Gators get very little respect in Lindy's preseason magazine

Center Jake Slaughter (66) is the only Gator to make first team All-SEC at Lindy's (Photo by Chris Spears)

“I don’t get no respect. I called Suicide Prevention. They tried to talk me into it.” – Rodney Dangerfield

Right up to the very end, Todd Golden did a dandy impersonation of Rodney Dangerfield. He played the no respect card until he couldn’t play it anymore. It’s hard to claim you get no respect when you’ve won the NCAA basketball championship.

Throughout the 2024-25 season, Golden made sure the chip he placed on the Gators’ shoulder stayed there and got bigger as the season wore on. When the Gators reached the Final Four in San Antonio, the talk was all about Duke and Cooper Flagg, not about Florida and Walter Clayton Jr., winners of 10 straight games including heart attack come from behind finishes to take out UConn and Texas Tech. Duke and Flagg never made the championship game. Florida beat No. 1 seed Auburn and Houston to win the national championship. Walter Clayton Jr. proved in San Antonio that he, not Cooper Flagg, was the best player in the country, and Florida won the national championship that Dickie V had reserved for Duke.

Billy Napier should have some conversations with Golden about how to put a chip on the shoulder of the Florida football team and keep it there throughout the season. As evidenced by the Lindy’s Sports college football preseason magazine, there is very little in the way of respect for the Gators. Lindy’s ranks the Gators No. 15 in their preseason top 25 and only three Gators receive any All-SEC mention – first team center Jake Slaughter and place kicker Trey Smack and D-lineman Caleb Banks, both of whom earned third team mention. Slaughter was also named first team All-America. He was the first team All-America center last year even though the SEC coaches failed to name him to either their first, second or third team all-league selections.

Lindy’s ranks Florida No. 7 in the Southeastern Conference even though the magazine says quarterback DJ Lagway “is an expected superstar.” Bad news, Lindy’s says, is edge rusher Jack Pyburn leaving in the portal for LSU. Barring injury, Lagway will indeed be a superstar. Lindy’s doesn’t even list Pyburn as a starter for LSU’s defense.

In their national rankings of the top players at every position, Lagway is the No. 7 quarterback; Slaughter is the No. 1 center; and Smack is the No. 7 placekicker. That’s it.

Napier and his assistant coaches should be preaching disrespect every chance they get this summer. Golden did it and the Gators went from the No. 21 team in the preseason to national champions. Give a team an us against the world mentality and it’s absolutely amazing at what they can accomplish.

LINDY’S PRESEASON TOP 25: 1. Texas; 2. Penn State; 3. Ohio State; 4. Clemson; 5. LSU; 6. Notre Dame; 7. Oregon; 8. Alabama; 9. Georgia; 10. Miami; 11. SMU; 12. Oklahoma; 13. South Carolina; 14. Arizona State; 15. FLORIDA; 16. Michigan; 17. Illinois; 18. Texas Tech; 19. Ole Miss; 20. Kansas State; 21. BYU; 22. Iowa State; 23. Louisville; 24. Nebraska; 25. Baylor

LINDY’S SEC PRESEASON ORDER OF FINISH WITH MY COMMENTARY

1. Texas: The Longhorns are counting on Arch Manning to take the offense places Quinn Ewers couldn’t. The defense could be as good as last year. The Longhorns open at Ohio State, play at Florida October 4 and at Georgia November 15.

2. LSU: The Tigers couldn’t run the football last year even when they were supposed to have the best O-line in the country. They won’t run the ball this year and Garrett Nussmeier needs to have a feets don’t fail me now mentality. The defense won’t stop anyone. Brian Kelly couldn’t make the playoff when he had the best QB on the planet. He won’t make it this year because he’s too reliant on transfers. LSU is at Clemson game one, home against Florida game three. Overrated.

3. Alabama: The Crimson Tide has potentially its greatest wide receiver ever in Ryan Williams. Can Ty Simpson get the ball to him? Can Simpson make up for the lost rushing yards of Jalen Milroe? The defense was torched by Vandy for 40 points. Bama is at Georgia September 27 and home against LSU November 8. If the Tide can’t win 10 games Kalen DeBoer might get run out of Tuscaloosa.

4. Georgia: Only one starter returns on the O-line and three on defense. The QB will be Gunner Stockton. Georgia averaged only 124 yards per game running the ball last year.  The defense didn’t dominate a year ago. In Georgia’s favor is a schedule that has both Alabama and Texas coming to Athens. The Bulldogs will lose three in the regular season.

5. Oklahoma: Get ready for Washington State transfer John Mateer. If the Sooners can protect him he is going to light up nearly every defense he sees. Brent Venables is going to call the defense which should mean improvement. The schedule is brutal with Michigan, Auburn, Texas, South Carolina, Alabama and LSU.

6. South Carolina: The Gamecocks won their last six regular season games behind LaNorris Sellers. The offensive line was gutted and so was the defense. Finishing in the top 15 teams nationally is overly optimistic. The back end of the schedule includes Oklahoma, Alabama, Ole Miss, Texas A&M and Clemson.

7. FLORIDA: The Gators might be better offensively than they were in Kyle Trask’s senior season. The O-line is as good as there is in the country, the running backs are explosive and Lagway has some studs to throw to. If the defense is as good as it was in the last four games, the Gators will challenge for the SEC. The stretch of at LSU, at Miami and home against Texas will tell us if the Gators are contenders or pretenders.

8. Ole Miss: Lane Kiffin is transfer-heavy once again, but that won’t stop the Rebels from winning nine football games. They will score plenty of points and the defense will be surprisingly good.

9. Auburn: Oklahoma transfer Jackson Arnold is a vast improvement over the QB play the last two years. The wide receivers are excellent. Auburn will have to be able to run the football if they are to navigate a schedule that includes road games at Oklahoma, Texas A&M, Georgia, Missouri and Alabama.

10. Missouri: Everybody underestimates Eli Drinkwitz who won 10 games a year ago. The defense is going to be very good. The question is at quarterback where Penn State transfer Beau Pribula has to prove he can get the job done against SEC defenses. South Carolina, Alabama and Texas A&M are at home.

11. Tennessee: No. 11? Oh please. No. 14 I can understand.

12. Texas A&M: The Aggies will be better than No. 12. The O-line has four returning starters and the Aggies will be able to run the ball. The pass defense has to improve and the Aggies have to generate some pass rush. Game three at Notre Dame will go a long way toward telling us how good the Aggies will be.

13. Arkansas: The Hogs are going to have to outscore people because the defense will stink. Again. Everybody loves Sam Pittman, but he has to win at least eight games to be gainfully employed next year. Notre Dame shows up in Fayette Nam on September 27.

14. Vanderbilt: The Commodores won seven games last year including a win over Alabama. Diego Pavia is back for a sixth season of eligibility. He will have to be better than last year for Vandy to win seven again. The Dores play at Alabama and at Texas.

15. Kentucky: The QB will be Zack Calzada, who started at Texas A&M, moved to Auburn and then transferred to Incarnate Word. The Wildcats couldn’t stop anyone running the ball last year. They won’t be able to do it again. Mark Stoops is going to feel the heat.

16. Mississippi State: Another long, long season at Moo U.