Bridges (Oregon), DB DJ Douglas (Tulane), DB Alfonzo Allen (Baylor)
Newbies
- Five-star QB DJ Lagway: Lagway, the nation’s third-best player, will serve as Mertz’s backup. He is expected to have a similar game package to Tim Tebow alongside Chris Leak. He is UF’s highest-rated recruit at his position since 2011.
- Five-star DL LJ McCray: McCray is the nation’s No. 4 player and is expected to carve out an active role as the season progresses due to his immense talent. He is UF’s highest-rated recruit at his position since 2010.
- Other notable new additions: Four-star LB Aaron Chiles, four-star LB Myles Graham, four-star WR Tank Hawkins, four-star TE Amir Jackson
- Other signatories: Four-star OT Fletcher Westphal, four-star RB KD Daniels, four-star DB Gregory Smith III, four-star WR TJ Abrams, three-star RB Jadan Baugh, three-star DB Josiah Davis, three-star OT Mike Williams, three-star DL D’Antre Robinson, three-star DL Brien Taylor Jr., three-star CB Teddy Foster, three-star DL Michai Boireau, three-star OT Marcus Mascoll, three-star OL Noel Portnjagin (Germany), three-star OL Enoch Wangoy
