The joyride continues, Billy Napier adds a pair of offensive tackles

Billy Napier is on a recruiting hot streak (Photo by Chris Spears)

Thinking out loud on a Tuesday morning

Brace yourselves! Some very confident people who know a lot more about recruiting than I ever will are whispering that the recent joy ride Billy Napier has been on isn’t anywhere near finished. They’re saying Billy’s just getting warmed up and more commitments are inevitable.  

Napier’s hot streak continued Monday with the commitment from offensive tackles Javarii Luckas (6-5, 305, Belle Glade, FL Glades Central) and Tyler Chukuyem (6-6, 290, Douglasville, GA South Paulding). These are the fourth and fifth commitments just since Friday.

Luckas, a cousin of Gator great Fred Taylor, is a 3-star recruit who chose the Gators over West Virginia, Miami, South Florida and Penn State.  Chukuyem is a 3-star recruit who chose the Gators over Ole Miss.

Jason Higdon, the best source for Florida football recruiting has these guys on his Red Zone list, which is players he thinks the Gators have a reasonable expectation to land: 5-star DE Trenton Henderson (6-4, 225, Pensacola, FL Catholic); 3-star CB CJ Hester (6-1, 185, Cocoa, FL);  4-star CB (Nebraska commit) CJ Bronaugh (6-1, 175, Winter Garden, FL Windermere); 4-star LB Malik Morris (6-1, 230, Lakeland, FL) and 4-star WR Somourian Wingo Jr. (6-3, 180, St. Augustine, FL).

Florida’s 11 commitments:  5-star WR Marquez Daniel (6-5, 200, Tuskeegee, AL Booker T. Washington); 4-star DE JaReylan McCoy (6-6, 250, Tupelo, MS); 4-star WR Justin Williams (5-11, 190, Gainesville, FL Buccholz); 4-star S Kaiden Hall (6-3, 200, Milton, FL); 4-star RB Carsyn Baker (6-1, 200, Fairburn, GA Langston Hughes); 4-star QB Will Griffin (6-3, 225, Tampa, FL Jesuit); 3-star OT Chancellor Campbell (6-8, 310, St. Petersburg, FL Lakewood); 3-star OG G’Nivre Carr (6-4, 325, Ocala, FL/Bradenton, FL IMG Academy); 3-star DL Jamir Perez (6-4, 330, Cleveland, OH Glenville); 3-star TE Kekua Aumua (6-6, 257, Kahuku, Hawaii/Bradenton, FL IMG Academy); 3-star OT Javarii Luckas (6-5, 305, Belle Glade, FL Glades Central)

A DOSE OF COMMON SENSE NEEDED

Next week the Football Bowl Subdivision Oversight Committee will discuss moving to a single transfer portal window from the current two. Currently, the portal opens in December and again in April. The American Football Coaches Association proposed a 10-day window from January 2-12, starting in 2026.

The January date will likely prevail when it comes to a vote because coaches prefer transfers to be in school in time for spring football. It isn’t ideal because the playoffs are still going on, so those teams would be at a disadvantage.

Here is a common sense solution. Open the transfer portal for the entire month of January. Spring football eliminated until a May 1-31 window. This would give players adequate time to take visits and coaches time to decide if a player is a good fit for the football culture and the academics. It would also give players time from January to May to get their academics in order without having to deal with spring practice. Kids who early enroll miss out on senior activities at their high school, so they could remain in school until May and then be at their new university for spring football.

Here are some other common sense suggestions regarding the portal: 1. Unless a player has a 2.5 GPA he sits a year when he transfers. 2. If a player is still taking remedial course, he has to sit a year. 3. Transfer a second time you sit a year unless there was a coaching change.

Since we’re talking common sense, let’s take a cue from the Canadian Football League where players have the option of wearing those funky guardian caps on their helmets. Last year the CFL reported 38 concussions for the entire league, a 21 percent decrease from 2023 and a 50 percent decrease from 2015. The helmets don’t look nearly as shiny and they don’t make that crackling sound you get on a helmet to helmet collision, but they do prevent concussions. So, if the powers that be in college football are nearly as concerned about player safety as they claim to be, then why not mandate guardian caps?

I’m old enough to remember when batting helmets weren’t mandatory in Major League Baseball and when facemasks weren’t mandatory for the National Football League. Batting helmets didn’t become mandatory until 1971. Hall of Fame receiver Tommy McDonald, who went an entire 12-year career without wearing a facemask. The single bar facemask was banned in 2004.

The guardian cap isn’t a brand new innovation. It’s been around long enough to know that it does provide more protection against concussions. Time to require it at all levels of football, from the pee wees all the way to the NFL.

IT’S WAY TOO EARLY BUT …

Athlon and Lindy's are out with their preseason SEC picks. They are in agreement about Texas at No. 1 but after that they see things quite differently. Here are the Athlon and Lindy's picks and my own even though it's way too early.

Athlon picks the SEC: 1. Texas; 2. Georgia; 3. LSU; 4. Alabama; 5. FLORIDA; 6. South Carolina; 7. Ole Miss; 8. Texas A&M; 9. Oklahoma; 10. Tennessee; 11. Auburn; 12. Missouri; 13. Arkansas; 14. Vanderbilt; 15. Kentucky; 16. Mississippi State

Lindy’s picks the SEC: 1. Texas; 2. LSU; 3. Alabama; 4. Georgia; 5. Oklahoma; 6. South Carolina; 7. FLORIDA; 8. Ole Miss; 9. Auburn; 10. Missouri; 11. Tennessee; 12. Texas A&M; 13. Arkansas; 14. Vanderbilt; 15. Kentucky; 16. Mississippi State

How I see it

1. Texas: Arch Manning doesn’t have to be spectacular. He just has to get the ball to the right people and avoid turnovers. The defense will do the rest.

2. Alabama: Ty Simpson will start at QB but he might be on a very short leash if he can’t get the ball to Ryan Williams on a regular basis. Freshman Keelon Russell is the future. If Bama beats Georgia in Athens September 27, Kalen DeBoer will have himself a serious contender.

3. FLORIDA: The secret for Billy Napier is getting out of the gate fast. If the Gators go 2-0 at LSU and Miami, there will be no more electric place on the planet than The Swamp when Texas comes to town September 27. DJ Lagway has NFL talent at wide receiver to throw to. If the Gators can stuff the run, they’ll be formidable.

4. Georgia: The Poodles couldn’t run the ball last year and they won’t run it this year either, which is bad news for Gunner Stockton. He needs a running game because he’s not exactly the second coming of Patrick Mahomes. More new faces on defense than we’ve seen at Georgia in a long time. Alabama and Texas come to Austin. Go 0-2 against those two and it might be the longest season since 2020.

5. LSU: Lindy’s ranks LSU’s offensive line No. 14 in the SEC. Even with stud receivers, Garrett Nussmeier isn’t going to be the all-interplanetary QB throwing on his back. The Tigers open with Clemson and get Florida two weeks later. Go 0-2 in those games and it might be the kind of season that has Tiger fans thinking a regime change is in order despite a buyout that could fund some third world countries.

6. Missouri: Surprised? Don’t be. That defense is going to be beastly and Eli Drinkwitz has a way with quarterbacks. Beau Pribula is going to be the big surprise of the SEC and Louisiana-Monroe transfer Ahmad Hardy is going to run for more than 1,000 yards.

7. South Carolina: LaNorris Sellers is one of the best dual threat QBs in the country, but he doesn’t have anyone to throw it to. The Gamecocks are going to have to beat people on the ground with Sellers and Utah State transfer Rahsul Faison grinding away. The back end of the defense will be good but answers needed up front.

8. Ole Miss: Nobody works the portal like Lane Kiffin. He has 30 new faces from different places including running back Logan Diggs, formerly of Notre Dame and LSU. He will gain more than 1,000 yards. If Austin Simmons can find Cayden Lee running free like a banshee in the secondary, the Ole Miss passing game will be fine. The defense will be top five in the league.

9. Oklahoma: Washington State transfer John Mateer was the best QB in the portal. He needs to come up big to save Brent Venables’ job. Venables will have a good defense, but last year’s offense was anemic. Mateer needs to be the answer.

10. Auburn: Hugh Freeze has last year’s Oklahoma QB Jackson Arnold, who is a real dual threat. Hugh has always done well with QBs who can run and throw. He needs Arnold to play like the 5-star recruit he was out of high school. On paper, the defense looks like it needs a lot of help.

11. Texas A&M: The Aggies are one of those teams that can go in either direction. They could be surprisingly good or they may go in the tank early. They’ve got Notre Dame and Florida in the first half of the season. That will go a long way toward telling us how good they will be.

12. Vanderbilt: Diego Pavia somehow got the NCAA to wipe out his juco years and give him another year of college football. He isn’t pretty but he inspires teammates and they find ways to win. Another 6-6 season isn’t out of the question.

13. Tennessee: The Vols’ fate is in the hands of former App State QB Joey Aguilar, who never took a snap at UCLA. He transferred to UT when former UT QB Nico Iamaleava transferred to UCLA over a contract dispute. At best this is a 6-6 team.

14. Arkansas: Once again Sam Pittman is on the hot seat but that’s nothing new. He’s there every year. He has a good QB in Taylen Green but not a lot of weapons around him. A long year predicted, but Sam could shock the world and break even.

15. Kentucky: Just a couple of years ago everybody was ready to anoint Mark Stoops as the coach who would be the next Nick if only he had the talent. That’s the problem. He doesn’t have the talent. He might coach good, but they will sure play bad this year.

16. Mississippi State: One day people are going to realize just how good Dan Mullen and Mike Leach were to win in Starkville. Jeff Lebby isn’t going to. He’s got a dead end job.