Conspiracy theory? Nope. Protecting the franchise? Yes.

DJ Lagway is being shut down for the spring (Photo by Chris Spears)

I have this friend that I’ve known since we were in Mrs. Cruikshanks’ seventh grade science class at Westwood Junior High School. During lunch time when so many of us were out on the basketball court throwing up one SCUD after another, he was sitting in a shady place reading Fate Magazine.

He was fascinated by tales of Area 51 and other stories about UFOs. His favorite movie was “The Day the Earth Stood Still.” Favorite TV show “Twilight Zone.”  He was convinced there were aliens among us and that our government was afraid to tell us the truth, otherwise there would be widespread panic.

He was big into conspiracy theories even then. When President John F. Kennedy was assassinated, my friend told whoever would listen that this was an inside job, that Lee Harvey Oswald was nothing more than the fall guy.

Sixty years later, nothing much has changed. He still believes the government isn’t telling us about Area 51, still convinced that aliens live among us and no one will ever convince him that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone. The conspiracies have expanded into the political realm and surprisingly into sports.

You will never convince him that the outcome of every NFL game isn’t pre-determined. He firmly believes that it’s only a matter of time before it’s true for every college football game.

“The gamblers control the game,” he last told me about a week ago. “They’ve got their hooks into everyone. Do you think they’re going to risk losing billions of dollars every weekend during the fall? Not on your life. This bit about players getting NIL money? That’s a joke. That’s the gamblers giving them money so they can rig the games. You think I’m kidding, don’t you? Well, they’re starting to open up about Area 51 and Roswell. They’re talking about UFOs and aliens living among us. They’ve about decided that the Mayan calendar had to come from aliens and a lot of really smart people think the pyramids were blueprinted by aliens who helped move all those big stones and make them fit perfectly. So don’t tell me I’m wrong about gamblers controlling the game.”

Whatever, I told him.

Thursday afternoon, just prior to divulging his latest conspiracy theory, he sent me this list of walking wounded who will either miss spring football practice at the University of Florida completely or participate in a very limited way:

QB DJ Lagway (shoulder/lower body)

* QB Paul Kessler (lower body)

RB Treyaun Webb (fractured tibia)

RB Chad Gasper Jr. (knee)

WR Eugene Wilson III (hip)

WR Kahleil Jackson (knee)

DL Caleb Banks (foot)

DL Jamari Lyons (ankle)

DL Stephon Shivers (lower back)

LB Grayson Howard (ankle)

DB Sharif Denson (foot)

DB Aaron Gates (knee)

DB Jameer Grimsley (knee)

DB Dijon Johnson (shoulder)

DB Bryce Thornton (ankle)

* DB Cahron Rackley (hip)

* Non-scholarship

I had seen the same list. He knows I write about the Gators. I simply replied, “And you’re sending me this because … ?”

He adamantly answered, “It’s because they want to do away with the spring game completely.”

I asked why and added that the spring game is actually a big deal for a lot of boosters and it’s a chance for the University of Florida to open the gates of the stadium for kids and others who will never be able to afford the cost of tickets and concessions at The Swamp. Gone are the days, I told him, when you could get a ticket, a program, a drink and a hot dog without taking out a second mortgage on your home.

That made me smile. I remember the Saturday night in October of 1963 at Florida Field. Steve Spurrier’s freshman debut. They say 12,000 people showed up. I showed up to sell Cokes. Sarge Squires almost hugged me. I was one of his regulars selling Cokes on Saturdays for the real games. Next thing I new, I had a tray of Cokes, a box of hot dogs on one hip, a box with ice cream sandwiches on the other. I made enough money that evening that I went to Jimmy Hughes Sporting Goods and bought a new pair of cleats that I wore the rest of the season playing for Mr. Dulaney. I played left tackle. We ran single wing and won the county championship.

My friend would have nothing of it.

“Do you think they really care about that?” he asked me. “They don’t. And they don’t want anyone to get any clue about football practice. Would you like to know why?”

Before I could answer, he continued.

“It’s because Billy Napier has the people he needs to win now and he is going to shut down spring practice best he can. He’s got all these receivers who can flat out fly. He’s got Jadan Baugh and Ja’Kobi (Jackson) and K.D. (Daniels) to run it.

“Most of all he’s got DJ (Lagway) who throws the best pass we’ve seen since Eric Kresser. I remember Kresser. Same year Danny and the Gators beat the Semis for the national championship, Kresser won Dee One Double A at Marshall. Two Gator QBs, two national championships. We’re gonna win one with DJ too. Billy isn’t going to show anyone anything this spring.”

So, what are you telling me? That Billy Napier is sandbagging this spring?

“That’s exactly what I’m telling you,” he said. “Billy’s got all these stud wide receivers. He’s got great running backs. He’s got the most veterans he’s ever had on his offensive line. Ron Roberts is picking up where he left off at the end of last year with the defense. New schemes. New ideas. New energy. DJ Lagway. Connect the dots, man! Connect the dots!”

Why, I ask, if there are new offensive and defensive schemes is Billy Napier sandbagging? New plays, new alignments, new schemes require repetitions and those 15 practices are invaluable, not to mention the fact that the spring game is good for recruiting.

He laughed. Then he stole a line from my favorite movie of all time, “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.”

“You keep thinking, Franz, that’s what you’re good at,” he said, adding, “Look at the schools like Nebraska that are cancelling their spring games. They say it’s injuries or they aren’t holding auditions for enemy schools to come poach their players, but really, it’s about practice in private. Before you know it, probably in a couple of years, they’ll cancel spring games, then a couple of years later they’ll cancel spring practice altogether. It’s going to be a thing of the past. The NFL model is the future. They don’t have spring football practice in the NFL, do they? They’ll give the kids spring off, then they’ll make rules that practices can be held during the summer.”

He might be right about the NFL model as the future of college football, but I’m not convinced Billy Napier is sandbagging because he doesn’t want anyone to get a good look at how he’s lining up his personnel on both sides of the football or changes to the offensive and defensive schemes. I don’t think Billy would mind if Ron Roberts changes the defense up a bit, particularly if it means an extra possession or two for the Gators in the fall.  I also don’t think Billy has given a nanosecond’s worth of thought to changing the way he schemes up the UF offense.

So I’m not buying into any conspiracy theory regarding injuries although I’m not so sure DJ Lagway is necessarily hurt all that bad. The kid is the franchise and potentially a Heisman Trophy winner before he leaves the University of Florida for the NFL. A few more reps in the spring won’t change anything. Why take the risk?