LOSING TO LSU WAS THE BEST THING THAT COULD HAVE HAPPENED TO FLORIDA RECRUITING... RIGHT NOW.

THOUGHTS OF THE DAY

OCTOBER 18, 2002

Franz Beard

1. You do not have to be a math major to crunch Florida’s scholarship numbers and conclude that there is going to have to be a tremendous amount of attrition this offseason. The NCAA scholarship limit is 85 and the Gators are at the max, have only four seniors/graduates who will exhaust their eligibility, and 17 who are either redshirt or true juniors. Florida’s recruiting class is currently ranked No. 8 nationally with 21 committed players, plus the Gators probably take 6-7 more. The math, obviously, doesn’t add up, which means there will be attrition once the regular season ends. This is the part that every coach grieves. They all hope that kids who aren’t seeing the field decide for themselves that they need to find a new place to play, but for every kid who reaches that conclusion, there are two or three who are going to be told there are two chances they will ever see the field: no way and no how. With or without the transfer portal, this has been going on for years. Coaches tried to keep it to a minimum in the past but that has changed. For one thing there is the portal and with so many good players who are leaving one place and looking for a place to make an immediate impact, coaches are foolish to keep kids on the roster who aren’t going to play. Additionally, the amount of money coaches are being paid has changed the entire roster management dynamic. Coaches used to be given five years to get a program on the right track. Now it’s three. If they’re lucky. They can’t afford to keep recruiting mistakes from the previous coaching staff on the roster.

2. Creed Whittemore, a 4-star recruit from Gainesville Buchholz decommitted from the Gators Sunday and within a couple of hours announced he will be going instead to Mississippi State. Social media immediately exploded with talk that Florida’s recruiting class was going to fall apart and that current UF wide receiver Trent Whittemore would be joining younger brother Creed at Mississippi State. We’ll deal with the second part first. Of course, it’s always possible that Trent will transfer. His playing time has decreased since last year and he isn’t getting the ball thrown his way but unless he announces that he’s bolting while the current season is going on, then it’s way too early to speculate that he will be leaving. Now, the first part. The class isn’t going to fall apart. Billy Napier doesn’t need a sign that reads “Help wanted: Immediate playing time available.” Kids know that Florida offers opportunities for early playing time. The Gators need speed, defensive linemen, edge rushers, linebackers and secondary. And that’s just on the defensive side of the ball. The kids know it. Florida’s recruiting class will do just fine. A top five class isn’t out of the question.

3. Despite expectations to the contrary, Napier didn’t dip heavily into the transfer portal upon arrival, adding only six players: guard O’Cyrus Torrence, running back Montrell Johnson and offensive tackle Kamryn Waites from Louisiana, quarterback Jack Miller III from Ohio State, corner Jalen Kimber from Georgia and wide receiver Ricky Pearsall from Arizona State. That number should at least double this year and could be more depending upon attrition. Napier can’t do what Dan Mullen did in 2021 when he brought in three one-and-done defensive tackles. The Gators are desperately shorthanded at DT because of that short-sighted choice. Unless Napier can land an immediate impact player who will be a star and a starter from day one, he can’t afford to bring in any transfer who has fewer than two years of eligibility remaining.

4. We tend to forget that in 2007 Nick Saban took over an Alabama team that went 6-7 in 2006. In his first year on the job, Alabama went 7-6 and one of the six losses was to Louisiana-Monroe, 21-14. All six of Alabama’s losses were by seven or fewer points. A year later, Nick Saban went unbeaten in the regular season, then lost to Florida in the SEC Championship Game. In 2009, Alabama ran the table and won the first of Saban’s six national championships in Tuscaloosa. This is NOT to say that Billy Napier is going to have the same success that Saban did, but if the greatest coach of all time can only improve by one win in his first season on the job, then maybe we should consider allowing Napier a little bit of time to build the program the way he wants to.

5. In 2016, Kirby Smart took over a Georgia team that had won 10 games the previous season. He went 8-5, losing to Ole Miss (blowout), Tennessee, Vanderbilt, FLORIDA and Georgia Tech. The next year he went 13-2, won the SEC championship and lost to Alabama in overtime in the national championship game. Smart took over a Georgia program that had benefitted from YEARS of exceptional recruiting under Mark Richt so he had a great foundation to work with.

6. Dabo Swinney became the interim head coach at Clemson in 2008. He went 9-5 the next season and backslid to 6-7 in year three. He was 19-14 heading into the 2011 season. In the years since he is 138-22 and has never failed to win fewer than 10 games.

7. The moral of points four, five and six can be summed up in the immortal words of Master Po in the TV series “Kung Fu” when speaking to his young protégé Caine: “Patience Grasshopper.” Maybe things aren’t what you want right now, but consider the fact that the Gators could have won all three games they lost in spite of themselves. When you can make as many mistakes as the Gators have in those three losses and with a break or two could have won all three, then your head coach (a) knows what he is doing and (b) better times lie ahead.

8. Alabama’s path to the College Football Playoff narrowed considerably with the loss to Tennessee. Since no team has ever made the CFP with two losses, Alabama basically has to finish the regular season on a 5-game winning streak and then win the SEC Championship Game, which could be a rematch with Tennessee. The path to the CFP for both Tennessee and Georgia is much broader since either one could make the playoff with one loss: (a) Tennessee beats Georgia (or Georgia beats Tennessee) November 5, then loses to Alabama in the SEC title game but the Vols (or Bulldogs) are top four in the final CFP poll; or (b) Tennessee beats Georgia (or Georgia beats Tennessee) and then beats Alabama in the SEC title game. If it was a heart clutching loss and the loser makes the top four in the final CFP poll, both make the playoff.

9. File this name away as the hottest assistant coach in the country – Ryan Walters. He’s 36 years old and the defensive coordinator at Illinois, which just so happens to lead the country in total defense (221 yards per game) and scoring defense (8.9 per game). The Illini rank second in pass defense, third in rush defense, tied for first in interceptions and sacks, and fourth in third-down defense. He played at Colorado (2004-08) and spent six years at Missouri, the last five as the defensive coordinator, first under Barry Odom then for Eli Drinkwitz. If Colorado isn’t smart enough to hire one of its own to replace Karl Dorrell, then someone is going to back up a Brinks Truck.

10. If you’ve been following the American League Divisional Championship series between the team formerly known as the Cleveland Indians and the New York Yankees, then you’ve seen former Gator Harrison Bader emerge as a star for the Yankees. Traded from St. Louis to the Yankees during the summer, Bader only played in 14 games, but in four playoff games he’s hit three home runs while playing gold glove defense in center field. Bader has picked up the slack for sluggers Aaron Judge (3-16 with 1 HR, 2 RBI) and Giancarlo Stanton (.083, 1 HR, 3 RBI). If the Yankees win the series in tonight’s fifth and deciding game, they advance to the AL Championship Series against the Houston Astros.

11. Five SEC teams are in the Associated Press preseason top 25 poll, led by Kentucky at No. 4. Also in the poll are No. 10 Arkansas, No. 11 Tennessee, No. 15 Auburn and No. 20 Alabama. I think Arkansas is ranked too high although should be top 25 and Auburn is ranked too low. Tennessee is about where it should be and Alabama is right around where it should be.

Associated Press preseason top 25 basketball poll: 1. North Carolina; 2. Gonzaga; 3. Houston; 4. Kentucky; 5. Kansas; 6. Baylor; 7. Duke; 8. UCLA; 9. Creighton; 10. Arkansas; 11. Tennessee; 12. Texas; 13. Indiana; 14. TCU; 15. Auburn; 16. Arizona; 18. Virginia; 19. San Diego State; 20. Alabama; 21. Oregon; 22. Michigan; 23. Illinois; 24. Dayton; 25. Texas Tech

ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT: Billy Napier is seven games into his first year on the Florida job. He’s 4-3, 1-3 in the SEC. The Gators have the No. 14 (out of 14 teams) defense in the SEC, the 106th (out of 131 Division I teams) in the country. If they could get opponents off the field (last in the country in 3rd down defense) then maybe the offense could have more plays (418, which is 96th nationally) and score more points (31.4 per game).

Fans and most in the media are of the opinion that Florida football is an absolute mess, and for the most part, they’re right. There is no way to sugar coat it. In the immortal words of Pogo, “We have met the enemy and they is us.” The Gators have been their own worst enemy and yet there are a whole lot of teams in Division I who would gladly trade places. One man’s desert island is another man’s resort.

Napier doesn’t point fingers of blame and instead takes far too much credit for anything wrong that is going on. Of course, that’s what leaders are supposed to do. He’s doing a rather fine job of it so far.

Not once has he mentioned the fact that the situation he inherited was borderline disastrous. It’s very easy to point a finger at Dan Mullen, who seemed to think his dynamic offenses and play calling could more than compensate for bad recruiting, but the problems go back farther than just Mullen. The hole that Billy Napier is trying to dig the Gators out of is 12 years in the making. Urban Meyer left a mess for Will Muschamp, who came here without any head coaching experience. Muschamp’s defenses were always top notch, but he never got the offense untracked. He left an NFL defense for Jim McElwain, who stopped winning when Mullen’s defenders departed for Sunday paychecks after two years. McElwain left a roster filled with holes for Mullen. When the smoke and mirrors of Mullen’s offense ran out, so did the wins.

It will take more than just this year for Billy Napier to correct 12 years of mistakes and blunders. It is do-able, but we’re fooling ourselves if we think it can be done in a single season.