Florida's road back to relevance begins Saturday against The U

Center Jake Slaughter is a huge reason Florida's offensive line will be vastly improved (Photo by Chris Spears)

It wasn’t supposed to be this way. Once Charley Pell got the boosters organized and Steve Spurrier awakened what Bear Bryant labeled “the sleeping giant,” Florida football wasn’t supposed to backslide into irrelevance. But that’s where the Gators find themselves on the eve of their 2024 season opener with 19th-ranked Miami Saturday afternoon (3:30 p.m., ABC).

Irrelevant. Harsh word for sure but if you’re honest, your head shakes in agreement. What else can you call a football program that routinely challenged for SEC and national championships but since 2011 has lost four times to Kentucky and twice to Vanderbilt? What else can you call a program that has more losing seasons since 2011 (5) than 10-win seasons (4)? What else can you call a program that went 33 years without a losing record that has now posted three consecutive losing seasons? What else can you call a football program that used to send as many players as anyone in the country to the NFL but dipped to one draftee back in April?  

What else can you call a program that since 2011 has fired three head coaches and who the national media claims is poised to make it four who have fat bank accounts thanks to generous buyouts?

Irrelevant is the word that comes to mind and irrelevant is what the Florida Gators are right now. It did not have to be this way, but that’s what happens when the people at the top of the athletic department fall asleep at the wheel when it comes to necessary facilities upgrades. It is what happens when you try replacing a head coaching legend who went 65-15 in six years with two national championships and three 13-1 seasons with a head coaching novice, then you compound matters by hiring another replacement coach who can’t find it in the family budget to get his yellow teeth whitened even though he’s making more than $4 million a year.

It doesn’t have to be this way forever. In fact, it doesn’t have to be this way even one more season.      

Billy Napier, coach No. 4 since Urban Meyer coached his last game at the January 1, 2011 Outback Bowl, works from upgraded facilities that rival those of any top ten team in the country. Facilities were so bad during Will Muschamp’s four years on the job that he feared star players might suffer catastrophic, season-ending injuries on pothole-scarred practice fields. Things were so bad that Jim McElwain had to throw a hissy fit when a 70-yard indoor practice facility was proposed, then once construction was under way on a 100-yard building there were cost overruns because some genius forgot to add end zones and bathrooms into the plans.

Napier was hired when Dan Mullen was forced to squeeze by with 12 million buyout bucks in his account. The roster Napier inherited was nowhere near top tier in the SEC because Mullen essentially abdicated when it came to restocking his roster with quality recruits. He never quite got it through his head that the same kind of players you can win 7-8 games a year for a rewarding bowl week in Shreveport aren’t the kind of players you can stay relevant with at a school like Florida where expectations are to be in the SEC and national championship pictures.

Only 12 players remain from the roster Napier inherited from Dan Mullen. Some ran out of eligibility. Some went pro. Others got the hint that it would be in their best interests if they did a dial-a-team search for a new locker room where they can hang their hats.

Solid recruiting and judicious use of the transfer portal have allowed Napier to find replacements capable of competing with and winning against the top tier programs in the Southeastern Conference. The team he will send out on the field against Miami Saturday is easily the deepest and most talented he’s had at Florida. No longer will the Gators look like big kids when standing next to Georgia’s grown men.

As important as anything Napier has done, he has rebuilt the football culture from the ground up. At Clemson and Alabama Napier learned the value of a distinct football culture where everyone in the building is focused on doing whatever is necessary to winning championships. There is a way of doing things in championship programs where players who can’t conform to the high standards are told don’t let the door hit you in the butt on the way out of the building.

From 1990-2010 Florida was THE championship level program that everyone in the country tried to emulate. During Spurrier’s 12 years on the job and Meyer’s six during that span, the Gators won three national championships, eight Southeastern Conference championships and 11 East Division championships. In the 13 years since, the Gators have won the SEC East outright three times and tied for the division once but they have yet to win the league championship.

The Spurrier and Meyer teams had what Gator fans call swagger, but what opponents called arrogance. Because the Gators were dominant and the winningest team in the entire country they were the single most hated team in the Southeastern Conference.  

Hated but envied. By everyone, and it was truly righteous.

Napier believes a revival of those days when Florida football routinely factored in the SEC and national championship races is entirely possible. Even with the nation’s toughest schedule, he believes the return to relevance can and will begin this year and it starts with Miami.

Here are seven reasons to believe Florida starts shucking the irrelevant label Saturday:  

The Gators will have a healthy Montrell Johnson Jr. ready to go against The U (Photo by Chris Spears)

1. Graham Mertz has weapons to work with: When you read SEC quarterback rankings, the knock on Graham Mertz is he didn’t throw downfield enough and wasn’t all that accurate when he did take downfield shots last year. This is one area where the metrics mislead. Mertz had only one downfield receiver last year – Ricky Pearsall – until late in the season when Tre Wilson had the offense down pat. This year the Gators can go vertical with three or more receivers every single play. Wilson will prove to be a superstar, but he’s got company that can flat out fly such as Elijhah Badger, Tank Hawkins and Aidan Mizell. Montrell Johnson Jr. is healthy enough to play and the backups in the running backs room are exceptional. Tight end Arlis Boardingham can be an impossible matchup in the middle of the field. Against The U, Mertz will spread the ball around, keeping Miami off balance from the get go.

2. The offensive line is vastly improved from the 2023 season: The Gators gave up only 13 sacks while averaging more than 200 rushing yards a game during the 2022 regular season. A year ago, the Gators gave up 39 sacks and fewer than 150 yards rushing. With the exception of All-American O’Cyrus Torrence, Florida’s 2024 offensive line is better at every position than that of 2022. That means vastly fewer sacks and a return to a running game that produced 200 yards per game. From all accounts, left tackle Austin Barber and center Jake Slaughter have improved so much both will be candidates for All-SEC by the end of the season. Give Mertz time to throw and holes for Montrell and it will be very difficult for the Miami defense to get off the field.

3. A defensive line that won’t get pushed around: It starts in the middle with Desmond Watson, who shed more than 50 pounds of fat and replaced it with more than 40 pounds of pure muscle. At 6-5, 449 pounds, Watson has the ability to cover the gap on either side of the center effectively. If he can give the Gators 25-30 defensive snaps a game on the nose, it will make running on the Gators seriously difficult. If he can give some push that collapses the middle, then it will make it extremely hard for opponents to give help to their tackles on passing downs when edge rushers have their ears pinned back. Caleb Banks, Cam Jackson and Joey Slackman will be formidable. Against Miami, the D-line will have to clog the running lanes for Damien Martinez. Stuff him and the Miami offense becomes one dimensional.

4. Safeties that will put the fear of God into opposing wide receivers: Remember the name Asa Turner. Think of him the same way you think of Major Wright, Lawrence Wright and Louis Oliver. In other words, opposing receivers are going to be seeing the world through their helmet earholes. The safety rotation that includes Turner, Jordan Castell and DJ Douglas are going to make the middle of the field a no fly zone. Miami’s receivers averaged only 11.85 yards per catch a year ago. Hit them hard and they’ll average less than that against the Gators.

5. Turnovers avoided and forced: The Gators finished tied for last nationally in turnovers gained (7) a year ago – three interceptions, four fumbles. The lack of turnovers combined with only 22 sacks have everything to do with why Napier revamped his defensive coaching staff. Ron Roberts’ Auburn defense forced 18 turnovers a year ago and registered 31 sacks, both numbers big improvement over the previous DC in 2022. In his first spring in Gainesville there was great emphasis on forcing turnovers in the spring and in August. If the Gators force two or more turnovers against Miami, they will win.

6. Crowd noise that will render Cam Ward’s helmet microphone useless: In the past two seasons at Washington State, quarterback Cam Ward was sacked a combined 84 times. He never had to play in an environment anywhere near as loud or rowdy as The Swamp is going to be. Sure, he will have a microphone in his helmet, but as we saw in the FSU game in Dublin, a crowd half the size of what will be in The Swamp Saturday rendered the microphones useless. There will be more than 90,000 in The Swamp Saturday. Ward has played in only two games his entire career with at least 74,000 in the stands. Florida’s crowd will be loud, intimidating and make communicating impossible for the Hurricanes.

7.  When in doubt, blitz some more: While dealing with the crowd noise, Ward will have to deal with Roberts’ creeper defense, which Sam Darnold once said has quarterbacks seeing ghosts. Ward is going to be wishing someone on The U sideline had the 800 number for Ghostbusters. Florida will bring Cam Ward down at least four times and make him hurry another six.

What will happen: Close for a half, but then Florida’s running game begins to grind down the Miami defense which will then open up the passing game. The Gators will score 10 fourth quarter points to put the game away. Defensively, Cam Ward will be rendered dazed and confused by the creeper.

The Sayer says sooth!: Florida 30, Miami 17