FLORIDA GATORS FOOTBALL: Napier Announcement

A few thoughts to jump start your Wednesday morning:

Billy Napier - Photo Credit Chris Spears

Billy Napier was scheduled hold his first press conference since the December 20 early signing period early today, expected to focus on the players Florida signed in the transfer portal, the new coaches added to the staff and questions about the roster with just a few weeks remaining before spring football practice begins.

This is a critical spring in Napier’s plan to rebuild the Florida program to a championship level. The Gators have suffered three consecutive losing seasons (two under Napier), the first time that has happened since the 1940s. With a 2024 schedule that most experts consider the toughest in the nation, the preseason magazines that hit the news racks around Memorial Day are likely to peg UF for a fourth straight losing season.

While Napier hasn’t taken a wholesale approach to restocking his roster via the transfer portal, he has added experience at every level. Napier added 11 via the portal for 2024, 12 for 2023 and six for 2022. Of the 29 transfers, one was drafted in the first round (O’Cyrus Torrence), three have used up their eligibility (Ricky Pearsall, Lyndell Hudson, Teradja Mitchell), one has retired from football (Jack Miller III), and three have transferred out of the program (Jalen Kimber, Kiyaunta Goodwin, Micah Mazzccua).

When the two-deep is released either pre-spring or perhaps after the Orange and Blue Game, there could be as many as 14 players on the first unit whose collegiate careers began somewhere other than Florida.

Florida scholarship roster: February 7, 2024

Offense

Quarterbacks (3): Graham Mertz (6-3, 215, RSR); Clay Millen (6-3, 210, SO); DJ Lagway (6-3, 230, FR)

Running backs (6): Montrell Johnson Jr. (5-11, 215, SR); Cameron Carroll (6-0, 230, RSR); Ja’Kobi Jackson (5-11, 220, RJR); Treyaun Webb (5-11, 210, SO); Kahnen Daniels (5-11, 190, FR); Jaden Baugh (6-1, 225, FR)

Wide receivers (9): Chimere Dike (6-1, 200, SR); Ja’Quavion Fraziars (6-4, 215, SR); Marcus Burke (6-4, 200, RJR); Kahliel Jackson (6-3, 210, RJR); Tre Wilson (5-10, 170, SO); Andy Jean (6-1, 190, RFR); Aidan Mizell (6-2, 170, RFR); Jerrae Hawkins (5-9, 170, FR); Tawaski Abrams (5-11, 175, FR)

Tight ends (6): Keon Zipperer (6-1, 240, GR); Arlis Boardingham (6-3, 240, RSO); Hayden Hansen (6-6, 265, RSO); Tony Livingston (6-5, 250, SO); Gavin Hill (6-3, 255, RFR); Amir Jackson (6-4, 223, FR)

O-linemen (16):  Brandon Crenshaw-Dickson (6-7, 310, SR); Austin Barber (6-6, 300, RJR); Jake Slaughter (6-5, 300, RSO); Damieon George (6-6, 350, RJR); Kamryn Waites (6-8, 365, RJR); Riley Simonds (6-3, 305, RSR); Devon Manuel (6-9, 310, RJR); Christian Williams (6-4, 310, RSO); Knijeah Harris (6-3, 315, SO); Roderick Kearney (6-4, 285, RFR); Bryce Lovett (6-5, 335, RFR); Caden Jones (6-8, 350, RFR); Fletcher Westphal (6-8, 335, FR); Mike Williams (6-7, 310, FR); Marcus Mascoll (6-5, 295, FR), Noel Portnjagin (6-5, 335, FR)

Defense

D-linemen (11): Joey Slackman (6-4, 300, GR); CamRon Jackson (6-6, 360, SR); Desmond Watson (6-5, 435, SR); Justus Boone (6-4, 265, RJR); Brien Taylor (6-6, 270,  JR); Caleb Banks (6-6, 320, RSO); Jamari Lyons (6-4, 305, RSO); Kamran James (6-6, 270, SO); LJ McCray (6-6, 260, FR); Michai Boireau (6-5, 390, FR); D’Antre Robinson (6-4, 320, FR)

Linebackers/EDGE (15): Derek Wingo (6-1, 235, SR); Shemar James (6-1, 230, JR); Mannie Nunnery (6-1, 225, RSR); Ja’Markis Weston (6-3, 230, RJR);  Tyreak Sapp (6-3, 275, RJR); Jack Pyburn (6-3, 250, JR); Quincy Ivory (6-3, 260, JR); George Gumbs (6-4, 242, JR); TJ Searcy (6-5, 245, SO); Kelby Collins (6-4, 270, SO); Deuce Spurlock II (6-0, 225, RSO); Jalen Robinson (6-0, 230, SO); Grayson Howard (6-4, 241, SO); Myles Graham (6-1, 212, FR); Aaron Chiles (6-3, 220, FR)

Corners (8): Jason Marshall (6-1, 200, SR); Devin Moore (6-3, 200, JR); Ethan Pouncey (6-1, 170, RJR); Ja’Keem Jackson (6-1, 185, SO); Sharif Denson (5-11, 180, SO); Dijon Johnson (6-1, 200, SO); Teddy Foster (6-2, 170, FR); Jameer Grimsley (6-2, 185, FR)

Safeties (9): Asa Turner (6-3, 200, RSR); RJ Moten (6-0, 220, SR); Trikweze Bridges (6-3, 198, SR); DJ Douglas (6-0, 205, SR); Bryce Thornton (5-10, 205, SO); Jordan Castell (6-2, 220, SO); Aaron Gates (6-0, 200, RFR); Josiah Davis (6-1, 185, FR); Gregory Smith (6-4, 200, FR)

Special teams

Placekicker (1): Trey Smack (6-1, 200, SO)

Punter (1): Jeremy Crawshaw (6-4, 200, JR)

Long snapper (1): Rocco Underwood (6-3, 225, RSO)

GATORS IN THE PORTAL

New faces in new places (17): TE Andrew Savaiianea (6-3, 270, RFR) to Nevada; OL Jalen Farmer (6-5, 310, RFR) to Kentucky; EDGE Princely Umanmielen (6-5, 255, JR) to Ole Miss; RB Trevor Etienne (5-9, 217, SO) to Georgia; Miguel Mitchell (6-1, 215, SO) to Arkansas; S Jadarrius Perkins (6-2, 190, SR) to Toledo; CB Jalen Kimber (6-0, 185, RSR) to Penn State; OG Micah Mazzccua (6-5, 325, RJR) to Nebraska; Scooby Williams (6-2, 230, RSO) to Texas A&M; G Richie Leonard IV (6-2, 320, RJR) to Florida State; CB Jaydon Hill (6-0, 195, JR) to Texas A&M; OT Jordan Herman (6-8, 375, RSO) to Charlotte; WR Caleb Douglas (6-3, 200, SO) to Texas Tech; QB Max Brown (6-2, 220, RFR) to Charlotte; S Kamari Wilson (6-0, 205, SO) to Arizona State; Chris McClellan (6-3, 320, SO) to Missouri; TE Jonathan Odom (6-5, 250, RJR) to Eastern Michigan

Homeless (4): DL Will Norman (6-4, 300, RFR); PK Adam Mihalek (6-2, 200, SO); WR Thai Chiaokhaio-Bowman (6-0, 200, SO); DT Keenan Landry (6-1, 305, RJR)

UF BASEBALL: Caglianone first unanimous preseason All-American

Junior Jac Caglianone, who will divide his playing time between first base, designated hitter and weekend starting pitcher, was named first team All-America by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCWBA) Tuesday. Caglianone is the first unanimous preseason first team All-American by the publications that cover college baseball extensively. The NCBWA writers selected Caglianone as a utility player because of his versatility. Also named first team was righthanded pitcher Brandon Neely, last season’s closer but expected to be a weekend starter this year. Neely was named to preseason second team All-America by Perfect Game, D1Baseball and Baseball America.

Caglianone led the nation with 33 homers last year while driving in a school record 90 runs. He hit .323 and posted a 7-4 record with a 4.34 ERA on the mound as the Sunday starter. Neely, who appeared in 34 games, had a 3.58 ERA while saving 13 games in 14 save opportunities.

The Gators, who open their season February 16 with St. John’s at Condron Family Ballpark, will start the 2024 season No. 3 in the USA Today Coaches poll, their fourth top four preseason ranking. The Gators will begin at No. 2 in the D1Baseball preseason poll and No. 4 in both the Baseball America and Perfect Game polls.

USA Today Coaches preseason top 25: 1. Wake Forest; 2. LSU; 3. FLORIDA; 4. Arkansas; 5. TCU; 6. Vanderbilt; 7. Oregon State; 8. Tennessee; 9. Clemson; 10. Texas A&M; 11. Virginia; 12. East Carolina; 13. Texas; 14. Duke; 15. North Carolina; 16. North Carolina State; 17. Alabama; 18. (Tie) UC-Santa Barbara and Coastal Carolina; 20. Iowa; 21. South Carolina; 22. Texas Tech; 23. Stanford; 24. UCLA; 25. Northeastern

NCBWA preseason top 25: 1. Wake Forest; 2. LSU; 3. FLORIDA; 4. Arkansas; 5. Tennessee; 6. TCU; 7. Vanderbilt; 8. Oregon State; 9. Texas; 10. Texas A&M; 11. Virginia; 12. Clemson; 13. East Carolina; 14. Duke; 15. South Carolina; 16. North Carolina; 17. Stanford; 18. North Carolina State; 19. Coastal Carolina; 21. Iowa; 22. UCLA; 23. Alabama; 24. UC-Santa Barbara; 25. Auburn

SEC BASKETBALL

Tuesday’s scores: No. 15 South Carolina (20-3, 8-2 SEC) 68, Ole Miss (18-5, 5-5 SEC) 65; No. 17 Kentucky (16-6, 6-4 SEC) 109, Vanderbilt (6-16, 1-8 SEC) 77

Wednesday’s games: LSU (12-9, 4-4 SEC) at No. 6 Tennessee (16-5, 6-2 SEC); No. 16 Alabama (16-6, 8-1 SEC) at No. 12 Auburn (18-4, 7-2 SEC); Georgia (14-8, 4-5 SEC) at Mississippi State (14-8, 3-6 SEC); Texas A&M (13-8, 4-4 SEC) at Missouri (8-14, 0-9 SEC)

Bracketology: Jerry Palm of CBS Sports has Florida making the NCAA Tournament field as a No. 9 seed, facing Utah in the first round in a South Region game in Memphis. Palm’s brackets feature nine teams from the Southeastern Conference, which equals the Big 12. The Big Ten and Big East have five teams while the ACC has three. Also making Palm’s tournament field from the SEC are: Tennessee (2, South); Alabama (3, Midwest); South Carolina (3, West); Auburn (5. West); Kentucky (6. East); Ole Miss (8., West); Mississippi State (10., Midwest) and Texas A&M (12., play-in Midwest).

ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT: In a little publicized event on Monday, a National Labor Relations Board manager ruled the players at Dartmouth have the right to unionize. The ruling means Dartmouth players are now employees of the school with the right to collectively bargain for salaries and benefits. Dartmouth plans to appeal the ruling so it could take years to litigate if it goes all the way to the United States Supreme Court, but this ruling is just another major hit for the NCAA and its amateur model.

Also Monday, an East Tennessee Federal judge denied a temporary restraining order in an anti-trust suit filed by the attorneys general of Tennessee and Virginia that claims the NCAA’s NIL rules effectively deny athletes the ability to earn as much money as possible. The judge in Tennessee set a full hearing for June 13. The language of Judge Clifton Coker’s ruling Monday would indicate that he expects the lawsuit to succeed based on Federal anti-trust statutes that are already in place.

There are currently four anti-trust suits that have been filed against the NCAA and then there is House v. NCAA, a class action suit seeking $4.2 BILLION in back compensation for players seeking NIL money starting in 2016.

The importance of all these lawsuits cannot be understated because they are in the process of bringing down the entire foundation of collegiate athletics. The NCAA is like blood in shark-infested water, not expected to survive much longer. As badly as the NCAA needs to be eliminated altogether, it is important for the powers that be in the conferences and at the individual school level to begin moving as quickly as possible to have an organization in place that will be ready to take over the moment the NCAA draws its final breath. The worst thing that could possibly happen would be for the plug to be pulled on the NCAA without a prepared organization ready to seamlessly take over with new leaders who understand first and foremost that college sports are a multi-billion dollar business, fewer but enforceable rules in place and a plan to deal fairly yet harshly with cheaters.  

It is no longer a case of will the NCAA go belly up, just a matter of when.