“Sometimes you need to go through a struggle,” Napier said. And he made it a point to say “every year you have a different set of problems.”

Administration is solidly behind giving Billy Napier enough time to right the Florida ship (Photo by Brenden Martin) A few thoughts to jump start your Tuesday morning: And so it begins. Billy Napier and a handful of assistant coaches will be taking the podium this morning at The Heav to talk about the Gators ahead of the first day of practice that begins bright and shiny Wednesday morning. Most of the folks in the national media as well as the oddsmakers in Las Vegas are of the opinion that Napier sits on a very hot seat, largely due to a schedule that is universally agreed upon as the most difficult in the country. At SEC Media Days the Gators were picked 12th in the 16-team SEC. The Las Vegas oddsmakers set the over/under for Florida at 4.5 wins. Based on the schedule and two years of losing winnable games, there isn’t a lot of argument in favor of Napier and the Gators posting their first winning season since 2020 when Dan Mullen had eventual national champ Alabama on the ropes in the SEC Championship Game. Even some of Napier’s most ardent supporters believe that while the Gators will be a better football team than they’ve been the previous two seasons, it won’t be enough to post a winning record. And, not enough wins, they say, means another new coach in 2025. If that turned out to be the case, then the next coach would be the seventh since Steve Spurrier retired from UF after the 2001 season. But here’s the thing that the folks in the national media and others convinced that Napier has one foot out the door either don’t know or refuse to hear: The Florida administration is solidly behind Billy Napier and for good reason. They understand first and foremost that six coaches since 2001 is way too many. Florida had three coaches from 1950 to 1978 – Bob Woodruff, Ray Graves and Douglas Adair Dickey. From 1979-89 there were two – Charley Pell and Galen Hall. Spurrier was the coach from 1990-2001, but since then it has been a revolving door. Ron Zook (2002-04), Urban Meyer (2005-10), Will Muschamp (2011-14), Jim McElwain (2015-17), Mullen (2018-21) and Napier (2022-present). Of all the Florida coaches since Spurrier left after a 122-27-1 run that saw one national championship and six SEC titles, Napier was dealt the worst hand. Spurrier left Zook more than 30 players who spent at least one year in the NFL including 2001 Heisman runner-up Rex Grossman. Zook left Urban Meyer 20 of the 22 starters from the 2006 national championship game. Meyer left Muschamp recruits from classes ranked seventh, sixth and first from 2008-10. Muschamp left McElwain an NFL defense. McElwain left Mullen Kyle Trask, Kyle Pitts, three running backs who played in the NFL, four receivers who played in the league and a handful of defenders including a pair of stud DBs in CJ Henderson and Chauncey Gardner-Johnson. Mullen left Napier the barest cupboard since Dickey was fired and replaced by Charley Pell in 1979. As a result, Napier has had to rebuild the Florida program from the ground up. This is the second part of the equation whose answer is why Billy Napier is being given plenty of wiggle room when it comes to putting the Gators on sound footing. It takes time to restock a program with the kind of recruits it takes to win in college football’s toughest conference from top to bottom. From 1990-2010, Florida was a recruiting juggernaut which is why the Gators won more games (210) during that stretch than any team in the country. In the 13 years since, the Gators have the 39th best record in the country (98-66) and they’ve fallen far behind Alabama and Georgia when it comes to recruiting. Thanks to good use of the transfer portal and a change in the approach to strength, conditioning and nutrition, this will be the first team Napier has put on the field that has the look of upper tier Southeastern Conference. If you were in Jacksonville the last three years, then you saw what looked like grown men (Georgia) and really big boys (Florida). The Gators looked a lot different in the spring and they should look even better when they take the field tomorrow. There are no guarantees that the Gators can win seven or eight games in 2024 just as there are no guarantees the Florida administration will honor its commitment to give Napier the time he needs to restore the program to championship level excellence. But, Napier has an ace up his sleeve in freshman quarterback DJ Lagway. If the administration were to send Napier packing, there is every good chance Lagway would be in the transfer portal where he would be one of the two or three most highly sought players in the country. He’s that good. He was the top high school quarterback in the country last year. He is described by many observers as a generational talent, a potential Tebow clone whose combination of talent and the sheer force of his personality can lift a team to new heights. Graham Mertz (15) and DJ Lagway (2) hold the keys to Florida success offensively in 2024 (Photo by Chris Spears) Napier has a really good quarterback for 2024 in Graham Mertz and enough good players that can give UF its first winning season in what seems like forever. Just as Tim Tebow did in 2006 when he added a missing dimension to Chris Leak’s game, Lagway will be the change of pace that causes opposing defensive coordinators nightmares when he steps in for Mertz a series or two each game. The 2006 Gators had advantages that Napier and the 2024 Gators don’t have, such as an easier schedule and starting the season ranked seventh in the nation. Expectations are much lower for this year’s team but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. You can bet the farm that Napier and his entire coaching staff are selling this as an us against the world type of season. Teams that embrace that kind of philosophy are known to play with an enormous chip on their shoulders. If the Gators can get off to a fast start, that chip might become awfully tough to knock off for teams on the UF schedule. All these new scholarships: Who’s going to pay for them? The University of Florida sponsors 21 collegiate sports. With the new anti-trust settlement, Florida will have as many as 518 athletic scholarships available starting in 2025-26. Using $30,000 as the base cost (room, board, tuition, books, fees) and if UF fills all 518 scholarships the UAA will be on the hook for $15,540,000. Currently, UF has approximately 265 on scholarship with a cost of $7,950,000. The question that has to be asked is who is going to pay for all the new scholarships? The SEC contract with ESPN/ABC/Disney will be worth approximately $17 million more in revenue for the athletic department yearly. That contract is expected to be rewritten when television ratings go through the roof now that Texas and Oklahoma are in the league. So, from $70-75 million, the media contract could be worth an additional $10-15 million per year conservatively. In addition to raising the scholarship limits, the new settlement will require revenue sharing that could BEGIN at $21.5 million. That equates to $41,505 and change to each scholarship athlete if revenue is shared equally. Since football generates nearly all the profit of the UF and other power conference athletic departments, would football players get more money? And what happens when Title IX makes its presence known, which you can bet the farm is going to happen? Another question that begs to be asked is will Florida fill up all its available scholarships? Let’s use lacrosse as the first example. Amanda O’Leary has been fielding a consistent top 7-8 team for years with 12 scholarships. Under the settlement, she can have as many as 38 at her disposal. Are there enough quality players available to fill 38 scholarships? And, would she even want to manage a roster that big? Baseball increases its scholarship allotment from 11.7 to 34, but it should be noted that Kevin O’Sullivan has been spreading his 11.7 scholarships over 27 players for years now. The NCAA has allowed for eight walk-ons as well, so figure there won’t be any significant changes there. Tim Walton’s scholarship allotment will double to 25 (from 12). He’s typically been working with 20 players, so again, no significant increase there. Track and field, plus cross country (men’s and women’s)? That’s 90 scholarships between the two sports. Swimming goes from 23.9 scholarships to 60. The same question applies to Anthony Nesty as Amada O’Leary? Would he actually want that many scholarship athletes and how would he manage that many swimmers? The pool, it seems, could be quite crowded. Finally, there is the ongoing possibility that athletic departments and conferences are going to push for athletes to become employees. The athletes don’t want that because it could lead to a salary cap. However, as employees, they could unionize and collectively bargain for salaries and benefits. We’re less than a week into what the NCAA is hoping will be a landmark decision that will shape the future of collegiate athletics and it’s as if someone is waiting with a shotgun whose shells are filled with bird shot, just waiting to blow holes in the agreement. ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT: ESPN came out with its 25 best players of the current century Monday. Here is the list with commentary to come: 1. Ndamukong Suh, DT, Nebraska; 2. Baker Mayfield, QB, Texas Tech and Oklahoma; 3. Cam Newton, Florida and Auburn; 4. Vince Young, QB, Texas; 5. Ed Reed, S, Miami; 6. TIM TEBOW, QB, FLORIDA; 7. Reggie Bush, Southern California; 8. Bryant McKinnie, OT, Miami; 9. Joe Burrow, QB, Ohio State and LSU; 10. Larry Fitzgerald, WR, Pittsburgh; 11. Terrell Suggs, DE, Arizona State; 12. Joe Thomas, OT, Wisconsin; 13. Khalil Mack, LB, Buffalo; 14. Aaron Donald, DT, Pittsburgh; 15. David Pollack, DE, Georgia; 16. Deshaun Watson, QB, Clemson; 17. Roy Williams, S, Oklahoma; 18. Kyler Murray, QB, Texas A&M and Oklahoma; 19. DeVonta Smith, WR, Alabama; 20. Lamar Jackson, QB, Louisville; 21. Justin Blackmon, WR, Oklahoma State; 22. Will Anderson Jr., LB, Alabama; 23. Tyrann Mathieu, S, LSU; 24, Julius Peppers, DE, North Carolina; 25. Jonathan Taylor, RB, Wisconsin Two words. Oh please. Let’s start with Tebow. He was invaluable to Florida’s 2006 national championship team, won the Heisman as a sophomore, should have won it in 2008 when he led Florida to the national championship, and probably would have won it in 2009 except Urban Meyer saw fit to make Steve Adazzio as his offensive coordinator. No offense to anyone else on this list, but the only player on this top 25 that can really hold a candle to Tebow is Ed Reed who put the fear of God in every receiver who dared run a route across the Miami middle for three years. Tebow and Ed Reed would be my 1-2. Cam Newton had one of the greatest seasons any quarterback has ever had. One season. He was Tebow’s backup in 2007, was booted off the team in 2008, spent 2009 at junior college and then had a great 2010 when he led Auburn to the national championship. A great player for a season. Where is Sean Taylor? If he’s not in the top 25 then there is no such thing as a top 25. A couple of other DBs that didn’t make the list are Eric Berry of Tennessee and Patrick Peterson of LSU. Both belong ahead of Mathieu. Where is Percy Harvin? Percy and Reggie Bush are the two most electric and explosive players of the past 25 years. Reggie is No. 7 but Percy belongs top 10 as well. No Adrian Peterson either. Michael Crabtree over Justin Blackmon, hands down. No Glenn Dorsey? Easily the second best D-lineman of this century behind Suh. David Pollak was good, but not No. 15 good. Any list that doesn’t have Ohio State LB James Laurinaitis in its top 25 isn’t very good. Period.

A few thoughts to jump start your Monday morning: There are numerous reasons to look ahead with optimism as the Gators begin preparations this week for the season opener with Miami on August 31. Despite the toughest schedule in the nation, Florida has its best roster in several years to go with the most experience since Billy Napier took the head coaching job. That isn’t to say there aren’t areas of concern that if not properly addressed could turn this into a fourth straight losing season. Here are three areas of concern: 1. Consistent pass rush: As easy as it is to criticize Third and Grantham for his tenure as the defensive coordinator from 2018-2021, getting to the quarterback wasn’t an issue. The Gators sacked opposing quarterbacks 158 times in four years including 49 times in 2019. The Gators finished 9th nationally in total defense that year. There is a direct correlation between sacks and good defense. The Gators have 45 sacks COMBINED in the last two seasons. The inability to put pressure on opposing quarterbacks has much to do with the Gators finishing 12th in the SEC in total defense in 2022, 11th a year ago. The Gators have run out of a base 3-4 defense the last two seasons and that shouldn’t change although the addition of co-defensive coordinator Ron Roberts means more multiple looks and blitzes coming from every position on the field at the most unpredictable of times. When Baylor played Ole Miss in the 2021 Sugar Bowl, Roberts’ defense sacked the quarterbacks 10 times. As the defensive coordinator at Auburn a year ago, the Tigers had more sacks and forced one fewer turnovers than Georgia. Auburn improved by cutting seven points and four first downs per game from its previous season under another defensive coordinator. Can he do the same thing at UF? It will all start by pressuring the quarterback. 2. Improvement by the guards: With O’Cyrus Torrence turning in an All-America season and Ethan White making second team All-SEC in 2022, the Gators were so strong up the middle that they averaged 5.51 yards per carry. The Gators gave up only 17 sacks all season, very few that came straight up the gut. Torrence went to the NFL last year and White transferred to Southern Cal. Guard play suffered. Early in the year, Jake Slaughter had his problems as a first year center, but from midseason onward he was outstanding. The same can’t be said about guards Richie Leonard IV and Micah Mazzccua, neither of whom distinguished himself either against the run or in pass protection. By the end of the season a year ago, true freshman Knijeah Harris was getting regular snaps at left guard. He is penciled in as the first teamer at LG this year. He’s big, mobile and very, very smart. He should be an upgrade to Leonard. It is the other guard that could be problematic. Damieon George Jr., who struggled at RT last year, moved inside during the spring to what should have been his natural position all along. He was inconsistent during the spring, which may have something to do with Kam Waites being moved inside. There is also Jason Zandamela, a rather beastly transfer from Southern Cal who was considered one of the top young O-Linemen in the portal. The Gators have experience on the outside and Slaughter could wind up as one of the top three centers in the SEC this season. For the Gators to show the kind of improvement that can lead to the first winning season since 2020, the guards will have to step up their game. 3. Fewer missed tackles: According to Pro Football Focus, Florida’s defenders missed 116 tackles in 2023. That’s a shade under 10 per game. You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to conclude the Gators might have won seven or eight games at a minimum last year if they had just put people on the ground. Was the plague of missed tackles the result of less contact in practice? Or was it more a case of inexperience? The Florida defense has a collective 239 starts and 686 games of experience heading into the seasons. Will that translate into fewer missed tackles? If the Gators approach anything close to 100 missed tackles, it’s going to be a lengthy season. New scholarship limits kick in for 2025-26 season Following the settlement of anti-trust lawsuits, scholarship limits will increase exponentially at each Division I school. Florida will have a maximum 518 scholarships available, and it will be possible to issue partial scholarships for football and basketball, unlike years past. The greatest increases will be track and field, lacrosse, baseball and football. Here are the new sport-by-sport scholarship numbers for the University of Florida: Baseball: Previous 11.7. New 34. Basketball: Previously for men and women 13. Both increase to 15. Cross country: Previously for men 5, for women 6. Both increase to 17. Football: Previous 85. New 105. Golf: Previous for men 4.5, for women 6. Both increase to 9. Gymnastics: Previous 12. New 20. Lacrosse: Previous 12. New 38. Soccer: Previous 14. New 28. Softball: Previous 12. New 25. Swimming: Previously men 9.9, women 14. Both increase to 30. Tennis: Previously men 4.5, women 6. Both increase to 9. Track and field: Previously for men 12.6, women 18. Both increase to 45. Volleyball: Previous 12. New 18. 40 Olympic athletes … but who’s counting? Caeleb Dressel swam the anchor leg of the USA’s 4X100 relay team to capture gold at the Paris Olympics. It was the eighth Olympic medal for Dressel, who will swim the 50 freestyle and 100 butterfly later this week. Dressel is one of 40 Olympic athletes from the University of Florida, the most of any Southeastern Conference school and the fourth highest total of any college or university in the United States. Here are the top 25 schools at this year’s Olympics. 1. Stanford 51; 2. Southern California 44; 3. Michigan 47; 4. FLORIDA 40; 5. California 39; 6. Texas 30; 7. LSU 28; 8. Tennessee 27; 9. UCLA 24; 10. Arkansas 23; 11. Arizona State 22; 12. Penn State 21; 13. Duke 18; 14. Florida State; Harvard, Indiana and Wisconsin 17; 18. Kentucky and Virginia 16; 20. Georgia 15; 21. Notre Dame and South Carolina 14; 23. Princeton 13; 24. Ohio State and Texas Tech 12 Finebaum offers advice to Nebraska HBC Matt Rhule At Big Ten Media Days last week, Nebraska head football coach Matt Rhule said, “I think four teams from this league should get in every year because this is the best league. This is the NFL of college football.” The NFL of college football? Let’s see. How many national championships has the Big Ten won since 2000? Three. How many has the SEC won? Fourteen. The SEC has had more players drafted than any other conference for 18 consecutive years. Rhule’s comments rankled Paul Finebaum, who remarked, “Matt, stay in your lane. Job one, win enough games to get to some stupid bowl game. Don’t worry about the big boys because you’re not one of them. We saw what you did in the NFL. You were a complete disaster at Carolina. You somehow got this job at Nebraska and you’re talking like you belong at the table with Ohio State and Georgia. You don’t.” Now, Matt Rhule is a good enough football coach to have won 10 games back-to-back at Shirley Temple. He turned things around at Baylor and won 11 games in his third year on the job. He was indeed bad in the NFL. Very bad – 11-27 before he was fired five games into year three with the Carolina Panthers. He went 5-7 year one at Nebraska and there is a chance he’ll turn things around there. Good for him, but to start claiming the Big Ten is the NFL of college football isn’t exactly the smartest thing he’s ever said. Sorry, Matt, but Finebaum is right. Put Nebraska in a bowl game for the first time since 2016. And, let’s see if the Big Ten can win its third national championship of this century. Then you can talk all you want. ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT: Wide receiver Rara Thomas is the latest Georgia Bulldog to run afoul of the law, this time for felony cruelty to children and two misdemeanor counts of battery. It’s not the first time Thomas has been in serious trouble when it comes to domestic violence. Shortly after he transferred to Georgia from Mississippi State, he was arrested for false imprisonment (felony) and battery (misdemeanor), both related to domestic violence. Ever so conveniently, the charges were dropped. Kirby Smart suspended Thomas from the team during the legal process but as soon as the charges were dropped, he was able to join the team for spring practice. In an injury-slowed 2023, he caught 23 passes for 383 yards (16.65 per catch). Georgia reportedly has suspended Thomas indefinitely. Emphasis on reportedly. The way Kirby Smart handles discipline and the way the court system works in Clarke County, Georgia, there is no way of knowing if Thomas will ever be punished. Odds are he won’t miss a single football game if Kirby can find a friendly judge. So far, there has been no statement from Kirby Smart, just a no comment because it’s “a pending legal matter” from UGa executive athletic director for strategic communications Steven Drummond. It’s baffling yet at the same time about what we have come to expect from Smart and Georgia where arrests are rather commonplace. Kirby had the temerity at SEC Media Days to claim that Georgia has actually suspended players for speeding tickets. Oh really? Let me guess. If you’re a walk-on who gets his brains beat in on the scout team, you get suspended but only because your absence interferes with preparation for the next football game. Within a month after transferring to Georgia from Florida Trevor Etienne was arrested for speeding, reckless driving and DUI. You probably believe in the Easter Bunny if you think for even a nanosecond that Etienne won’t suit up when Georgia opens the season with Clemson in Atlanta, particularly since Etienne’s older brother was a Clemson All-American. Here is what Matt Hayes of Saturday Down South wrote about how once and for all Kirby Smart needs to prove he has the nads to clean up a very rotten Georgia football program: “I’m going to make this very easy for Kirby Smart: Start kicking players off the team. Then hold a press conference, and declare that the next player who receives a speeding ticket or reckless driving charge, or a felony charge of any kind, is off the team. Period.” Am I foolish enough to believe Kirby Smart would actually do something like that? Are you?

A swarming defense bolstered by three new coaches is reason for optimism (Photo by Chris Spears) Spring has sprung, fall … well, it hasn’t fell. Yet. We’re in no man’s land now, time for preseason camp that begins with a Tuesday morning kickoff at The Heav in which head coach Billy Napier and assistants Russ Callaway, Ron Roberts, Tyler Myles and Joe Houston will be available to sound enthusiastic and optimistic. This isn’t the usual football dog and pony show for the media that we’ve seen in the past, but a lot of things are different than they have been starting with Florida football in a scramble mode due to three consecutive losing seasons. You have to go all the way back to 1948 the last time the Gators started out on the heels of three consecutive losing seasons. The Gators went 5-5 in 1948. There are plenty of folks in the national, regional and state medias that would consider a break even (6-6) record in 2024 as a major accomplishment for Billy Napier. Many of these same folks are of the opinion that Napier will be seeking gainful employment elsewhere if the Gators go 6-6. Some highly regarded people at the University of Florida say Billy Napier’s job is safe and that next year is win or else. There is reason to believe that even with the nation’s most ridiculous schedule Billy Napier has the Gators on track to tap the brakes on the losing skid. Here are five reasons for optimism: 1. COACHING STAFF UPGRADES: The curtain had barely closed on the 2023 season when Napier announced defensive line coach Sean Spencer and secondary coach Corey Raymond would not be returning. It only takes a look at the numbers to understand why. Florida sacked the quarterback 45 times combined in the previous two seasons. Only 13.5 of those sacks came from D-linemen. In the last two seasons, opponents have scored 50 touchdowns on the ground. The Gators allowed an average of 4.84 yards per carry last year, up from 4.49 per carry in 2023. Replacing Spencer is Gerald Chatman, whose Tulane D-linemen were responsible for 27 of the Green Wave’s 35 sacks. Opponents managed only 112.71 yards per game on the ground, averaging just 3.55 yards per carry and only 14 rushing TDs in 14 games. In 2023, Corey Raymond was in charge of the entire secondary. The Gators allowed opposing quarterbacks to complete 60.6 percent of their passes for 7.7 yards per pass attempt. The Gators intercepted only three passes, dead last in the SEC and next to last in the entire country. Opponents threw for 226.7 yards per game. The new secondary coach is Will Harris, who came from the NFL Los Angeles Chargers. In 2021, Harris was in charge of the secondary at Washington, which led the nation, allowing only 142.9 yards per game and 5.5 yards per attempt. Now that coaching restrictions have been eased by the NCAA, the secondary will also be coached by Beyah Rasool, who coached the corners at Bowling Green last year. The Falcons gave up only 6.9 yards per attempt and finished fourth in the nation with 17 interceptions, 12 of which were hauled in by his corners. When Jay Bateman, who coached the inside linebackers, announced he was leaving to become the defensive coordinator at Texas A&M, Napier immediately hired Ron Roberts from Auburn to coach the inside linebackers and serve as the co-defensive coordinator. In his first season with Auburn in 2023, Roberts improved the defense by seven points and four first downs per game. Considered the godfather of the creeper defense, Roberts is considered one of the most innovative defensive minds in the country. One other defensive number has to get better with these new coaches and that is missed tackles. Pro Football Focus says the Gators missed 116 tackles in 2023, which is nearly 10 per game. Cut that number in half and the Gators probably would have won eight games. One other upgrade is Joe Houston as the special teams coordinator. Houston spent the last four years with the New England Patriots. Punter Jeremy Crawshaw, placekicker Trey Smack and long snapper Rocco Underwood were all outstanding last year, but the special teams issues were on the sidelines where a lack of leadership led to far too many blunders like having two No. 1s on the field against Utah or the illegal substitution penalty that cost the Gators five yards and a missed field goal that would have won a game the Gators lost in overtime to Arkansas. Quarterback Graham Mertz will be in his second year in the offense after an outstanding 2023 (Photo by Chris Spears) 2. NO SUBSTITUTE FOR A SECOND YEAR STARTER AT QB: Graham Mertz, whose 43 career starts rank second among all Division I quarterbacks, started 11 games at Florida last year before he broke his collarbone in the fourth quarter against Missouri. Judging what we saw when Florida State came to town, it’s not a reach to think the Gators would have upset the Seminoles at The Swamp with a healthy Mertz. A season ago, Mertz completed 72.9 percent of his passes for 2,903 yards (8.1 per attempt) and 20 touchdowns (only 3 picks). This was Mertz’s first year in the UF offense, playing behind a shaky offensive line and with only one experienced receiver to throw to. Mertz had an outstanding week at the Manning Passing Academy in Thibodaux, Louisiana, where sources well connected to the Mannings say he impressed Archie, Peyton and Eli with his recognition, decision making and strong throwing arm. The Gators have a deeper and more experienced receiving corps this year, an upgraded offensive line and this will be the second year in the system for Mertz. 3. THE SPEED TO GO VERTICAL ON EVERY PASS PLAY: A year ago, opponents were well aware that Ricky Pearsall was the only Florida wide receiver capable of stretching the field. Eugene Wilson III had the speed, but he wasn’t in Gainesville until August so he was learning on the fly. It wasn’t until after midseason when Wilson was used on much more than drag routes and bubble screens. He has serious speed to go with the best make you miss ability since Kadarius Toney. From the transfer portal, the Gators added Chimere Dike, Mertz’s old go-to guy at Wisconsin, and Elijhah Badger, who caught 142 passes in three years at Arizona State. Both have exceptional speed and good vertical route running skills. Kahliel Jackson had such a good spring that he’s expected to have a breakout 2024 after a 21-catch season a year ago. Then there are the four kids who could make a relay team for Mouse Holloway – redshirt freshmen Andy Jean and Aidan Mizell and true freshmen Tank Hawkins and TJ Abrams. With the speed to have multiple receivers go vertical on every single play, safeties will have to back up and linebackers will have to play looser, which, in turn will open up the running game for Montrell Johnson Jr., Treyaun Webb and Jadan Baugh. 4. SIGNIFICANT HELP AT ALL THREE LEVELS OF THE DEFENSE: It’s one thing to add depth in places you need it. It’s something altogether different – and better – when the depth is both talented and experienced. Up front, Napier brought in transfers Joey Slackman, George Gumbs and Brien Taylor Jr. Slackman was the Ivy League Defensive Player of the Year and one of the most highly coveted defensive linemen in the transfer portal. He’s been moved to defensive end in the 3-4 alignment where he’s got the strength to handle tackles and stop the run while still rushing the passer. Gumbs, who began his career at Northern Illinois as a wide receiver, kept on growing. Moved to defense, he had 3.5 sacks and 6.5 tackles for loss. He’s an athletic freak who’s still learning the nuances of rushing the passer but he’s got the size and speed to be a force. Taylor played at Blinn College in Texas where he was considered the No. 2 junior college player in the entire state of Texas. He has been moved to the D-line and will be in the rotation especially on passing downs. Additionally, the Gators signed 5-star defensive end LJ McCray, strong enough and talented enough to play and make an impact as a true freshman. At linebacker, the significant addition is Grayson Howard, a South Carolina transfer who is the big, mobile inside guy the Gators lacked a season ago. The Gators moved former Michigan transfer Ron Moten from safety down to inside linebacker, where his size makes him better suited for the rigors of the SEC. Two freshmen will also be in the regular rotation from day one – Myles Graham, son of Gator great running back Earnest Graham, and Aaron Chiles, who wasn’t here in the spring. Both are 4-star recruits who should have been 5-stars. On the back end, the Gators added five significant transfers in safeties Asa Turner (from Washington), DJ Douglas (from Tulane) and Trikweze Bridges (from Oregon) and corners Cormani McClain (from Colorado) and Jameer Grimsley (from Alabama). The reputations of Turner and Douglas are hard hitters who are ball hawks in coverage. Bridges can play both corner and safety. McClain was a 5-star who spent a year at Colorado before returning to his home state (he’s from Lakeland). Grimsley, a 4-star recruit from his Tampa Catholic days, transferred to Florida when Nick Saban announced his retirement. Adding quality depth to all three levels of the defense will go a long way toward eliminating the holes that were so easily found and exploited a year ago when the Gators allowed 33 or more points in five consecutive games (UF went 1-4 in that stretch). A year ago the Gators finished 9th against the pass in the SEC, and 11th in the league against the run, total defense and scoring. Even modest improvement should significantly improve the overall fortunes of the team. Trey Smack hit 17-21 on field goal attempts in 2023 (Photo by Chris Spears) 5. CRAWSHAW AND SMACK ARE WEAPONS: It’s a bit surprising how little respect these guys get. Jeremy Crawshaw routinely changes field position with moonshot punts. He would have finished first in the Southeastern Conference and second nationally in each of the last two seasons if he had punted enough times to qualify. Last year, Crawshaw averaged 48.86 yards per punt but only had 3.5 attempts per game. The year before it was 47.94 with 2.7 attempts. One overlooked reason for the low number of punts is Napier’s tendency to go for it on fourth down (54 times the last two seasons). That had everything to do with Napier believing his chances of making a first down were as good or better than the defense stopping the other team. Smack finished the season 17-21 on field goals, 29-29 on extra points and 56 of his 70 kickoffs resulted in a touchback. He was 11-11 on field goals of 39 or fewer yards, hit 2-3 from 50-plus with a high of 54 yards against South Carolina. He averaged 63.4 yards on his kickoffs and had only one that went out of bounds. He finished 12th in the SEC with 80 points and fifth in kickoffs.

I remember when there was hate between the Gators and Hurricanes. I could take you back to 1971 and “The Florida Flop.”

Montrell Johnson Jr. (2) is one reason why Florida's stock should be bought in 2024 (Photo by Chris Spears) As fall camp approaches rapidly, it’s time to think of both the Southeastern Conference and Atlantic Coast Conference the way we would think of buying and selling stocks. Which teams promise good enough returns to buy? And, which ones should be sold while the selling is good. The SEC Stock Market: Buy or Sell Alabama: Kalen DeBoer is 104-12 for his head coaching career. At Alabama he will coach better players than he’s ever had before, one of whom is QB Jalen Milroe, who should be substantially better with Nick Sheridan calling the plays. The defense should be better. It’s hard to imagine Bama winning fewer than 10 games. Buy. Arkansas: Much is being made of Bobby Petrino coming aboard as the offensive coordinator but even if he improves the offense the Hogs still have to stop people. Losing MLB Chris Paul to Ole Miss was a dagger. Sam Pittman needs six wins against a schedule that includes Auburn, Tennessee, LSU, Ole Miss, Texas and Missouri. Sell. Auburn: It would be a lot easier to like Auburn’s chances of substantial improvement if Payton Thorne weren’t back for another year at QB. Not much speed at wide receiver, three new starters on the O-line and four new starters in the secondary. Auburn is treading water. Sell. FLORIDA: The schedule is brutal, particularly on the back end but the Gators are more experienced and only one QB in Division I has more starts than Graham Mertz’s 43. The Gators have the best running back in the SEC in Montrell Johnson Jr. The O-line has to be better than last year (39 sacks allowed). The Gators have to pressure the passer if the secondary is to be improved. If the Gators get to the Georgia game with five or six wins, they could be very dangerous in November. Buy. Georgia: Everybody on the planet seems to think Georgia will win its third national championship in four years, but the Bulldogs have to travel to Alabama, Texas and Ole Miss. Georgia has won exactly one game on the road against a top 10 ranked opponent since 2018. The schedule says sell but the talent level says buy. Buy. Kentucky: Kentucky has gone to eight straight bowl games but hasn’t sniffed Atlanta yet and won’t this year either. Mark Stoops has to contend with a schedule that includes Georgia and roadies to Ole Miss, Florida, Tennessee and Texas. The QB (Brock Vadagriff) has never started an SEC game. The defense can’t be good enough for UK to contend. Sell. LSU: There is no Jayden Daniels to do magical things with the ball in his hands, pass catchers Malik Nabers and Brian Thomas Jr. are gone and RB Logan Diggs transferred to Ole Miss. Garrett Nussmeier won’t make people forget Daniels. The defense has a new coordinator but it will still suck. The Tigers are a 7-8 win team at best. Sell. Mississippi State: Jeff Lebby should have held out for another year rather than take the Mississippi State gig for his first coaching job. Games three through six are Florida, (at) Texas, (at) Georgia and Texas A&M. The Bulldogs finish (at) Tennessee, Missouri and (at) Ole Miss. Sell. Missouri: Mizzou has the easiest schedule in the SEC (62nd nationally). The only tough roadies are Texas A&M and Alabama. The first four games are all home with Murray State, Buffalo, Boston College and Vanderbilt. The offense will be prolific with Brady Cook throwing to Luther Burden III. Georgia State transfer Marcus Carroll will make people forget about Cody Shrader. The defense won’t be as good but it won’t have to be. Buy. Oklahoma: Brent Venables made a name for himself as the defensive coordinator at Clemson when the Tigers won two national championships in three years. If the Sooners are to win eight or so games their first year in the SEC it will have to be due to a defense that returns 11 of last year’s top 13 tacklers. The new QB is Jackson Arnold, long on promise, short on experience. Can he avoid losing games while learning how to win in the SEC? The schedule features Tennessee and Alabama at home, roadies with Ole Miss, Mizzou and LSU plus Texas in Dallas. Sell. Ole Miss: For years, everyone has wondered what would happen if Lane Kiffin ever got a defense. Well, he’s got one now and he’s got an offensive unit that will light people up. Jaxson Dart will throw to the best set of wide receivers in the country and the Rebels have four stud running backs. The only tough road game is at LSU. Georgia comes to Oxford. Buy. South Carolina: For South Carolina to come anywhere close to break even Rocket Sanders will have to run the ball like he did in 2022 at Arkansas. If he doesn’t it will be a really long year. The QBs are LaNorris Sellers and Robby Ashford. Trouble. Right here in River City. Sell. Tennessee: The folks in Knoxville are so giddy they won the NCAA baseball championship that you would think they’re favored to make the final four in the College Football Playoff. You would also think that Nico Iamaleava can rival Peyton Manning as the greatest QB in UT history. Too many holes to fill on offense and the back seven on defense is all brand new. The schedule could get the Vols to eight wins, but anything more than that will require an act of God. Sell. Texas: One would think the SEC would reward Texas joining the SEC with a tough schedule but that’s not the case. The toughest road game will be the season finale at Texas A&M. Georgia is at home. The Longhorns return Quinn Ewers and four O-line starters and they picked up four outstanding receivers in the portal. The defense will be good enough against that schedule. Buy. Texas A&M: Aggie fans don’t have Jimbo to kick around anymore. Now it’s Mike Elko, who won 16 games at Duke. There is a lot of difference between playing in the ACC and playing in the SEC, not to mention QB Conner Weigman has never been able to stay healthy. The defense won’t be nearly as good as it was a year ago when the Aggies were 19th nationally. The Aggies have a relatively easy schedule to navigate but two of their first three games are Notre Dame and at Florida. Sell. Vanderbilt: Vanderbilt returns three starters on each side of the football and the schedule includes (at) Missouri, Alabama, (at) Kentucky, Texas, (at) Auburn, (at) LSU and Tennessee. Vandy went 2-10 last year. Alcorn State and Ball State are on this year’s schedule so the Commodores have a chance to match last year’s win total. The chardonnay, brie and grapes tail gate set is in for a very long season. Sell. The ACC Stock Market: Buy or Sell Boston College: The Eagles open the season at Florida State then travel to Missouri two weeks later. Not exactly conducive to a winning season. New coach Bill O’Brien will need a couple of years to fix the problems. Sell. California: If Cal survives its weekend at Auburn (game two), the Golden Bears could be sneaky good. They have (at) FSU and Miami games four and five but the rest of the schedule isn’t that challenging. Fifteen starters return. Cal won’t contend but will go bowling. Buy. Clemson: The games that should worry Dabo the most are the season opener with Georgia in Atlanta and October 5 at Florida State. The Tigers finished eighth nationally in total defense and they will be good again. The key is for QB Cade Klubnick to finally live up to the hype. If he lights it up, Clemson will be very good. Buy. Duke: Manny Diaz resurfaces as a head coach and on November 2 he will get a chance to avenge getting fired at Miami. If Texas transfer Maalik Murphy lives up to the hype, the offense will be good. Too many questions on defense. Sell. Florida State: The Seminoles are still crying over getting left out of the College Football Playoff a year ago. They lost all their offensive playmakers and the left guard will be former Gator Richie Leonard. The QB will be Oregon State transfer DJ Uiagalelei, giving it one last shot to prove he is a playoff caliber talent. Too many losses on defense. FSU may win the ACC but the Seminoles aren’t going to be that good. Sell. Georgia Tech: Brent Key shocked the world with a 7-6 record a year ago. The Yellow Jackets are capable of scoring a lot of points, but they can’t stop anybody. The 2023 Gators were the reincarnation of Doomsday by comparison. The 2024 Yellow Jackets won’t be improved enough to do anything better than 7-6. Sell Louisville: The Cardinals won 10 games last year with a good defense that offset a weak O-line that gave up too many sacks. The defense will be better. The key on offense will be protecting Texas Tech transfer QB Tyler Shough. The schedule has three tough roadies – Notre Dame, Clemson and Kentucky. Sell. Miami: Miami will win 10 games this year but the two losses will be in state to Florida in Gainesville and Florida State at home. The Hurricanes play one of the easier schedules in the nation. If they can’t win 10 games with this schedule then they need to send Mario Cristobal packing. Buy. North Carolina: Max Johnson has plenty of outstanding receivers to throw to and he can hand the ball off to Omarion Hampton, the best running back you’ve probably never heard of. To fix the defense, Mack Brown brought in Geoff Collins. The Tar Heels won’t have a tough game until November when they travel to FSU. Buy. North Carolina State: HBC Dave Doeren scored one of the best transfer coups in the country when he landed former Coastal Carolina QB Grayson McCall. Losing LB Payton Wilson, the Butkus and Bednarik winner, was a killer blow to a defense that returns only three starters. After a September that includes Tennessee and (at) Clemson, it’s a very favorable schedule. Buy. Pittsburgh: The Panthers went 3-9 last year with a rotten offense so they hired Kade Bell, son of Kerwin to spruce things up. They will score points but the defense is inexperienced. Sell. SMU: The Mustangs step up to the ACC with a team capable of winning a lot of games. Rhett Lashlee offenses always score a lot of points and SMU has an exceptional trigger man in Preston Stone. Can the defense grow up in a hurry? That’s the big question. If the defense is good, SMU will contend. Buy. Stanford: Stanford was bad (3-9) in the Pac-12 last year. Troy Taylor returns 15 starters from a bad offense and an abysmal defense. Taylor should be ACC coach of the year if he can win four games. Sell. Syracuse: Former Georgia assistant Fran Brown is the new head coach. He’s got eight returning starters on offense and former Ohio State QB Kyle McCord. The Orange turned the ball over 24 times, which is why Dino Babers is no longer the head coach. The defense will take on a Georgia look minus Georgia personnel. The schedule says bowl game. Buy. Virginia: UVa played everybody close last year but finished 3-9. Tony Elliott needs to get to a bowl game this year or he’s a goner. The September schedule is conducive to a 1-3 start. Elliott doesn’t need to invest in long term real estate in Charlottesville. Sell. Virginia Tech: The schedule screams 10 wins. The two toughest games are at Miami and Clemson in Blacksburg. All 11 starters return on offense and eight return on defense. Buy. Wake Forest: The Demon Deacons went 4-8 last year. If they can duplicate that record this year it will be a miracle. Last year’s offense was pathetic (104 nationally) and the defense was largely responsible for the Deacons finishing on an 0-5 run. Sell.

A few thoughts to jump start your Thursday morning: If you base your assumptions solely on last year’s numbers, then Florida’s 2024 offensive line is deserving of its low ranking by Athlon Sports. Athlon ranks the Gators’ O-line No. 14 in its preseason unit rankings. Lindy’s isn’t much better, ranking UF No. 11. Phil Steele ranks the Gators No. 8. After a 2022 in which the Gators averaged 200.23 rushing yards (24th nationally) per game (5.51 per carry, 7thnationally) while allowing only 17 sacks in 13 games (26th nationally), the Gators regressed in 2023. The rushing yardage fell off nearly 51 yards per game (149.83) and average per carry fell off to 4.27. The rushing totals would have been better except the Gators allowed a whopping 39 sacks, 11th in the SEC and 115thnationally. Injuries and inconsistency played a big role in Florida’s offensive line problems last year which is why Billy Napier made rebuilding the line a priority. He brought in three transfers in tackles Brandon Crenshaw Dickson (6-7, 315, from San Diego State) and Devon Manuel (6-7, 319, from Arkansas) and guard Jason Zandamela (6-3, 306, from Southern Cal), plus added freshman tackle Fletcher Westphal (6-8, 325), who should be in the rotation early on. Returning starters from the 2023 team are left tackle Austin Barber (6-6, 316), who was limited to eight games due to a shoulder injury, center Jake Slaughter (6-5, 302) and Damieon George Jr. (6-6, 348), who is moving from right tackle to right guard. George had some struggles making the move to the inside during the spring which may have something to do with Kamryn Waites (6-8, 341) making the move inside where he could challenge George for playing time. The Gators are longer and perhaps more mobile at the tackles and they should be rock solid up the gut, particularly if Slaughter continues to improve game-to-game as much as he did in 2023. The Gators are as talented at the skill positions than they have been in quite some time, but to move the ball and put points on the scoreboard, the offensive line is going to be required to up its game considerably from what we saw a year ago. For the Gators to shock the SEC as some analysts have suggested is entirely possible, it will start offensively with the guys up front. This team figures to be better than a year ago, but improvement has to be shown in the won-lost column as well. If the line does it’s part, the Gators are going to be capable of shocking the world. Here is a look at a potential two-deep: LT: Crenshaw-Dickson (6-7, 310, GR/TR); Caden Jones (6-8, 336, RFR) or Westphal (6-8, 325, FR) LG: Knijeah Harris (6-3, 323, SO); Zandamela (6-3, 306, FR) C: Slaughter (6-5, 302, RSO); Roderick Kearney RG: George (6-6, 348, RJR) or Waites (6-8, 341, RJR) RT: Austin Barber (6-6, 316, RJR) or Devon Manuel (6-7, 319, RSO) UF BASEBALL: Gators add impressive slugger Kevin O’Sullivan continued his rebuild of the Florida baseball roster Wednesday when he landed transfer Bobby Boser (JR, 6-1, 210), who played both infield and outfield at South Florida. During an injury-plagued 2024, Boser started 17 games at second base, 11 at shortstop and two at third base. Despite the injuries, Boser was a first team All-American Athletic Conference selection. In 55 games as a sophomore in 2023, Boser started 33 games in center field and 18 in the infield. Limited to 34 games and 117 at bats due to injuries in 2024, Boser hit .299 with 12 home runs and 32 RBI. As a sophomore in 2023, Boser hit .323 with 15 homers and 41 RBI in 55 games. For his South Florida career, Boser hit .286 with 31 home runs and 85 RBI. Boser is currently playing for Wareham in the Cape Cod Summer League where he is hitting .319 with two homers and eight RBI through 21 games. Boser joins an impressive transfer class of CF Kyle Jones (FR, Stetson, .355, 5 HR 32 RBI), LF Blake Cyr (Miami, SO, career .298, 24 HR, 84 RBI), INF Justin Nadeau (SO, Jacksonville, .332, 3 HR, 58 RBI), INF Landon Stripling (FR, Texas Tech, .253,  4 HR, 20 RBI), RHP Billy Barlow (JR, Clemson, 6-1, 4.28 ERA in 2024), RHP Matt Jenkins (FR, Santa Fe College, 7-5, 4.74 ERA) and LHP Mason Laurito (FR, Gulf Coast State College, 2-1, 3.34 ERA). Signing updates: Jac Caglianone’s signing bonus with the Kansas City Royals was $7.5 million. He was slotted for $7.21 million … Still unsigned is reliever Brandon Neely, the third round pick of the Boston Red Sox. His slot value is $878,800. UF BASKETBALL: Young Gators impressive in Euro U20 Tournament Rising sophomore Kaijus Kublickas and incoming freshman Urban Klavzar were both very impressive in the FIBA European Under-20 Tournament, adding a little bit more speculation that Todd Golden’s Gators are going to be a top 20 team when the season cranks up in the fall. Incoming freshman Urban Klavzar (6-1, 185) led Slovenia to a runner-up place finish averaging 16.1 points, 3.6 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game while shooting 38.3 percent from the 3-point line. In the championship game against France, Klavzar scored 23 points with three rebounds and three assists while hitting 4-8 from the 3-point line. In a semifinal against Belgium he hit 5-8 on his 3-pointers. Playing for Lithuania, which finished fifth, rising sophomore point guard Kaijus Kublickas (6-1, 186) averaged 11.3 points, 3.9 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game. Against Turkey in a round of 16 game, Kublickas had 15 points, nine rebounds and four assists. ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT: If you were of the opinion that the run of conference realignment that destroyed the Pac-12 while adding four left coast teams to the Big Ten, four to the Big 12 and two to the ACC was a sign that all hell has broken loose in collegiate sports, then brace yourself for 2025-26. The new anti-trust settlement between Division I and the United States House of Representatives will be ratified this week, ushering in wholesale changes in scholarships in every sport. Ross Dellenger of Yahoo Sports reports that the new scholarship number for college football will be 105, an increase of 20 from the current limitations. Basketball, both men’s and women’s will be increasing from 13 scholarships to 15. Baseball, which has operated for years with this insane 11.7 scholarship restriction, will increase to 34. Softball will go from 12 to 25 scholarships, while volleyball, currently capped at 12 scholarships, will increase to 18. Scholarship numbers will increase in all sports but those five sports will result in 60 more available scholarships. There is the question of how to pay for more scholarships. This is where revenue sharing, which is part of the anti-trust settlement, comes into play. Each school is expected to receive something like $25 million in Division I. No sport will get a decrease in scholarships and partial scholarships will be available. As part of the settlement, Dellenger reports that schools will have the choice to use all or simply some of the scholarship allotment. It all sounds good on paper, but there are potholes in the road ahead. Nobody has yet to figure out exactly how to deal with Title IX and that is going to be a real issue. The women’s sports will demand equality, not only in the number of scholarships but their fair share of the revenue sharing. Title IX is federal law so there is no way for schools or conferences to play games with the numbers for fear of getting jacked up in court. Equally important is what happens at the Group of Five level. For example, if all 16 SEC schools increase football scholarships by 20, imagine the ripple effect that will be felt downline. This could lead to some of the Group of Five schools dropping down to the D1AA level or to the possibility of a playoff system set up for the schools that can’t afford to sign full scholarship allotments. And, we haven’t even begun to approach the idea that athletes could become employees. The athletes don’t want that. They like the current free agency where they can come and go as they please and sell themselves to the highest bidder. Once they are employees, they are under contract which will have an effect on their ability to move freely. As paid employees, athletes will be able to unionize and go on strike for higher wages. They could also be fired and perhaps traded to another school. The possibilities are endless. Most everyone will be happy with more scholarships at the highest levels, but before any of these changes are officially implemented, the schools need to slow down, take some time to discuss matters with their downline brethren. Everything sounds so good on paper, but it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to punch holes in just about every proposal. Meanwhile, get ready for the chaos because it is sure to follow.

A few thoughts to jump start your Wednesday morning: Tuesday in a Pensacola U.S. District Court, former Florida football staffer Marcus Castro-Walker, businessman/booster Hugh Hathcock and Florida football coach Billy Napier responded with three motions to dismiss the $10 million lawsuit filed back in May by quarterback Jaden Rashada. Rashada is a former UF signee (2022), now a backup quarterback at Georgia after a year at Arizona State.   Rashada’s lawsuit, filed by prominent Houston attorney Rusty Hardin, alleges fraudulent misrepresentation and inducement, aiding and abetting fraud, civil conspiracy to commit fraud, negligent misrepresentations, tortious interference with a business relationship or contract, aiding and abetting tortious interference and vicarious liability in a name, image and likeness deal that went south. Originally committed to Miami, Rashada flipped to Florida on November 10, 2022 due to a Florida offer of $13.85 million spearheaded by Hathcock and his Velocity Automotive Solutions LLC plus the Gator Collective.   The lawsuit alleges that Florida never really wanted Rashada but made the $13.85 NIL offer to lure him away from Miami and its $9.5 million deal. Miami mega-booster John Ruiz told The Athletic back in May that no such deal was ever made.   Hal Lewis of the Tallahassee law firm Fonvielle Lewis Messer & McConnaughhay filed the first motion to dismiss on behalf of Castro-Walker. In his 18-page response, Lewis wrote that “a thorough re-reading of the Complaint after knowing how the story ends would fail to uncover even a single bread crumb of evidence that even remotely supported the ending.”   Henry Coxe III of the Jacksonville law firm Bedell, Dittmar, Devault, Pillans & Coxe , filed a 29-page motion to dismiss on Napier’s behalf, claiming the facts are “sorely lacking from the complaint.” The response also claims that there is nothing in the Rashada suit that “supports that Napier participated in any wrongdoing” and that the complaint makes clear that Napier could not have defrauded Rashada, since the sole statement attributed to Napier is alleged to have been made after Rashada had already abandoned the Miami NIL deal."   Jason Peterson of the Clark Partington firm in Pensacola that represents Hathcock wrote in his dismissal motion that "Some variation of the word 'promise' appears at least 50 times in the complaint, yet there is no breach-of-contract count."   Nobody is denying that a ridiculous $13.85 million NIL deal was offered to Rashada. What happened after that is like the plot of a soap opera complete with twists, turns, finger-pointing and Napier allegedly vouching for the Gator Collective and its promise to pay Rashada $1 million on National Signing Day. Rashada signed with the Gators after a bit of a delay, but a couple of weeks later asked for and was granted a release from his National Letter of Intent.   If the motions to dismiss are rejected, Hardin wants a jury trial. Will it ever get that far? Whether or not Rashada’s allegations are fact-based, a trial could take days or even weeks to unravel the truth causing embarrassment for everyone involved. Which is more prudent for Billy Napier? To spend all that time in a court room away from his team, away from recruiting, or write a check to make this lawsuit go away?   Is Rusty Hardin amenable to a settlement or is he thinking how this trial could be a test balloon capable of luring athletes who feel they were lied to or deceived? If he’s successful in winning the Rashada case in court or agreeing to a large settlement, then he will be a magnet for other athletes who made NIL deals that were never consummated or perhaps the money dried up.   At the heart of this matter is the NCAA, whose lack of leadership has led to an out of control situation with NIL. There are no guardrails or sufficient parameters in place to prevent cases like this popping up all over the country. So brace yourself. Lawsuits like this could be the norm for years to come.     CAGLIANONE SIGNS WITH ROYALS The Kansas City Royals announced via Twitter Tuesday night that they have come to terms with two-way player Jac Caglianone, taken with the sixth pick of the first round in the Major League Baseball Draft. Terms of the contract were not immediately disclosed although Caglianone has a slot value of $7.21 million.   Also signed: Shortstop Kellon Lindsey (Wauchula, FL Hardee County), taken with the 23rd pick of the first round by the Los Angeles Dodgers, signed for $3.3 million … Reliever Fisher Jameson, a 10th-round pick of the Colorado Rockies, signed for $185,800 .... Reliever Ryan Slater, taken in the 18th round by the San Francisco Giants, signed for $125,000.      Still unsigned: Closer Brandon Neely, a third-round selection of the Boston Red Sox, has a slot value of $878,800 … Shortstop Brendan Lawson (Toronto, Canada/Lexington, SC P27 Academy) was taken in the 19th-round by the St. Louis Cardinals. He made it clear he will be a Gator in the fall … Shortstop/third baseman Colby Shelton, a 20th-round pick of the Washington Nationals, is playing in the Cape Cod Summer League. When Shelton wasn’t taken in the first three rounds it was assumed he will be returning to Florida, so taking him in the 20th-round is more or less a Hail Mary pick by the Nationals. Shelton has two seasons of eligibility remaining.   SEC sports stuff Alabama: From here on out, it will be Nick Saban Field at Bryant-Denny Stadium. Alabama will officially dedicate the playing field September 7 when South Florida comes to Tuscaloosa to play. Auburn: Running back Brian Battie, who was shot in the head in Sarasota back in May, is able to walk again with the use of a cane. Georgia: Charlie Condon, taken third in the recent Major League Baseball Draft by the Colorado Rockies, signed a record-tying $9.25 million bonus. Kentucky: Mark Stoops is now the dean of Southeastern Conference football coaches with 12 years on the job. Stoops, who has two of the four 10-win seasons in UK history, has taken the Wildcats to eight consecutive bowl games. LSU: Defensive back Javien Toviano has been suspended from all team activities following an arrest for video voyeurism. A New Orleans woman discovered videos of her having sex with Taviano on Taviano’s iPad. The woman says she didn’t give Taviano permission to video their sexual encounters. Vanderbilt: The starting quarterback job will be between Utah transfer Nate Johnson and New Mexico State transfer Diego Pavia. Little Jimmy Phillips reads the riot act to Florida State and Clemson It has taken awhile, but Atlantic Coast commissioner Little Jimmy Phillips finally seems to have the nerve to publicly stand up to the bullying from Florida State and Clemson, which have filed lawsuits against the league in an attempt to escape from the league’s grant of rights contract with ESPN that runs through 2036. Phillips took to the podium Monday for his state of the league address at ACC Media Days, promising FSU, Clemson and whoever else has an interest in leaving the league that the ACC is prepared to fight it out in the courts for as many years as it takes to keep the conference intact.     At the heart of the matter is money, but isn’t that what always drives conference realignment? The Southeastern Conference with its new media deal with ESPN will be paying somewhere around $70-75 million per school in the next two years. It is expected that higher television ratings from the addition of Texas and Oklahoma will result in ESPN rewriting the contract and pushing per school revenues closer to $100 million per year. The Big Ten has a new media deal with Fox, CBS and NBC that is expected to pay more than the SEC at least in the short term.   Meanwhile, ACC teams are shackled by their media deal that will take a few more years before it distributes $50 million per school. That FSU and Clemson want to keep up with their cousins in the SEC and Big Ten is understandable, but that’s something they should have thought about prior to signing the grant of rights not just once but twice. “ The fact is that every member of this conference willingly signed the grant of rights unanimously and, quite frankly, eagerly agreed to our current television contract and the launch of the ACC Network,” Phillips said.   The rebuke by Phillips comes a week after FSU and Clemson got some comeuppance when SEC commissioner Greg Sankey and several league presidents let it be known they aren’t interested in further expansion, much less inviting FSU and Clemson to join, nor are they interested in getting tied up in the courts for years to come. The ACC is not only willing to fight schools that wish to secede in court for however long it takes to win, but it will drag into court any league that offers sanctuary to rebellious ACC members. That wasn’t lost on Sankey and SEC presidents. They just don’t need the hassles.   All of this flies directly in the face of activist FSU and Clemson boosters who have spent the last few months claiming a deal to join either the SEC or Big Ten is imminent. Nothing could be further from the truth.     ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT:  Here we are, a little less than six weeks from the start of the college football season and there is no Pac-12 Conference. It just doesn’t seem right that the Conference of Champions has been reduced to two irrelevant schools that can’t seem to make a deal to merge with the Mountain West Conference to provide a prominent league on the left coast.   We could see the Pac-12 about to become a train wreck years ago when Larry Scott became the commissioner. He arrived with much fanfare and boasts about making the Pac-12 a cutting edge league. He left with a trail of broken promises in his wake. The Pac-12 presidents then made the mistake of hiring George Kliavkoff, another dreamer who lacked the ability to make dreams and visions for the league to come true.   Bad leadership resulted in Southern Cal, UCLA, Washington and Oregon leaving the Pac-12 for the Big Ten. Arizona, Arizona State, Utah and Colorado left for the Big 12. Faced with forming a league that included academic lightweights Washington State and Oregon State, Stanford and California elected to join the Atlantic Coast Conference where they felt more in tune with the likes of Virginia, North Carolina, Duke and Georgia Tech.   I look at all these new conference affiliations and I just shake my head. I guess I’m just too much of a traditionalist. The lure of college football has always been about the rivalries. I guess that’s why I’m such a diehard SEC guy. Sure, I grew up in the south and my first college football memories were at Florida Field watching the Gators go for two to beat Georgia Tech in 1960 or seeing Steve Spurrier wave Charlie Casey into the end zone as Florida came from behind to beat Florida State in 1965.   I’ve always appreciated walking through the tailgaters and smelling ribs on a grill as fans from rival schools share a beer and food before making their way into the stadium. The walk through The Grove in Oxford can’t be replicated anywhere else. Night games in The Swamp or at Tiger Stadium are electric. Florida-Georgia is an experience and should never leave Jacksonville.   Rutgers at Southern Cal? Southern Cal at Maryland? My first inclination is to ask why but I know why. It’s all about the money. The Pac-12 doesn’t exist because Larry Scott and George Kliavkoff failed to make the league relevant enough that one or more networks was willing to invest in the future of the Conference of Champions.   I’m an SEC guy but I’m going to miss the Pac-12.

“…It was always one school. Florida’s always the school I came back to. Like, even when I didn’t want to.  I  just came back to it.” – 5-star wide receiver Vernell Brown III talking about how the Florida Gators landed his commitment with Zach Abloverdi of Gators Online. Blood, it turns out, still means something when it comes to the Brown family in Gainesville, Florida. Wide receiver Vernell Brown III (5-11, 173, Orlando, FL Jones) isn’t just your typical legacy recruit. There aren’t many whose Florida football roots run deeper. His dad Vernell Jr., grandfather Vernell Sr., and uncles Val and Johnell were all Gators, too. All the Browns before VB3 were fine football players, but this one is special. Very, very special. At Orlando Jones a year ago, VB3 was electric, hauling in 70 passes for 1,404 yards and 12 touchdowns. He scored another four touchdowns as he wound up with more than 2,000 all-purpose yards. He’s so good that some recruiting analysts claim there isn’t a better receiver in the country once he has the football in his hands. When it came time to make the call for where he’s going to be playing college football, Billy Napier and the Florida Gators won out, but not without Ohio State, Florida State and Miami doing their best to convince him otherwise. Some of the final decision had to do with Billy Gonzales, the Florida wide receivers coach who was also coaching Gator wide receivers back when dad Vernell Brown Jr. was labeled “the face of Florida football” in 2005 by then head coach Urban Meyer. Some of it had to do with where VB3 plans to live once he has hung up his cleats. He grew up in Florida and has no intention of living anywhere else once his playing days have come and gone. But the biggest reason of all is family. And maybe the biggest family reason is Vernell Brown Jr, whose scholarship to Florida as part of the recruiting class of 2000 was secured by a phone call between Gainesville High School legendary coach Jim Niblack and Steve Spurrier. Spurrier was concerned about Vernell Jr.’s size, then about 5-8 and maybe 140 or so pounds. At Ryan’s Steakhouse one day at lunch, Niblack recalled the conversation. “I said go ahead and sign him,” Niblack said. “Just give him a chance and he’ll find a place to play. And if he can’t play, come see me. I’ll write you a check for whatever the scholarship ends up costing you.” Spurrier took Niblack's word for it, signed Vernell Brown Jr. and kept the Brown family legacy alive. In 2005, his fifth and final year playing for the Gators, Vernell Brown Jr. became a stud in Chuck Heater’s secondary. He broke up six passes, picked off three and had a habit of putting opposing receivers on the ground. He was a sure tackler. But what made Vernell Brown Jr. so special had everything to do with leadership. Three incidences tell you everything you need to know about Vernell Brown Jr. while at the same time telling you exactly why Vernell Brown III will be a Gator. November 12, 2005. The Gators had just lost to South Carolina and, of all people, Steve Spurrier in Columbia. Vernell Jr. hadn’t been able to play. He was on crutches, having suffered a broken leg against Vanderbilt a week earlier, but he was such a valuable leader that he made the trip to Columbia. When the Gators returned from Columbia there was a come to Jesus team meeting. Flanked by Jeremy Mincey and Jarvis Herring, Vernell Brown Jr. basically told the Gators that either they were 100 percent behind Urban Meyer or else don’t let the door hit them in the butts on the way out. That team meeting became the turning point for Meyer. Without that meeting there is no recruiting class that includes Tebow, Percy, BSpikes and other studs. Without that meeting there is no national championship in 2006. Two weeks later, it was senior day at The Swamp. No. 19 Florida vs. No. 23 Florida State. The Seminoles had already clinched their division in the ACC and they would go on to beat Virginia Tech a week later for the league championship, but they wanted the state championship, too. A win would almost certainly result in Percy Harvin signing with FSU and would divert Tim Tebow and Brandon Spikes to Alabama. One by one Florida’s seniors were announced, greeted at the 20-yard line by Meyer. Lance Butler, Randy Hand, Mike Degory, Jeremy Mincey, Jarvis Herring … there was some nastiness on the part of FSU fans and players alike when Todd McCullough’s name was announced. Todd disliked FSU as much as FSU disliked Todd. One name remained to be called. Vernell Brown Jr., the littlest Gator of all when it came to physical size but the Gator with the biggest heart. They said he was 5-8, but nobody really believed it. They said he was 165 pounds. Maybe with his helmet, pads and shoes on. Heart? Must have weighed 50 pounds. As Vernell hobbled toward Meyer, the crowd erupted, a deafening roar heard up and down University Avenue, capable of blowing the roof off had The Swamp been domed. At the 20, Meyer bear hugged Vernell and the entire crowd at The Swamp could feel the emotion. The hug lasted only 8-10 seconds but it seemed like an eternity. Tears flowed freely throughout the old stadium. Taking Vernell’s place on the field that day was freshman Avery Atkins, whose job was to cover FSU’s 6-6 wide receiver Greg Carr. Vernell spent the day coaching up Avery and the kid responded. Carr caught only one pass, a 45-yarder that probably would have gone incomplete or intercepted if the over the top safety help had arrived in time. Avery picked off a pass late in the second quarter, as the Florida defense dominated the Seminoles and the Gators won convincingly, 34-7. In an emotion-packed locker room after the game, Avery Atkins broke down in tears explaining how much Vernell Brown meant to him, the big brother he never had. In the locker room recruits such as Tim Tebow, Brandon James, Brandon Spikes, Marcus Gilbert and Riley Cooper were listening. In the next three weeks, they would all be Gators as would Percy Harvin. They would go on to win two national championships. On January 2, 2006, less than two months since he broke his leg, Vernell Brown Jr. was on the field for the Outback Bowl against Iowa. In the second quarter, Vernell broke on a pass, picked it off and then sprinted 60 yards for a touchdown as the Gators knocked off the Hawkeyes, 31-24. The Gators finished Meyer’s first season on the job with a 9-3 record plus momentum that carried over into the next season. If you simply go by what’s in the record books, Vernell Brown Jr. had a very good senior season at the University of Florida. What the record books will never show you is the impact he had on the entire football program, especially as a senior when the Gators needed some glue to hold them together. Vernell Brown Jr. was that glue. You can’t put a pricetag on that, nor can any record book do it justice. Now, 18 years later Vernell Brown Jr.’s son has committed to play football for the Gators. VB3 is unquestionably the most talented of all the Browns who have played for Florida. That’s not to say the others weren’t good because they were. Just that Vernell Brown III is the best. At Florida, where older sister Kendall was a freshman long jumper for Mike Holloway’s NCAA runner-up national champion track team, VB3 becomes the latest significant addition to a wide receiver room talented enough to become one of the best, if not the best, in the entire country. In the 2025 class, the Gators already have a commitment from 4-star Joshua Moore (6-4, 210, Pembroke Pines, FL West Broward). Florida’s 2023 recruiting class featured Eugene Wilson III, who will be one of the most dangerous wide receivers in the SEC as a sophomore this year, and Aidan Mizell and Andy Jean, redshirt 4-stars who will be on the field a lot in 2024. The Gators added a pair of serious speedsters for 2024 in 4-stars TJ Abrams and Tank Hawkins. The puzzle that Billy Napier is far from complete, but Sunday he added a significant piece and with it strengthened the wide receiver room. Vernell Brown III, if he has the same work ethic as his dad and all the Browns before him, will make his presence felt early and often at the University of Florida. It’s in blood that is colored orange and blue.

Perhaps they should be called the Dangerfields, because just like the late, great Rodney Dangerfield, the Florida Gators got no respect from media that gathered in Dallas from across the southeast and the nation last week. When SEC Media Days finished up and the ballots were counted, Florida was predicted to finish 12th in the 16-team league. From the standpoint of media, expectations for Florida are the lowest they’ve been since Charley Pell’s first year on the job in 1979. The Gators lived up to their lack of hype by finishing 0-10-1. This Florida team isn’t going to go winless even against the toughest schedule in the country, but they aren’t going to finish 12th in the SEC, either. Here is my predicted order of finish followed by the media predictions and my commentary: 1. Texas 2. Georgia 3. Ole Miss 4. Alabama 5. Missouri 6. LSU 7. Tennessee 8. FLORIDA 9. Oklahoma 10. Auburn 11. Kentucky 12. Texas A&M 13. South Carolina 14. Arkansas 15. Mississippi State 16. Vanderbilt The SEC Media Predicted Order of Finish Carson Beck (15) will lead a Georgia offense that returns nine starters (Photo by Chris Spears) 1. Georgia: Georgia is the media’s favorite to hoist both SEC and national trophies high, largely due to nine returning starters on offense including QB Carson Beck. The Bulldogs should score points and they will be very good defensively, but there is that teensy matter of the schedule. Georgia hasn’t won a road game against a top 10 ranked opponent since 12th-ranked Kentucky in Lexington in 2018. This year Georgia gets Alabama, Texas and Ole Miss on the road and all three should be ranked in the top five. Prediction: Georgia is going to make the College Football Playoff but the Bulldogs won’t have the advantage of the usual easy SEC road schedule. Don’t be the least bit surprised with two or three regular season losses. The SEC is that tough this year. 2. Texas: The Longhorns made the College Football Playoff and were within six points of making it to the championship game so expectations are through the roof. Four starters on the O-line, QB Quinn Ewers and seven returning starters on defense will do that for you. Instead of getting a tough schedule for the first time through the SEC, the Longhorns must think they were handed the keys to the kingdom. They get Georgia, Florida and Kentucky at home. There is the usual game with Oklahoma in Dallas and the Aggies in College Station, but the other roadies are at Vandy and at Arkansas. Prediction: This is a schedule made for a championship. Georgia at home. No Alabama, no Ole Miss. Texas makes the SEC Championship Game and the College Football Playoff. 3. Alabama: Kalen DeBoer is 104-12 as a head coach. Sure, he’s never coached in the SEC, but winners win and this is Alabama we’re talking about. He turned Michael Penix Jr. into a first round draft pick and Penix may not be anywhere as gifted as Jalen Milroe. Remember the name Justice Haynes. He will be the next great Alabama running back. The defense will be stout. Prediction: It’s hard to imagine anything less than 10 wins even in a year in which the head coach is trying to fill the shoes of the greatest of all time, Nick Saban. 4. Ole Miss: Imagine Lane Kiffin with a defense that gets off the field on third down, giving him more plays and possessions. Well, the Rebels might have one of the most improved defenses in the country this year, which is scary when you consider just how good the offense is going to be. Ole Miss finished 65th nationally in total defense a year ago. With Walter Nolen, Chris Paul Jr. and a secondary rebuilt through the portal, Ole Miss should have a top 20 unit. Offensively, Jaxson Dart has the best receivers in the SEC to throw to in Juice Wells, Tre Harris and TE Caden Prieskorn plus so many good running backs that the loss of Quinshon Judkins will be negated. Two tough roadies in LSU and Florida, but Oklahoma and Georgia are homers. Prediction: It will be difficult for the Rebels to win fewer than nine games. Ten or eleven is more probable. Lane could win the SEC but will definitely make the College Football Playoff. 5. LSU: There is no Jayden Daniels to improvise and make opposing defenses look silly. There is also no running game without him. Garrett Nussmeier can fling the ball all over the field but he will be operating behind an offensive line that was constantly bailed out by Daniels’ doing a Houdini and escaping. Nuss doesn’t have Daniels’ fancy feet nor will he have Malik Nabers and Brian Thomas to throw it to. The defense was so bad that Brian Kelly hired a new coordinator, but the players are pretty much the same. Prediction: For the Tigers to contend, they will have to get a big boost from the schedule that includes Ole Miss, Alabama and Oklahoma at home. LSU will win eight games but won’t be nearly as good as the record indicates. 6. Missouri: The Tigers play the nation’s 62nd toughest schedule, opening with two homeless shelters and a convent before SEC play opens with Vanderbilt at home. There are eight offensive starters including QB Brady Cook and WR Luther Burden III. A lot of defensive players from a year ago will be picking up an NFL paycheck but it won’t matter. A loaded up offense and that pansy schedule means the Tigers can outscore just about anyone they play. Prediction: They probably win 10 games and make the College Football Playoff, but they won’t be nearly as good as their record indicates. The Florida defense had its best game of the year against Tennessee in 2023 (Photo by Chris Spears) 7. Tennessee: A year after Joe Milton was good for reductions of 15 points and 77 yards per game of offense, the Vols are hanging their hats on sophomore Nico Iamaleava, who is supposed to be so good he will lead them to the promised land. While the offense should be at least a touchdown better per game than a year ago, there will be eight new starters on defense including the entire secondary. The Vols will get four wins from their non-conference schedule plus they get Arkansas and Vanderbilt. Oklahoma and Georgia are on the road with three straight homers with Florida, Alabama and Kentucky. Prediction: The Vols won 11 in 2022, nine a season ago. This one has the feel of seven or eight. At most. 8. Oklahoma: For starters, the Sooners play at Auburn, at Ole Miss, at Missouri and at LSU, plus Texas in Dallas. They play home games with Tennessee and Alabama. There is a new QB in former 5-star Jackson Arnold along with seven other newbies on the offensive side of the ball. The defense couldn’t stop the run last year and that was against a Big 12 schedule. Prediction: As Robert Preston in the part of Professor Harold Hill in “The Music Man” warned, “We got trouble, right here in River City.” Six wins, seven at the most. 9. Texas A&M: In private the Aggies are doing their best Nancy Kerrigan. Whyyyyyyy meeeee? The Longhorns got a pansy schedule. The Aggies start the season with Notre Dame and their conference schedule includes (at) Florida, Missouri, LSU, (at) Auburn and Texas. Oh, and remember that recruiting class a couple of years ago that was the best since Gideon beat the Midianites and their 20,000 with 300 recruits? Half of it including nearly all the good ones, are gone. So is Jimbo. And QB Conner Weigman has been good for four games a season before he’s gotten hurt the last two years. Prediction: The Aggies are going to lose two of the first three (Notre Dame and at Florida), which might have the faithful asking what they were thinking when they paid Jimbo a gazillion dollars not to coach. They might have to beat Texas in the season finale to make a bowl game. 10. Auburn: Hugh Freeze teams tend to get much better in year two but for the Tigers to get better than last year’s 6-7 Payton Thorne is going to have to make people believe 2023 was a fluke. He doesn’t exactly make one think he’s the second coming of Tom Brady. In addition to a slew of transfers of which eight figure to start, Freeze has new coordinators on both sides of the ball. The road schedule is rough with trips to Georgia, Mizzou, Kentucky and Alabama. Prediction: There should be celebrations on Toomer’s Corner if Freeze can get the Tigers to seven regular season wins. 11. Kentucky: For the Wildcats to do better than 7-6, the defense is going to have to carry the load. Nine starters return for coordinator Brad White. There is a new offensive coordinator and a new QB in Georgia transfer Brock Vandagriff, who, at one time was thought to be the second coming in Athens. He’s never started a game and this year he’s got to beat his old buddies  in the third game of the season plus roadies at Ole Miss, Florida, Tennessee and Texas. Prediction: They keep telling us that Mark Stoops is a brilliant coach. He will have to be for the Wildcats to be anything better than 6-6 or 7-5. Montrell Johnson Jr. is as good if not better than any SEC running back (Photo by Chris Spears) 12. Florida: This is not the 12th best team in the Southeastern Conference. Count on it. Billy Napier has an experienced team and an offense that is going to light up a lot of opponents. Graham Mertz can go vertical on every play and Montrell Johnson Jr. is as good as any running back in the SEC. The O-line will be better. Where the Gators will be vastly improved is on defense where experience and transfers are going to make this a top 30 unit. Prediction: Seven home games, nine in the state of Florida and improvement on both sides of the ball. Don’t be shocked if the Gators are 6-1 or even 7-0 when they play the Poodles in Jacksonville. Seven wins for sure, eight do-able and nine not completely out of the question if everybody stays healthy. 13. South Carolina: Last year’s everybody out for a pass offense doesn’t have Spencer Rattler to heave it downfield. The QB is LaNorris Sellers, who threw four passes last year. Shane Beamer brought in Raheim Sanders from Arkansas and Oscar Adaway III from North Texas State to run behind a very good O-line that returns four starters. The Gamecocks are going to have to go ground and pound to keep the defense off the field. If they can’t control the clock, the Gamecocks will struggle to break even. Prediction: Four wins thanks to three of the four non-conference games (fourth is Clemson) and Vanderbilt. 14. Arkansas: Bobby Petrino is back in Fayette Nam to coordinate an offense that will be led by Boise State transfer QB Taylen Green, who threw nearly as many completions (9) to the other team as he did TDPs (11) to his own. Four running backs left including Rocket Sanders.  Three transfer starters on the OL and six newbies on a defense that couldn’t keep people out of the end zone a year ago spell a long, difficult season. Prediction: Sam Pittman needs six wins in the worst way. He’ll be lucky to get four. 15. Mississippi State: The Bulldogs were fun to watch when Mike Leach was the HBC, not so much fun under last year’s head coach, Zach Arnett. Arnett was replaced after one year by Jeff Lebby, who cut his coaching teeth at Oklahoma in a freewheeling offense that lit up scoreboards. The folks in Starkville are hoping his offense can at least make them competitive. It’s going to take at least a couple of recruiting classes for that to happen. Prediction: At least the non-conference games are winnable. 16. Vanderbilt: Year three of the Clark Lea Era should be better than year two, but not by much. There will be 14 new starters, one of which is Diego Pavia, the QB at New Mexico State last year. Both the offensive and defensive lines will look like boys playing against grown men when lined up against SEC opponents. Another long year is all but assured. Prediction: Everybody in the SEC needs a good homecoming opponent. Vandy is that team.