A few thoughts to jump start your Wednesday morning: TWENTY-FIVE DAYS … AND COUNTING As Matt Hayes pointed out in his Saturday Down South column on Monday, May 1 is just around the corner, a day surpassed in importance only by college football’s two national signing days. May 1 is the last day to transfer and be eligible to play in 2022 without going through the waiver process. For a school like Florida where Billy Napier says we can expect the Gators to dip into the NCAA transfer portal for 10 or more plug and play types, May 1 is every bit as important as the two national signing days. Napier inherited some very talented kids when he took over as Florida’s head coach, but unfortunately, he doesn’t have enough to compete at the highest level in the SEC where Alabama and Georgia back up their first teamers with 30 or 40 former recruits who were all rated four stars or better when they signed out of high school. When he talked to the media after Florida’s first spring scrimmage last week, Napier said, “We need players” and the place he’s going to get them is the transfer portal. “Now, I think the approach is going to be, you know, acquire as many good players as we can at any position, right?” Napier said last week after Florida’s first scrimmage. “So, you know, we're thin and we need help in a lot of different spots.” A lot of different spots? Figure he needs at wide receivers, at least one so fast he can turn out the lights and be in bed before the room gets dark (Okay, I stole that line), a tight end who can double as a third tackle when he’s not terrorizing the middle of the field in the passing game, three offensive linemen of which one has to be another tackle, three or four defensive tackles including one who can play both inside and outside, an inside linebacker who is 240 or so pounds and capable of stepping into a hole without getting knocked on his keister, and at least one safety and one corner of the big, fast and physical variety. Napier dipped into the transfer portal back in December and the result was six who are practicing this spring and who will factor in the fall. Six isn’t enough, however. Ole Miss, as Hayes pointed out, has 12 who have played in 263 Division I football games. High school kids require time to develop. Experienced transfers can fill an immediate need. “We were fortunate to get six [transfers] at mid-year,” Napier said last week. “All six have contributed to the team in a positive way. I was talking the other day, what if we didn't have those guys? What would practice be like? So, I think we need to continue to acquire more talent. I think that's the name of the game. So we'll evaluate and we're gonna recruit and I'm hopeful that we'll be able to add a handful of players to the team." The portal has indeed changed the way recruiting is done throughout college football. Before there was a transfer portal, replacing kids who quit, transferred out or became academically ineligible was extremely difficult. Now that there is a portal, there is ready access to immediate help. The flip side of that is because kids have the freedom to leave without a compelling reason other than they want a fresh start somewhere else, there is more attrition than ever before. That Florida will give scholarships to five walk-ons this spring and Napier is planning for 10 or more transfers tells us there are more holes in the roster than we dared imagine back in January. We don’t know how many are taking medical redshirt or how many have been encouraged to “retire.” Napier is a smart guy. He knows the portal giveth and the portal taketh away. He’s going to be searching for players, but he’s probably going to lose a few, too. Napier has 25 days to figure out who’s staying, who’s leaving and where he needs to go to fill out his roster with quality players. UF BASEBALL: GATORS HAMMER FAMU, 13-3 The Fabian brothers and BT Riopelle homered Tuesday night to pace the Gators (19-10, 3-6 SEC) to a 13-3 non-conference win over Florida A&M, a tuneup game for the key SEC series with 2nd-ranked Arkansas (21-5, 7-2 SEC) starting Thursday night (6 p.m., SEC Network). For Jud Fabian, who had also had a single and a double, the home run was his 13th of the season, which leads the SEC and is tied for second nationally. Deric Fabian hit his third homer of the year and Riopelle hit his seventh, a grand slam in the 6-run fourth inning. The Gators have hit 57 homers this season, which is third nationally. It was a 16-hit night for the Gators, paced by three hits each by Jud Fabian, Wyatt Langford and Josh Rivera. Nick Pogue got the start and picked up the win with three perfect innings. HBC Kevin O’Sullivan split the remaining six innings among Nick Ficarrotta, Tyler Nesbitt, Phil Abner, Timmy Manning and Blake Purnell. Manning was the only one to have any problems, giving up three runs (only one earned) and three hits in the eighth. UF SOFTBALL: NO. 8 GATORS TAKE ON NO. 2 FSU TONIGHT There isn’t a team in the country with a tougher week than the Gators, who play host to 2nd-ranked Florida State (35-2) tonight (6 p.m., SEC Network) and then take on 4th-ranked Alabama (31-5, 8-4 SEC) this weekend. Beating FSU is important for both state and national prestige, but Alabama sits on top of the SEC with the Gators (30-6, 7-5 SEC) one game behind at the midway point of the SEC schedule. UF MEN’S GOLF: BIONDI LEADS GATORS TO SECOND PLACE FINISH AT CALUSA CUP Fred Biondi birdied five of the first eight holes Tuesday to pace the 16th-ranked Gators to a second place finish at the Calusa Cup in Naples. Biondi was five under for the tournament (211) to finish in a tie for individual honors. Ricky Castillo finished -1 for the tournament to finish in a 7th-place tie. The Gators had a team total of 864, eight shots behind tournament champ Georgia Tech. Next up for the Gators is the Southeastern Conference Championships at St. Simon’s Island April 20-24. SEC FOOTBALL/BASKETBALL Alabama: Former 4-star wide receiver Argiye Hall is no longer listed on the Alabama roster. Apparently Hall didn’t know it. Reportedly, he plans to visit both Florida and Miami. Arkansas: Au’Diese Toney will not use his COVID year to return to Arkansas but instead has declared for the NBA Draft and will hire an agent. Toney averaged 10.5 points and 5.2 rebounds after transferring in from Pittsburgh. Auburn: Not that anyone should be surprised but Jabari Smith has declared for the NBA Draft after averaging 16.9 points and 7.4 rebounds as a freshman while making 42 percent of his 3-pointers. He has a legitimate chance to be the first player selected. Georgia: Kirby Smart says that quarterback Stetson Bennett IV is “playing the best football he’s played since he’s been here” … Former Florida, now Georgia, basketball coach Mike White lost three players to the transfer portal on Tuesday including Christian Wright, who played in all 32 games while averaging 5.3 points and 2.2 rebounds in 22 minutes. Also transferring out are freshmen Tyrone Baker and Cam McDowell. Baker played in three games while McDowell played in seven. LSU: Linebacker Josh White announced he is transferring to Baylor to play for Dave Aranda. Ole Miss: Three-time SWAC Defensive Player of the Year Jayveous McKinnis is transferring in from Jackson State, where he averaged 12.4 points, 10.3 rebounds, 2.9 blocks and 1.2 steals per game last season. South Carolina: HBC Shane Beamer was pleased with the pass protection from his offensive line in the Gamecocks’ first scrimmage of the spring. Overall, Beamer said the defense was ahead of the offense. Tennessee: Guard Kennedy Chandler, who is projected to go in the first round, has declared for the NBA Draft. He averaged 13.9 points, 3.2 rebounds, 4.7 assists and 2.2 steals per game. Texas A&M: Jimbo Fisher says the quarterback battle between LSU transfer Max Johnson, Haynes King and freshman Connor Wegman will continue into the summer. ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT: One of the most successful NCAA Basketball Tournaments is behind us. Counting the four play-ins, we got 67 games in three weeks with a Final Four that produced two epic games, North Carolina’s win over Duke in the semifinals and the Kansas win over Carolina in the championship game. Mark Emmert, being the incompetent boob that he is, will probably try to take a victory lap. He shouldn’t, not after deferring handing the trophy to Bill Self and then calling the champs the “Kansas City Jayhawks.” Maybe Emmert goofed. Maybe he intended to do that as a way of insulting Self, who may very well be guilty of all the things he's accused of in those five Level I violations. The only one who should feel insulted is Mark Emmert, who will praise a biological male for winning a national championship in swimming that should have gone to a woman and yet doesn’t have the guts to shake the hands of a coach on the biggest stage in all of college sports. Enough about Emmert. Although the incompetent NCAA leaders before him all had a hand in what’s about to happen, Emmert will be the one who gets credit for being the torpedo that sunk the ship that has ruled collegiate sports for far too long. The NCAA Tournament proved one thing: It is time for the College Football Playoff to expand. Four teams won’t get it, eight is not enough, and we can argue whether 12 or 16 is the right number until the cows come home, but we need those extra teams. I’m old enough to remember when the NCAA Basketball Tournament expanded to 32 teams in 1975 and then three years later to 48. In 1985 the tournament expanded from 48 teams to 64. Four play-in games were added in 2011. With each expansion some “purists” have claimed the tournament is being diluted. Sure, it could be tweaked but the overall product has gotten better and more interesting with each expansion. It is the best three weeks in all of college sports because it leaves the door open for a Butler or Loyola to make the Final Four or for a Saint Peter’s to bushwhack a Kentucky team that everyone had penciled in as a potential national champ. Like every Cinderella in the years before that has captured the nation’s imagination, the clock struck midnight for Saint Peter’s but not before 300 or so schools from St. Somewhere Else asked the proverbial question, “Why not us?” The Final Four this year was four bluebloods who have won multiple national championships. We’ll probably get four bluebloods when the College Football Playoff expands to 12 or 16 teams, but that’s not the point. It is possible that one of these years Cinderella’s carriage won’t turn into a pumpkin and we’ll have the football equivalent of the Fighting Sister Jeans playing for all the directional schools whose entire athletic budgets are less than a media rights payout in the SEC. College football needs two things desperately: (1) a divorce from Mark Emmert and his band of bureaucratic boobs and (2) the adrenaline rush we’ll get the first time a champion from the Fun Belt dares to knock off a team everybody has penciled in to the Final Four. For the good of college football and for the good of the viewing public, we need expansion. If we’re lucky, the conference commissioners who are standing in the way will wake up from their comas and do the right thing. We can hope, can’t we?

A few thoughts to jump start your Tuesday morning: CAMP NAPIER: THE MOST IMPORTANT WEEK OF THE SPRING Any way you slice it, this is the most important week of Billy Napier’s first spring practice as Florida’s head football coach. The Gators got their first scrimmage in last week and they have another scrimmage set for Saturday morning, so the practices today and Thursday will be critical. Here is a breakdown position by position breakdown of things I’ve picked up from a couple of people who are regulars at practice: Quarterback: Anthony Richardson wows everyone with his overall athleticism and big play ability. He needs work on accuracy. Jack Miller III doesn’t have Richardson’s athletic ability but he’s seriously accurate. Running back: Strongest position on the team. Demarkcus Bowman, Lorenzo Lingard and Montrell Johnson have all looked very good and Nay’Quan Wright is practicing again. Wide receiver: Daejon Reynolds is having a breakout spring. Justin Shorter is the hardest worker. Getting Trent Whittemore back is big but overall, this is a position that needs a lot of work. Tight end: Can the Gators make it through the last two weeks of spring without another injury here? O-line: They are responding well to having two coaches. O’Cyrus Torrence is a stud at right guard. The Gators have seven good ones, but they need another three to step up to have the kind of depth they will need in the fall. D-line: They’re young and inexperienced. There is talent, but the lack of experience says portal. Linebacker: Ventrell Miller leads and he’s a serious presence in the middle. Diwun Black is playing like a star. Brenton Cox Jr. is healthy for a change. Derek Wingo is having a breakout spring. Corner: Jason Marshall is responding well to Corey Raymond’s coaching. In fact the entire unit is. Better coaching equals better play on the field. Avery Helm is the other starter. Safety: Trey Dean III is being coached up by Patrick Toney. You won’t recognize him in the fall. Tre’vez Johnson is having a very good spring. POLL DANCING: WHERE THE GATORS ARE RANKED UF BASEBALL: GATORS IN A FREEFALL In the last couple of weeks the Gators (18-10, 3-6 SEC) have not only fallen out of the top ten, but after getting swept in Athens by Georgia, they’re out of the top 25 in all but the USA Today Coaches poll. The Gators have what should be an easy one tonight (6 p.m., SEC Network+) when they face Florida A&M, but then it’s back to the grind of the SEC when 2nd-ranked Arkansas (21-5, 7-2 SEC) comes to Gainesville Thursday night. USA Today Coaches Top 25: 1. Tennessee 27-1; 2. Arkansas 21-5; 3. Virginia 25-3; 4. Texas Tech 24-6; 5. Oregon State 20-7; 6. Texas 21-9; 7. Oklahoma State 20-8; 8. Ole Miss 19-8; 9. Arizona 21-7; 10. Georgia 22-6; 11. Miami 21-6; 12. Vanderbilt 20-7; 13. Notre Dame 16-5; 14. Louisville 21-7; 15. Texas State 23-6; 16. LSU 19-9; 17. UCLA 19-8; 18. Gonzaga 18-7; 19. Florida State 16-11; 20. North Carolina 20-8; 21. TCU 19-9; 22. FLORIDA 18-10; 23. Maryland 22-6; 24. Southern Miss 19-8; 25. North Carolina State 18-9 UF SOFTBALL: GATORS STAY IN TOP 10 The Gators went 3-1 during the week with a win over 23rd-ranked UCF and two out of three from 18th-ranked Auburn. So how did D1Softball see it? They dropped the Gators (30-6, 7-5 SEC) one spot in their weekly poll to No. 8 nationally. The Gators have a chance to make a statement Wednesday (6 p.m., SEC Network) when 3rd-ranked Florida State (35-2) comes to Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium. The Gators will be home this weekend against 4th-ranked Alabama. D1Softball Top 25: 1. Oklahoma 32-0; 2. UCLA 31-3; 3. Florida State 35-2; 4. Virginia Tech 27-3; 5. Alabama 30-5; 6. Northwestern 24-5; 7. Oklahoma State 28-6; 8. FLORIDA 30-6; 9. Duke 28-5; 10. Arkansas 24-7; 11. Kentucky 25-8; 12. Tennessee 25-10; 13. Arizona State 25-5; 14. Georgia 31-6; 15. Texas 29-10-1; 16. Washington 22-11; 17. Oregon 24-8; 18. Auburn 29-6; 19. Clemson 25-10; 20. Oregon State 29-8; 21. Ohio State 23-7; 22. Michigan 20-11; 23. UCF 29-10; 24. Missouri 22-13; 25. San Diego State 25-10 UF LACROSSE: GATORS REMAIN NO. 10 The Gators (8-4, 1-0 AAC) opened the America Athletic Conference portion of their schedule Monday with a 19-12 road win at Cincinnati. The Gators will be facing Old Dominion Saturday at Donald Dizney Stadium in another AAC matchup. Florida remained No. 10 in the IWLCA Women’s Top 25 poll. IWLCA Women’s Lacrosse Top 25: 1. North Carolina 12-0; 2. Boston College 11-1; 3. Northwestern 10-2; 4. Syracuse 10-2; 5. Stony Brook 8-2; 6. Loyola 10-1; 7. Duke 13-1; 8. Denver 11-1; 9. Maryland 10-1; 10. FLORIDA 8-4; 11. James Madison 8-4; 12. Princeton 6-2; 13. Southern Cal 8-2; 14. Michigan 9-4; 15. Rutgers 10-2; 16. Virginia 6-7; 17. UMass 10-2; 18. Noter Dame 4-7; 19. Richmond 10-2; 20. UConn 10-1; 21. Jacksonville 7-3; 22. (Tie) Stanford 8-5 and Johns Hopkins (6-6); 24. Navy 10-2; 25. Arizona State 5-6 UF TRACK AND FIELD: MEN AND WOMEN BOTH NO. 3 Both the Florida men and women moved up in the polls this week. The Florida men moved up eight spots to No. 3, while the UF women, who won the NCAA indoor championship, moved up two spots, also to No. 3. USTFCCA Men’s Top 25: 1. Texas; 2. Texas A&M; 3. FLORIDA; 4. Texas Tech; 5. Baylor; 6. Kentucky; 7. Stanford; 8. Princeton; 9. LSU; 10. Southern Cal; 11. Arizona State; 12. Miami; 13. BYU; 14. Oklahoma; 15. California; 16. Auburn; 17. Clemson; 18. North Carolina A&%; 19. Ohio State; 20. Houston; 21. Georgia; 22. Minnesota; 23. Arkansas; 24. Virginia; 25. Oklahoma State USTFCCA Women’s Top 25: 1. Texas; 2. Texas A&M; 3. FLORIDA; 4. Texas Tech; 5. Arkansas; 6. Kentucky; 7. Baylor; 8. Oregon; 9. LSU; 10. BYU; 11. Southern Cal; 12. Duke; 13. North Carolina State; 14. South Carolina; 15. California; 16. Ohio State; 17. North Carolina A&T; 18. Oklahoma; 19. New Mexico; 20. Auburn; 21. Villanova; 22. Stanford; 23. Iowa; 24. Colorado; 25. Houston UF GOLF: WOMEN NO. 11, MEN NO. 16 The Florida women have won two tournaments and finished no worse than 6th in every tournament this spring, yet they’re only ranked 11th nationally in the latest Golf Week poll. The Gators are idle until next week when they go to Birmingham to play in the SEC Championship. The Florida men were in third place Monday when second round play of the Calusa Cup was suspended. The Gators are currently ranked 16th in the latest Golf Week Coaches poll. Bushnell/Golf Week Coaches Top 25: 1. Oklahoma; 2. Oklahoma State; 3. Vanderbilt; 4. Arizona State; 5. Pepperdine; 6. Washington; 7. North Carolina; 8. Texas Tech; 9. Georgia; 10. Arkansas; 11. Georgia Tech; 13. Notre Dame; 14. Stanford; 15. Auburn; 16. FLORIDA; 17. Kansas; 18. Tennessee; 19. Wake Forest; 20. Florida State; 21. Clemson; 22. Texas A&M; 23. Illinois; 24. Ole Miss; 25. Purdue Golf Week Women’s Top 25: 1. Stanford; 2. Oregon; 3. Oklahoma State; 4. South Carolina; 5. Wake Forest; 6. Arizona State; 7. San Jose State; 8. Southern Cal; 9. Alabama; 10. Virginia; 11. FLORIDA; 12. Arkansas; 13. Florida State; 14. Texas; 15. Texas A&M; 16. LSU; 17. LSU; 17. UCLA; 18. Michigan; 19. Baylor; 20. Texas Tech; 21. Auburn; 22. Ole Miss; 23. Duke; 24. Illinois; 25. Kentucky SEC FOOTBALL/BASKETBALL Arkansas: All-SEC guard JD Notae, who led Arkansas with 18.4 points per game, will sign with an agent and enter the NBA Draft ... Center Jaylin Williams, who averaged 10.9 points and 9.8 rebounds per game, is testing the NBA Draft waters but will not hire an agent so he could come back for another year. Kentucky: Keion Brooks will test the NBA Draft waters but will not hire an agent so he could return to Kentucky next year. South Carolina: In winning the NCAA women’s championship game, the Gamecocks outrebounded UConn, 49-24. Aliyah Boston grabbed 16 rebounds. Texas A&M: On WJOX in Birmingham Monday morning, Paul Finebaum talked about the pressure that will be on Jimbo Fisher and the Aggies to produce: “I think that over the last 10 years, every school that’s had a No. 1 signing class has played for a national championship and I think that’s what the expectations are going to be 2-3 years from now. Overall, if we’re sitting here three years from now and you’re asking the question, ‘When is Jimbo Fisher going to get to the Final Four,’ that’s a serious problem for that program. I think he has a bull’s eye on his back. He’s helped to create some of that by going after Lane Kiffin during that explosive press conference a couple months ago, but ultimately, they have to win. The money speaks to that.” ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT: The NCAA Tournament is over and Kansas is the 2022 champion after a brilliant second half comeback for a 72-69 win over North Carolina, which blew a 15-point halftime lead. This was the second national championship for Bill Self, the fourth all-time for Kansas and perhaps the end of 65 years of frustration. Back in 1957, after all, North Carolina beat Kansas and Wilt Chamberlain 54-53 in three overtimes to claim the title. As Kansas celebrated on the podium postgame, NCAA president Mark Emmert stood with a red face and a forced grin. When he was introduced by Jim Nance, rather than offer hearty congratulations to Self and Kansas, Emmert congratulated New Orleans for doing such a dandy job of hosting the Final Four. He deferred to tournament chairman Tom Burnett to hand the trophy to Self, who hoisted it high, which was like giving Emmert and everyone who works for the NCAA a giant finger for God, everyone at the Superdome and a bazillion others watching on TV to see. Kansas, after all, has chosen to fight the NCAA, which has hit the Jayhawks with five Level I violations including a personal responsibility charge against Self and lack of institutional control. It’s all based on allegations that three Adidas bagmen paid high profile recruits to attend Kansas. Self has proclaimed his innocence even though there are text messages that seem to indicate he knew everything that was going on. Kansas rewarded Self with a lifetime contract and both school and coach have dug in their heels against the NCAA. Self probably wonders why the NCAA is determined to run him out of coaching when only a few years back the organization had the goods on North Carolina for 18 years of academic fraud that kept star basketball players eligible. Roy Williams proclaimed his innocence. UNC fought back. The NCAA backed down, which made everyone in the college basketball world remember the immortal words of Jerry Tarkanian, who once quipped, “The NCAA is so made at Kentucky they’re going to give Cleveland State another year of probation.” Bluebloods, after all, get away with stuff for which the regular guys of college basketball get nailed. College basketball recruiting is an absolute cesspool and it is a complicated mess that involves coaches, boosters, shoe companies and the NCAA. Some coaches are blatant cheaters but the smart ones at the blueblood schools that regularly land the one-and-done 5-star types let the boosters or the shoe companies do the cheating for them. The NCAA knows exactly what is going on but rather than clean up the mess, it selectively chooses who it will punish and who it will let slide. Kansas is a blueblood, but at some point, Self and KU must have pissed off Mark Emmert. Watching Emmert on the podium Monday night, I laughed out loud. Emmert knows that someone at Kansas cheated and Self probably knew all about it if he didn’t actually sanction it. Since Self knows what goes on everywhere else he’s willing to fight back. Not that he’s innocent or anything, but because he knows eventually Emmert and the NCAA will go spineless and back down. If they don’t back down, Self just might expose them all for the corrupt, inept boobs that they are.

A few thoughts to jump start your Monday morning: SHORTER: “EVERYONE’S WORKING SO MUCH HARDER” What Justin Shorter said after the Gators concluded their Saturday practice must bring a smile to Billy Napier’s face. Napier knows that for Florida football to catch up to the Alabamas and Georgias of the SEC, there has to be a cultural change and that starts with each individual player taking stock of himself and the team. Shorter, Florida’s most experienced returning wide receiver, is back for one more year. Some of it has to do with believing there is more he can accomplish individually. More important, he doesn’t want to go out on a losing note. He isn’t the only Gator who is motivated by the disappointment of a 6-7 season that saw the Gators go from top 10 to freefall and the dismissal of the entire coaching staff. "We've got players that are hungry and just hate losing," Shorter said. "Just thinking about last year, every loss, it makes me so angry, like upset, where everyone's working so much harder. I'd really say just all of us, every single player, is just so pissed off from last year. We're all just trying to come back and get after it really." The Gators will practice Tuesday and Thursday, then hold their second scrimmage of the spring on Saturday. THE THIRD HIGHEST SCORE IN NCAA GYMNASTICS HISTORY The record, held jointly by UCLA and Stanford, set two days apart back in 2004, is 198.875. Florida’s team score Saturday night at the Auburn Regional of the NCAA Gymnastics Championships was 198.775. It’s the highest score in 18 years and the third highest score ever and the highest in an NCAA postseason championship event. For the second straight night, Trinity Thomas raised the Florida standard with a pair of perfect 10s. She is so good that we almost expect a 10 any time it is her turn in the rotation no matter the event. Florida opened up on floor where she was flawless as the Gators racked up a team score of 49.650. Then it was off to the vault where Trinity came through with her second perfect score, joined by freshman Leanne Wong who had the first 10 on vault of her still-young career. On the bars, Wong scored a 9.975 and Thomas came in with a 9.950. The Gators set a school record on the beam (49.750) with Thomas coming in with another 9.950. The Gators were so good on the beam that they were able to throw out a 9.925. Thomas won the all-around title with a 39.900, the highest score in the nation so far. Wong finished at 39.875, her career best, which is tied for the second best score (with Thomas) in the country so far. An all-around score of 39.850 or better has been scored six times in the country this season. The Gators have five of the six scores with Thomas three times and Wong two. Florida’s final score of 198.775 was total domination. Auburn finished second at 197.775. In football teams that’s like getting blown out by 30 points. The Gators will be in a rotation with (3) Michigan, (7) Auburn and (11) Missouri at the NCAA Championship meet in Fort Worth. The other rotation will feature (1) Oklahoma, (4) Utah, (5) Alabama and (8) Minnesota. UF BASEBALL: SWEPT BY GEORGIA The bullpen let the 14th-ranked Gators (18-10, 3-6 SEC) down again as they dropped all three games of their weekend series with 23rd-ranked Georgia in Athens. The Saturday game, won by Georgia (22-6, 6-3 SEC), 14-8, was indicative of just how bad Florida’s bullpen was during the series. The Gators held a 6-3 lead going into the seventh when Georgia scored eight runs with two out and then added another three in the eighth. The only bright spots for the Gators were Jud Fabian, who hit his SEC-leading 11th and 12th homers during the weekend and Mac Guscette, who went 6-12 and hit a home run. The Gators will play host to Florida A&M Tuesday at the Florida Ballpark (6 p.m., SEC Network+). The Gators will host 2nd-ranked Arkansas (21-5, 7-2 SEC) for a 3-game SEC series starting Thursday evening (6 p.m., SEC Network). UF SOFTBALL: GATORS WIN AUBURN SERIES ON HIGHTOWER’S 3-HITTER Elizabeth Hightower threw a 3-hit shutout Sunday to lead the Gators (30-6, 7-5 SEC) to a 3-0 win over Auburn (29-6, 7-5 SEC) in the series clinching game. The Gators lost Friday night but took the Saturday and Sunday games. Hightower (10-2, 1.68 ERA) walked two and struck out five. She gave up two hits in the third inning and a single in the fifth. No Auburn baserunner advanced past second base. Florida got the only run it needed in the fifth when Cheyenne Lindsey doubled and Katie Kistler drove her home with a one-out single to right. The Gators added two insurance runs in the sixth on an RBI single by Reagan Walsh that drove home Skylar Wallace and a wild pitch. The Gators will play host to 3rd-ranked Florida State at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium Wednesday night. UF MEN’S TENNIS: NO. 1 GATORS EXTEND WINNING STREAK TO 12 MATCHES The Gators (17-2, 9-0 SEC) remained unbeaten in SEC play over the weekend as they stretched their winning streak to 12 matches with a 7-0 win over LSU and a 6-1 win over Vanderbilt (14-8, 2-7 SEC). Ben Shelton ran his record to 25-3 this season with a pair of straight set victories and teamed with Sam Riffice for a pair of doubles wins. The Gators will hit the road next weekend, facing Alabama (7-16, 0-8 SEC) on Friday and Auburn (17-5, 5-3 SEC) on Sunday. UF WOMEN’S TENNIS: GATORS SCORE A PAIR OF ROAD WINS The 16th-ranked Gators (16-4, 8-2 SEC) extended their winning streak to eight matches over the weekend with a pair of road wins, 5-2 at Kentucky and 6-1 at Vanderbilt. McCartney Kessler remained unbeaten (8-0) in SEC singles matches with a pair of weekend wins to lead the way for the Gators. The Gators will be home next weekend, facing Alabama (14-7, 4-5 SEC) on Friday and 9th-ranked Auburn (17-3, 8-1 SEC) on Sunday. Other UF sports: The Florida men’s golf team (-12) holds a 5-shot lead over Georgia Tech after one round of the Calusa Cup in Naples. Ricky Castillo shot an opening round 65 to sit atop the leaderboard with Fred Biondi tied for fifth with a 69 … Highlight of the rain-soaked Pepsi Florida Relays was a 2:02.2 800 meters by Imogen Hall, the best time in the NCAA this outdoor season … Florida’s American Athletic Conference lacrosse match with Cincinnati was postponed due to travel issues on Sunday. The 10th-ranked Gators (7-4, 0-0 AAC) and Cincinnati will make up the match this afternoon. SEC FOOTBALL/BASKETBALL Alabama: Nick Saban likes what he’s seen of Alabama so far this spring. “This team doesn’t have any complainers,” Saban said Saturday … Jaden Shackleford, who led the Crimson Tide in scoring at 16.6 per game, will enter the NBA Draft. Arkansas: KK Robinson, who played in 19 games and started two for the Razorbacks, has joined Chance Moore in the transfer portal. Robinson averaged 1.5 points per game. Auburn: Walker Kessler, the SEC and National Defensive Player of the Year, is entering the NBA Draft. He averaged 11.4 points, 8.1 rebounds and 4.5 blocked shots per game ... Zep Jasper, who averaged 5.1 points and 2.1 assists per game, will use his Super Senior season at Auburn next year … Quarterback Zach Calzada, who transferred to Auburn from Texas A&M, is seeing limited reps this spring due to a shoulder issue. Georgia: Tight end Arik Gilbert, who missed the 2021 season while dealing with personal issues, is back with the team this spring. LSU: Every scholarship player from last season’s basketball roster has either declared for the NBA or is in the transfer portal. South Carolina: The Gamecocks not only went wire to wire as the No. 1 team in the country, but in beating UConn for the NCAA women’s championship Sunday, they became the first team ever to beat Geno Auriemma in a national championship game … Wing guard Erik Stevenson (11.6 points, 4.7 rebounds) is transferring to West Virginia, his fourth school in five years. Texas A&M: Running back Devin Achane ran a 10.12 100 meters this weekend. FINAL FOUR PREDICTION The ties between Kansas and North Carolina are well documented. Dean Smith played for Phog Allen at Kansas then became the UNC coach who won two national titles. Roy Williams was Dean's assistant, then the head coach at Kansas before returning to UNC to win three national titles. Now, it's Hubert Davis, who played for Dean and coached for Roy, as the Carolina head coach going against Bill Self, who was Roy's replacement when he heard mama calling him home to Chapel Hill. Kansas plays better defense and can adapt to any style of play better. Carolina has more offensive weapons and it has Armando Bacot. I like Carolina. Close. ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT: Friday afternoon, in his next-to-last press conference as the head basketball coach at Duke University, Mike Kryzyzewski took a flamethrower to the NCAA. Think of the irony. Here we have the winningest coach in college basketball history, owner of five national championships, as iconic a figure as there is in any collegiate sport and mentioned in the same breath with John Wooden, Dean Smith and Adolph Rupp as the greatest ever, taking aim at the NCAA the day before its showcase event rivets the entire nation. For the most part, Coach K was reflective, thoughtful and gracious for a chance to finish a 42-year coaching career on his own terms at the Final Four, but when he started talking about the NCAA, he was anything but gracious. He didn’t deliver a fire and brimstone speech complete with calling out names, but he didn’t have to. He just calmly said what everyone in the world except perhaps the brain dead bureaucrats and so-called leaders in Indianapolis knows: The Good Ship NCAA is listing and unless someone comes up with enough fingers and bubble gum to plug the holes in the bow, it’s going to sink. Coach K didn’t pretend to have all the answers, but he knows that something has to be done in a hurry or a brand new model must be introduced. He suggested autonomy for football and basketball might very well be on the table, but whatever is the model moving forward, it can’t be tied to the old NCAA way of doing things. “This is a time not to look at knits and bits,” Coach K said. “It’s a time to look at the whole thing. This time is to catch up on all the things we didn’t adapt to but [also] to for an organization that can anticipate change, can forward look and say these things might happen.” What a concept that is. An organization that can anticipate change and adapt on the fly. The NCAA’s way of doing things is to stonewall until there are court cases, then fight each case in full view of the whole world and lose. And after losing – again – point fingers at everyone else, then go crawling to the Congress to beg them for bailout legislation. Mike Kryzyzewski knows that if the Congress gets involved in bringing about change and reformation to the NCAA, nothing good will come of it. Instead of going to Congress, Coach K has a rather novel approach, something that is far beyond the comprehension of Mark Emmert and his minions. “You have got to listen to the coaches of each of these sports,” Coach K said. “They represent the players. Okay? And know what’s happening. Otherwise, you have absent congressmen who never know what the hell’s happening in their district.” That is exactly why college sports is doomed in the event the United States Congress takes up reforming the NCAA and enacting legislation that will permanently reshape sports as we know them. Absentee congressmen. In the 116th Congress, Bernie Sanders missed 57 percent of the votes and Kamala Harris missed 55.1 percent. Corey Booker, who is a former tight end at Stanford and an outspoken voice that Congress must solve the NCAA problems, missed 40.6 percent of the votes and Ralph Abraham missed 39.5 percent of the votes. Not all the Senators and Representatives missed such a high percentage of votes, but the stats are mind-boggling, particularly when you add in how few of them ever work together for something meaningful. Can we actually depend on these people to figure out a way to make college sports better? Coach K knows the answer to that question: “I’m saying, ‘Come on. Do this the right way.’ I don’t see it happening the right way.”

A few thoughts to jump start your Friday morning: TRINITY THOMAS SCORES TWO PERFECT TENS AT AUBURN REGIONAL There is no better collegiate gymnast in the country than Trinity Thomas. The two-time SEC Gymnast of the Year proved it Thursday evening in the Auburn Regional of the NCAA Gymnastics Championships with a pair of perfect 10s and a nation’s best 39.875 all-around score as the 2nd-ranked Gators blew the field away with a 198.135 team score. Advancing to the Saturday night regional final along with Florida are Auburn (197.650), Kentucky (197.250) and Denver (196.650). The two perfect scores were the 15th and 16th of a brilliant career for Thomas, who now has eight this season. Already one of 12 collegiate gymnasts to complete the gym slam (perfect score on vault, bars, beam and floor), Thomas completed the rare in-season gym slam and the first in the NCAA since 2019 when she got her first 10 on bars this season. She followed that up with a 10 on floor to finish out Florida’s outstanding performance. Thomas scored a 9.900 on the vault and a 9.975 on the beam. Her bars, beam, floor and all-around scores were the best of the night. What made Florida’s team score all the more remarkable was a poor 49.100 score on vault and the absence of Nya Reed, ranked 11th nationally on vault and third on floor. Reed had some pain in her heel during warmups and was scratched from the lineup. The Gators got a 39.625 all-around score from Megan Skaggs and a 39.600 from Leanne Wong. NAPIER: “WE’RE A WORK IN PROGRESS” The first scrimmage of the spring is in the books for the Gators and true to form, head coach Billy Napier went out of his way to avoid heaping praise on individuals. He did praise converted defensive lineman Dante Zanders for his work at tight end, where injuries and attrition have taken a toll, but otherwise he spoke in general terms. The two biggest takeaways: The Gators are what Napier calls a “work in progress” and the Gators will be hitting the transfer portal very hard once spring practice has concluded. Napier pointed out that five walk-ons will be awarded scholarships this spring. That was one of the indicators that there has been a bit more attrition than we’re aware of. The other? Napier said the Gators will go hard after transfers. There are six on the roster this spring, but he indicated that UF could recruit 10 or more in the weeks ahead. Here are some of the Napier’s comments from his post-scrimmage press conference: General comment about the scrimmage: “I was proud of the effort that I saw. As we’ve discussed many times before, I think the execution has got to improve. We got out of here relatively healthy today, which is a positive. And there’s a lot of bright spots. There’s also a lot of opportunities to teach, but we’ll get better as a result of today’s scrimmage. It’s our first one. Very impressed with the overall organization and in general the players’ approach. So good day for Florida, and still a lot of work to do, but a lot of football we can teach from today.” Injuries, attrition and where the Gators are: “If you did research, thirty percent of a football organization turns over each year. You have that much attrition. You start over, new goals, new people. That’s where we’re at. We’re a work in progress. We’re a year one football outfit right now. There’s a lot of learning going on. We’re installing systems. We just need repetitions. We’ve gotten a lot so far. We need more. I don’t think I’d ever stand up here and say that’s not the case. This is college football. It’s a developmental game and you’ve got a new team every year. We’re going to work on ways to solve the problems that we do have and make the best of each situation and go play a brand of football that fits this team and the dynamics within this team.” Transfers: “So, the University of Florida, you can anticipate us being very aggressive in the portal this spring, we need players. Now, I think the approach is going to be, you know, acquire as many good players as we can at any position, right? So, you know, we're thin and we need help in a lot of different spots. So, I think we have, we're approaching double digits if that makes sense.” Quarterback: “I think overall we took care of the ball for the most part. I think we turned the ball over one time, maybe. It was one of the younger players. Outside of that a lot of good. Sometimes, when you’re watching the scrimmage for the quarterback you can be critical sometimes. But I think they get too much of the blame and too much of the credit. I think when a quarterback’s playing well or playing bad it’s usually the result of the players around them playing poorly or playing really well. So a lot of film to teach and learn from and ultimately that’s the best thing about a scrimmage. We’re certainly going to take advantage of it.” Offensive line: “You know I think it's a position where we've got a handful of players that can play, you know? And then, I think every team, I mean every position on our team, we need more players, right? We need more depth. I think the offensive line is a reflection of the entire team. I mean, we have a pretty good first group we can put out there, and if you really evaluated the team relative to experience, this is a very inexperienced team. After the first team if you look at the experience, the number of plays that a lot of these guys have played, they haven't played any. So we have a lot of work to do to develop that second and third group." Running back: “I think that room is getting more comfortable with the system. I think we’ve seen more consistent play. Running back is a position where I think everybody thinks, just toss the guy the ball and let him run. In reality there’s a lot that goes with that position. Footwork, eye-discipline. A number of different protections that you’re involved in. A route tree at that position. We’re fortunate in that I think we have one of the best running back coaches in the entire country in Jabar Juluke. His room has consistently produced and I see this room getting better. So I’m hopeful that that room can play winning football; we’re a long way from it. But in general I see them getting better.” Tight end: “We’re thin there. A long snapper caught a pass today and Big Griff (Griffin McDowell) caught a pass today. If that gives you any indication. We’ve got two defensive tackles that are over there. We’ve got a long snapper just taking reps. that’s an area on our team where we anticipated potential depth issues. We signed three. We’ve also had injuries. We’re thin. Like I mentioned before. Every team’s got its problems. You do your best with it. No complaining. Just make the best of your situation. There’s lots of answers to that problem.” UF BASEBALL: GATORS BLOW IT IN NINTH TO GEORGIA Florida’s bullpen woes continued Thursday night in Athens as the Gators (18-8, 3-4 SEC) blew a 2-run lead in the bottom of the ninth, falling to Georgia (20-6, 4-3 SEC), 7-6. The Gators had taken a 6-4 lead in the top of the ninth on Jud Fabian’s 11th homer of the year, a towering blast over the wall in left center field, but in the bottom half of the inning, Georgia scored three runs with two outs thanks to a walk, a hit batter, a single and a game-winning 2-run double by Josh McCallister. It was an uphill struggle the entire game for the Gators, who fell behind 2-0 in the first inning when Hunter Barco struggled to get into a groove. Georgia led 4-2 in the seventh when Mac Guscette hit his first career homer at UF, a 2-run shot that plated Deric Fabian ahead of him. In the ninth, Guscette came through with a single and Fabian delivered a 2-run homer to put the Gators ahead for the first time in the game. The Gators will try to even the series tonight (6 p.m., SEC Network+). UF ATHLETIC HALL OF FAME INDUCTEES FOR 2022 Jeff Demps (football/track); Michelle Moultrie (softball); Connor Dwyer (men’s swimming); Joe Haden (football); Chandler Parsons (men’s basketball); Christian Taylor (men’s track and field); Mike Zunino (baseball); Steve Beeland (men’s tennis, men’s and women’s tennis coach); and Jeremy Foley (athletic director) UF SOFTBALL: NO. 7 GATORS TRAVEL TO AUBURN The 7th-ranked Gators (28-5, 5-4 SEC) hope to rebound from last week’s series loss to Tennessee when they travel to Auburn to face the 17th-ranked Tigers (28-4, 6-3 SEC). The Gators lost two out of three to the Vols last weekend, but they rebounded somewhat Wednesday night with a non-conference 10-3 win over UCF. The Gators are expected to pitch Elizabeth Hightower (9-1, 2.03 ERA) in tonight’s first game of the series (7 p.m., SEC Network+). Offensively, the Gators are led by Skylar Wallace (.434), who four homers and 31 RBI along with a perfect 30-for-30 on stolen bases. Florida coach Tim Walton will serve as one of the assistant coaches for Team USA for the 2022 world championships. Walton, who led the Gators to the 2014 and 2015 NCAA championships, is 867-187 in 17 seasons at Florida, 990-251 for his career. SEC Football/Basketball Auburn: Devan Cambridge will join his brother Desmond (Nevada) in transferring to Arizona State ... Yohan Traore, who decommitted LSU when Will Wade was fired, has committed to Auburn. Georgia: Linebacker CJ Washington is out for the rest of the spring with a neck injury suffered in a contact drill … Former UGa offensive lineman Owen Condon has transferred to SMU. LSU: Starting center Efton Reid and reserve guard Eric Gaines are the 8th and 9th Tigers to put their names in the transfer portal. Reid is a former 5-star who averaged 6.3 points and 4.3 rebounds while Gaines came off the bench to average 9.0 points, 3.3 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game. Texas A&M: The Aggies (27-13) lost to Xavier in the final three seconds in the NIT championship game. ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT: Bob Huggins will be inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. I have no problems with that. Huggy deserves it. He’s been one of the best coaches in the country since 1981 and has 916 career wins at Walsh, Akron, Cincinnati, Kansas State and West Virginia to show for it. I do have a problem with Billy Donovan once again being overlooked by the Hall. Huggy is a fine coach who has made two Final Fours and two Elite Eights in 41 years. In his 21 years as a college coach Billy Donovan won two national championships, made the Final Four four times, the Elite Eight seven times, and won six SEC regular season championships and four SEC Tournaments. He did it in the Southeastern Conference at a school not named Kentucky and other than Adolph Rupp, he’s the only SEC coach in history to win two national championships. How is it that John Calipari, Bill Self, Gary Williams, Nolan Richardson, Frank McGuire, Al McGuire, Jim Boeheim and John Thompson are in the Hall with only one championship and Billy has two? How is it that Eddie Sutton, Everett Case, Harry Litwack, Ray Meyer, Ralph Miller, Lou Carnesecca, John Chaney and Lefty Driesell are in and they never won even one NCAA championship? What Billy did at a football first school in a football first league is remarkable and should be honored with Hall of Fame membership. Shame on the people who did the voting.

The situation at tight end tells you a lot about where the Florida Gators are midway through their first spring practice under new head coach Billy Napier. Thursday was the eighth practice of the spring and the first scrimmage. Injuries have taken such a toll – Jason Odom and Nick Elksnis are done for the spring and Gage Wilcox is done for his career – that Napier has only two scholarship tight ends available. It is a situation that has required some creativity on the part of the Florida coaching staff and the willingness of players on the roster to do what is best for the team just so the Gators can hold a scrimmage. “We’re thin there,” Napier said, describing the situation at tight end. “A long snapper caught a pass today and Big Griff (Griffin McDowell) caught a pass today. If that gives you any indication. We’ve got two defensive tackles that are over there. We’ve got a long snapper just taking reps.” One man’s injury is another man’s opportunity. Answering the call at tight end is Dante Zanders. Recruited as a tight end out of Boca Raton, he spent the 2018-19 seasons as a backup before switching to the defensive line in 2020. He bulked up to 287 when he was playing inside on the D-line, but dropped down to 261 to be more of a hybrid defensive end/tackle this spring. He’s done so well at tight end that he may have made a permanent alteration to his future at UF. “There’s no question in my mind that not only is he going to be able to play but he’s going to be able to do his job,” Napier said. “He has been a godsend to some degree, relative to his ability. He’s really bright. He’s picked it up quickly. He’s able to go out there and execute.” Tight end isn’t the only position where attrition and injuries have taken their toll. The Gators are banged up at safety and they’re woefully thin at inside linebacker. Due to insufficient numbers Thursday, Napier admitted there were 25-30 plays he wanted to run in the scrimmage that he couldn’t. Even though the plays were cut back, it was still important to get the scrimmage in. Now there is film and a chance to evaluate, teach and correct ahead of Saturday’s practice. “We’re lucky,” Napier said. “We’re just a couple players away here from not being able to practice the way we want to. When a long snapper catches a pass, you’re being creative to find a way to get it done.” This is the midway point of Camp Napier. The new head coach is pleased with attitudes, pleased with hustle, pleased with the overall learning curve although like any coach he’d like to see improvement in all these areas. Those things are correctable. What isn’t correctable – at least for the remainder of the spring – is having enough able and experienced bodies to work with. Napier has enough good and experienced players for a first team. When you dip below the 28-30 player mark, the numbers aren’t sufficient and the experience is inadequate. Third team? What’s that? “We don’t have a third group right now if that makes sense,” Napier said. “We got a first and second group. It basically eliminated the third group. We got a lot of players who are taking advantage of opportunities. With challenges comes opportunity. You can sit around and complain about those things but to me, I see opportunity. That’s the approach we’re going to take.” Napier isn’t one to complain, but he does live in the real world. Having coached at Clemson under Dabo Swinney and at Alabama under Nick Saban, he understands that there isn’t a tremendous amount of difference in the top 22 talent at most schools in the SEC. Just about every team has at least one very talented player at each position on both sides of the ball. It’s what happens when you rotate in that second group that you see the disparity. The really good teams in the SEC like Alabama and Georgia can roll out three teams on either side of the ball, almost all of them former four and five-star recruits. Florida doesn’t have that. The Gators probably have 30 players with enough experience to perform at a high level in the Southeastern Conference, which would have been plenty if we still lived in the era of single platoon football. In the modern era where the players are bigger, stronger and faster than they’ve ever been injuries take their toll. Players rotate in and out of games based on situations and circumstances. The good teams have at least 44 very good players ready to go at all times and they should be backed up by at least 22 more who are developing rapidly. It's just spring football and Napier’s first spring to boot, but that doesn’t change the fact the Gators don’t have enough good players to the point that five walk-ons are going to go on scholarship this spring. He shudders to think where the Gators might be this spring without the contributions of transfers. There will be more. “We took over a program, we've had a number of things that have caused attrition on our team,” Napier said. “I mean, we're literally going to give five walk-ons scholarships this spring. So, we have spots available. So, the University of Florida, you can anticipate us being very aggressive in the portal this spring. We need players. Now, I think the approach is going to be, you know, acquire as many good players as we can at any position, right? So, you know, we're thin and we need help in a lot of different spots. So, I think we have, we're approaching double digits if that makes sense.” Building a roster through the transfer portal isn’t the ideal way of doing things but it is a tool that Napier has at his disposal until he can establish a recruiting pipeline that every year brings in enough players to make the portal necessary only for a couple of plug and play types. That Napier might be adding 10 or more transfers from the portal in the next few weeks says plenty about inadequate recruiting under the previous head coach. If there is a model to go on for how to restock a roster through transfers, it belongs to Napier’s buddy Mel Tucker, the head coach at Michigan State who went from Big Ten doormat to a New Year’s Six bowl team by picking and choosing well from the portal. Tucker brought in 21 transfers, six of whom started including Kenneth Walker III, who finished second in the nation in rushing. Napier wasn’t unprepared for a roster shortfall when he was hired by Florida athletic director Scott Stricklin back in December. One of the genuine appeals of Napier was his whole program approach. Call it an anticipate the problem before it exists type of approach. It’s all part of changing the culture of the entire football program. Napier promised “an army” of support staff and analysts who are dealing with everything from recruiting high school kids to personnel issues to things like food, housing, academics and parking tickets (huge problem that has since been solved). The Gators now have an entire department devoted to the transfer portal. Not only do they study players who enter their names in the portal to determine if they would be good fits at Florida, they study players on existing rosters to know which ones might be worth pursuing should they elect to transfer. “I think culture's all about people, right?” Napier said. “I think when you get put in these leadership positions you realize pretty quickly you need to surround yourself with really good people and we're very fortunate that our administration gave us the resources to go hire the absolute best. We hired people that have an authentic care for the players and are experts at what they do. Those people coming to work each day, they do their job, we establish trust. I think there's great communication. We're still a long way off, but I think what I do see is a few more guys smiling, you know? Few more guys enjoying their experience. I see a little bit better discipline with their accountability. You know some of these lists that we have are shrinking in terms of issues on our team. And I'm very thankful for the players, right? Because I walked in the door and they don't know me from Adam. They gave us a chance and we're going to work hard every day, continue to earn their trust and their respect." When he was hired, Napier talked about making the Florida football program a life-changing experience for the players and for the people who make up the organization. Thursday he pointed out that the 100 or so players that make up the Florida roster are supported by approximately 250 on the staff. It may seem like a staggering number, but Napier is determined to make certain Florida players have everything they need to be successful as people, in the classroom and on the football field. It's all about putting people first. “I think as a competitor and as a person who cares for the people around you I think that's something we can control, right?” Napier said. “So we control the quality of the experience of the players at the University of Florida. It's a decision that we make, right? So there are no excuses here. I think that the food is just one example of a lot of things that we can continue to try to get better at. I think that the experience of the player is the most important thing, right, relative to we're trying to create life-changing impact as an organization – the person, the student and the football player – and there’s certainly a nutrition/performance component to the food, but there's also just a customer service aspect to it. These guys work extremely hard. I don't think people can comprehend the amount of time and effort that they've put into their role and how they represent this place. So they're working hard as individuals, but they represent something bigger than just themselves. The least we can do is feed them a good meal at every opportunity." There are still seven practices, another scrimmage next week and a spring game on April 14. Progress has been made but injuries and attrition have limited what Napier wanted to accomplish. He isn’t unhappy with the effort he’s getting but the lack of players tells him just how much work still has to be done. “We just need repetitions,” Napier said. “We’ve gotten a lot so far. We need more. I don’t think I’d ever stand up here and say that’s not the case. This is college football. It’s a developmental game and you’ve got a new team every year. We’re going to work on ways to solve the problems that we do have and make the best of each situation and go play a brand of football that fits this team and the dynamics within this team.”

By KYLE CURTIS GatorBait.com Intern Here is a list of Top recruits for Florida in the 2023 class and their current status: CB Tony Mitchell Mitchell is an Alabama native, someone Nick Saban would love to grab as an asset for the Crimson Tide. Mitchell has Florida, Georgia, Texas A&M, Oregon and Alabama in his top 5 and recently has named Florida as his leader. 247: 4-star Rivals: 4-star ESPN: 4-star On3: 4-star QB Christopher Vizzina A popular prospect, since Florida needs to secure a quarterback this cycle. At 6-4, Vizzina has all the physical tools. He currently has interests from Clemson, Notre Dame, Ole Miss and Tennessee. 247: 4-star Rivals: 4-star ESPN: 4-star On3: 4-star CB Cormani McClain As an in-state player, McClain would be a welcomed addition to Corey Raymond and Patrick Toney’s defense. McClain was recently crystal balled on 247 to come to Florida. The Gators are in contention with Michigan, Miami, Ohio State and Alabama. 247: 5-star Rivals: 5-star ESPN: 5-star On3: 5-star EDGE Malik Bryant Bryant is another coveted in-state player who for the Gators’ defense. Bryant is from Orlando and has interests from Georgia, Miami and Clemson. 247: 4-star Rivals: 4-star ESPN: 4-star On3: 4-star OL Payton Kirkland Kirkland was recently crystal-balled to commit to the Gators. Retrieving offensive linemen has been a big thing for Napier since arriving, dominating the trenches, and establishing the run is a staple of his offense dating back to Louisiana. 247: 4-star Rivals: 4-star ESPN: 4-star On3: 4-star DL Derrick LeBlanc LeBlanc has also been crystal-balled to join the Gators in the next cycle. Another addition like LeBlanc, who is 6-4, 270, could be a difference-maker on the D-line as an effective Gator pass rusher. 247: 4-star Rivals: 4-star ESPN: 4-star On3: 4-star RB Cedric Baxter Jr. Baxter, an Orlando native, re-offered by the new staff, was on campus in late January. One of the top targets to reload a historically strong running back room. 247: 4-star Rivals: 4-star ESPN: 4-star On3: 4-star WR Jalen Brown Brown is a speedy slot receiver out of Miami that could be utilized in many different forms within the offense. Brown also has interests from Miami, Florida State and Michigan. 247: 4-star Rivals: 4-star ESPN: 4-star On3: 4-star RB Richard Young Young is another natural downhill runner that the Gators would love to get their hands on. Alabama and Ohio State are believed to be leading in his recruitment, but there is still work that could be made to impact the final income. 247: 4-star Rivals: 4-star ESPN: 4-star On3: 4-star DL John Walker Both Walker and LeBlanc are teammates at Osceola High School in Kissimmee. If Napier could grab these two guys the defensive line could be very scary for years to come. 247: 4-star Rivals: 4-star ESPN: 4-star On3: 4-star

“It wasn’t a very hard decision,” Jud said. “Getting to play with your brother (freshman Deric) on the D1 level, it’s something we grew up wanting to do. Coming back wasn’t a hard decision for me.” Jud Fabian/UAA Photo By KYLE CURTIS GatorBait.com Intern Jud Fabian has had an explosive start for the Florida Gators baseball team. After being named part of the pre-season All-American team, Fabian has led the Gators to a promising start in one of the most powerful offenses in the country. And going through the ultra-competitive gauntlet starting with Georgia on Thursday, Coach Kevin O’Sullivan needed that pop in his bat. Heading into the game vs. the Bulldogs, Florida ranked third in the country with 49 home runs through 25 games trailing only Mercer and Tennessee. Fabian accounted for 10 of those 25 home runs. He has also had a staggering 24 walks through 25 games showing how much respect opposing pitchers have for him. Fabian recently had the opportunity to head to the MLB after being drafted in this past draft. Jud decided he wanted to stay in Gainesville despite others thinking he would go to the draft and leave school early. “It wasn’t a very hard decision,” Jud said. “Getting to play with your brother (freshman Deric) on the D1 level, it’s something we grew up wanting to do. Coming back wasn’t a hard decision for me.” Both the Fabian brothers have now been starters and major contributors for the Gators this year. Deric is the starting 3rd baseman and has shown sparks of what he is capable of in the next few years in Gainesville. “It’s hard to put into words how awesome it is,” Jud said. “Every day you get to go the field you have your little brother, and you get to show him the ropes on how to do things.” With both the Fabian brothers leading the charge for the Gators they were able to get back on track with a win against Florida State after dropping a series to LSU. After winning the opening game, they dropped the next two vs. the Tigers by large margins. The road does not get easier for the Gators. In the next four weekends the Gators have four straight series against ranked SEC opponents. They will travel to Athens this weekend to face Georgia. followed by series against: Arkansas, Vanderbilt, Kentucky and top-ranked Tennessee. Looking at another way, Jud -- the senior member of the #OcalaPowerCompany – there is ample opportunity for a course correction and a chance for the Gators to find their groove by taking down some of the best competition the nation has to offer.

UAA GRAPHIC From UAA Media Department Gators legends Jeff Demps and Joe Haden are set to be inducted into the UF Athletic Hall of Fame as part of the 2022 class, the University of Florida F Club and Gator Boosters announced. UF Athletic Hall of Fame inductees are chosen by the F Club Committee based on three categories: Gator Greats, Distinguished Letterwinners, and Honorary Letterwinners. The 2022 class is composed of seven Gator Greats, one Distinguished Letterwinner and an Honorary Letterwinner with both Demps and Haden set to be inducted in the Gator Greats category. Gator Greats are Letterwinners who brought recognition and prominence to the University of Florida and themselves by their athletic accomplishments as a student-athlete. Demps, who was also part of the Florida track and field program, is the only UF athlete to win a national championship in two different sports. On the gridiron, he played running back and served as the team captain his senior year (2011). He ranks 10th all-time in career rushing yards with 3,592 and 11th all-time in total touchdowns with 23. Demps was an SEC All-Freshman selection in 2008 and a CollegeFootballNews.com All-Freshman Honorable Mention. He was a semifinalist for the 2011 Lowe's Senior CLASS Award. On the track, Demps won three consecutive NCAA Indoor Titles (60m) from 2010-2012. He is also a two-time NCAA Outdoor National Champion (100m and 4x100) both of which he took home in 2010. He is a four-time NCAA team champion and two-time SEC team champion. Additionally, Demps is a four-time individual SEC Champion (1 indoor, 3 outdoor). He holds second place in school history in the 60m and sixth in the 100m. UAA GRAPHIC Joe Haden played football at UF from 2007 to 2009 and started all 40 games he played in. He became the first true freshman to start at cornerback in the season opener in 2007 and was selected to the Freshman All-American First Team (CollegeFootballNews.com), the SEC All-Freshman Team and was an Honorable Mention (Sporting News) that year. A member of the 2008 BCS National Championship team, he took home Consensus All-American honors and was awarded the Defensive MVP by Sporting News in 2009. The Fort Washington, Md. native finished his career with the Gators with 218 total tackles, 157 solo, eight interceptions, 3.5 sacks and 34 pass break ups which rank fifth all-time. Haden was selected by the Cleveland Browns with the seventh overall pick in the 2010 NFL Draft. Throughout his NFL career he has played with both the Cleveland Browns (2010-2016) and the Pittsburgh Steelers (2017-Present). The Hall of Fame Banquet will occur Friday, Oct. 7, 2022 prior to the Missouri home game.

A few thoughts to jump start your Thursday morning: HEALTHY COX SAYS HE HAS “MORE TO PROVE” There wasn’t a time all last season when Brenton Cox Jr. felt 100 percent. He played on an injured foot and while he put up good numbers – 41 tackles, 14.5 tackles for loss, 8.5 sacks and 12 quarterback hurries – he believes he can do much better. “Last year was tough for me because of my foot, so I just felt I had more in the tank, more to prove,” Cox said after the Gators concluded spring practice Tuesday afternoon. He used the Florida State and UCF games as an example of what he’s capable of doing – four sacks for 33 yards in losses against FSU; a sack among his four tackles for 15 yards in losses against UCF in the Gasparilla Bowl. Those games, he believes are just an indicator of what he’s capable of doing. A former 5-star edge rusher who spent his freshman year at Georgia, Cox will be back for a fifth year this fall. He is motivated by Alex Brown’s Florida season sack record (13), which he believes he’s capable of breaking – “Either a sack a game or a sack a half” will do it he says – but there is also the motivation of what the NFL scouts told him when he submitted his paperwork for evaluation after the 2021 season. He got a decent evaluation, but certainly not what he wants. “They gave me a third round grade, I think, a third or fourth round grade, and I felt like I could do better,” Cox said. “I feel like I can do more.” Cox isn’t the only one who thinks he’s capable of doing more. Former Gator All-America linebacker Mike Peterson is the new outside linebackers coach. Peterson had 1,220 career tackles in the NFL, 896 of which were solo. Peterson stays on Cox’s case and the case of every Florida linebacker that they have to chase the football relentlessly until they hear the whistle to signal the play is over. That’s something Cox is working on every day in practice. “It’s been in the discussion that I don’t play hard, so he’s been preaching that if you’re not in the TV box by the time the play is over, then it’s a loaf, not running to the ball,” Cox said. Reflecting on last season, Cox added, “I can honestly say I took off a couple plays but I’m here to make it up.” GOLDEN ADDS KOREY MCRAY TO COACHING STAFF Although there were multiple reports that Korey McCray was leaving Mississippi State for Florida as early as Sunday, it wasn’t made official until Wednesday when he was named Todd Golden’s associate head coach. McCray spent the last seven years on Ben Howland’s staff at Mississippi State. He’s an extraordinary recruiter, given credit for landing Kyle Anderson, Jordan Adams and Shabazz Muhammad when he was on Howland’s staff at UCLA. He is the son of Karl McCray, who along with Wallace Prather, started the ultra-successful Atlanta Celtics AAU program. Korey McCray coached the 2009 Celtics Under-15 team to the AAU national championship. On Tuesday, Golden added former Richmond assistant Kevin Hovde to his staff. Hovde was on Golden’s staff at San Francisco from 2019-21 and worked with Golden when the two were assistants at both San Francisco and Columbia. KELLY RAE FINLEY MAGGIE DIXON DIVISION I ROOKIE COACH OF THE YEAR Kelly Rae Finley’s 21-11 debut season not only earned her the permanent job as the women’s basketball coach at Florida, but now earned recognition as the Maggie Dixon Division I Rookie Coach of the Year, announced by the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association. The award is named after the late Maggie Dixon, the former coach at Army and sister of TCU coach Jamie Dixon, who died of a heart condition in 2006. Finley was named Florida’s interim coach back in the summer of 2021 after Cam Newbauer was fired. She led the Gators to a 21-win season, fourth place in the SEC, 10 SEC wins and the first UF trip to the NCAA Tournament since 2016. The Gators beat five nationally-ranked SEC teams in the month of February. UF BASEBALL: GATORS TRAVEL TO GEORGIA Fresh off their 6-3 win over 5th-ranked Florida State (16-8), the 14th-ranked Gators (18-7, 3-3 SEC) travel to Athens to face 23rd-ranked Georgia (19-6, 3-3 SEC) in a critical 3-game series starting tonight (8 p.m., ESPN2). Florida will be going with lefty ace Hunter Barco (5-1, 1.41 ERA, 53 strikeouts in 38-1/3 innings) while Georgia Is likely to counter with Jonathan Cannon (5-1, 1.96 ERA). In beating FSU in Jacksonville Tuesday night, the Gators used five pitchers with Brandon Neely (1-0) picking up the win and Blake Purnell going the last 2-2/3 innings to pick up his second save. The Gators broke up a tight game in the fifth on a Wyatt Langford triple, an RBI groundout by BT Riopelle and a two-run homer by Josh Rivera (3rd). Rivera had three hits and three RBI for the night. The Gators are second in the SEC in home runs (49), fifth in pitching (3.79 ERA) and third in fielding (.980). UF SOFTBALL: NO. 7 GATORS WHACK NO. 22 UCF, 10-3 The 7th-ranked Gators (28-5, 5-4 SEC)) jumped to a 9-1 lead in the first three innings Wednesday at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium and cruised to a 10-3 non-conference win over 22nd-ranked UCF (29-8). The Gators erupted for six runs in the bottom of the second to put the game away. The big hits of the inning were a 2-run single by Katie Kistler and a 2-run double by Emily Wilkie. Hannah Adams and Cheyenne Lindsey had sacrifice flies in the second. Adams had a sixth inning homer to finish the night with three RBI. Skylar Wallace scored three runs and stole two bases. She has stolen 32 bases without getting thrown out. Elizabeth Hightower (9-1, 2.03 ERA) went five innings to pick up the win. Natalie Lugo pitched two shutout innings to finish off the Knights. The Gators hit the road this weekend to face 17th-ranked Auburn (28-4, 6-3 SEC). Other UF sports: The 2nd-ranked Gators will open on floor in the evening session of the second round of the Auburn Regional in the NCAA Gymnastics Championships tonight. The Gators are the top-seeded team in the regional and will be in a rotation with 15th-ranked Denver, 17th-ranked Ohio State and Iowa State. The earlier rotation will feature 7th-ranked Auburn, 10th-ranked Kentucky, 23rd-ranked Georgia and 27th-ranked Southern Utah … The 10th-ranked Gators (7-4) got five goals from Emma LoPinto Wednesday afternoon as they took a 19-5 non-conference win over Mercer in Macon, Georgia. The Gators continue their road trip to Cincinnati where they will open American Athletic Conference play against Cincinnati. SEC FOOTBALL/BASKETBALL Alabama: Freshman guard Jusaun Holt (6-6, 200), a former 4-star recruit who scored 15 points and grabbed 35 rebounds this past season, is in the transfer portal. That makes four in the portal so far from Alabama ... All-America wide receiver Jameson Williams says he’s ahead of schedule rehabbing from his torn ACL. Even with the injury he still projects as a first rounder in the NFL Draft. Arkansas: Trevon Brazile (6-7, 200), who averaged 6.6 points and 5.1 rebounds at Missouri last season, is transferring to Arkansas over Kentucky, Illinois and Oklahoma. Auburn: Jabari Smith was named National Freshman of the Year and Walker Kessler was named National Defensive Player of the Year by the National Association of Basketball Coaches. Georgia: Georgia will pay Mike White $3.4 million, a $300,000 a year raise over what he was making at Florida. Kentucky: All-American big man Oscar Tshiebwe, who averaged 17.4 points and 15.1 rebounds per game, has been named National Player of the Year by the National Association of Basketball Coaches. LSU: The exodus continues. Former 4-star guard Justice Williams (6-3, 170), freshman forward Bradley Ezewiro (6-8, 230) and Shareef O’Neal (6-10, 230), son of all-time LSU great Shaquille O’Neal, are in the transfer portal. That makes seven players who have departed since Will Wade was fired and Matt McMahon was hired … Murray State guard Justice Hill, who averaged 13.4 points, 2.3 rebounds and 5.1 assists is following McMahon to LSU as is assistant coach Casey Long … Safety Pig Cage, a former walk-on from Nicholls State, is in the portal. Mississippi State: New hoops coach Chris Jans has retained George Brooks from the previous staff while adding David Anwar and James Miller from his former staff at New Mexico State. Missouri: DaJuan Gordon (6-3, 190), who started every game and averaged 8.3 points, is the fourth to enter the transfer portal since Dennis Gates was named the new hoops coach. Tennessee: QB coach Joey Halzle says Hendon Hooker has improved his ability to read defenses and is seeing the second and third options in the passing game. Texas A&M: The Aggies (27-12) are a win over Xavier (22-13) away from winning the NIT. Texas A&M is a 4.5-point favorite … Former 5-star tight end Baylor Cupp is in the transfer portal. ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT: At some point in the very near future, our Congress is going to vote on the NCAA Accountability Act. If passed it will limit NCAA investigations to eight months and cut the statute of limitations from four years to two. Streamlining investigations is a good thing when you consider the amount of time it took for the NCAA to end its investigation of LSU and issue a Notice of Allegations. There is no excuse that it took a long time to investigate and issue the NOA to LSU since there was under oath testimony in Federal Court, but that is only one example. There are plenty others. Changing the statute of limitations to two years? There are experienced cheaters out there who can hide anything for two years. Bad move there. These are matters the NCAA should have taken up long ago, but of course, with Mark Emmert and his bloated, overpaid bureaucracy in charge, efficiency is a pipedream. There is no good reason for Congress to get involved, either. Oh sure, Congress will claim it needs to since every single school that participates in NCAA sports takes Federal money in one shape or form, but since when do these guys know anything about sports? For that matter, since when does the NCAA? Rather than try their hand at screwing up sports, which is what they will do if they get involved in an attempt to reform the NCAA, I’d like to see Congress come up with some meaningful legislation that both Republicans and Democrats can agree on that can have a positive effect on the lives of every American. I’ve been watching the NCAA since the days of Walter Byers, a man for whom I can’t think of anything good to say, and there have been numerous calls for reform that seem to land on deaf ears. They make new rules and pile them onto the old rules to make a bigger, more difficult to understand set of rules, but essentially, nothing ever changes. If anything, the NCAA invents new ways to make bad situations worse. From where I sit there are only two solutions to the problem that is the NCAA: (1) Fire Mark Emmert and hire someone capable who can streamline the organization and its ridiculous set of rules; or (2) abandon the NCAA completely, start a new organization from scratch with an actual leader who knows and understands sports. I’m of the opinion that while firing Emmert is a rather good idea, the NCAA is beyond reform. The times have changed and the NCAA has failed to change with the times, therefore it is time to start fresh. Hire someone who will use common sense and secondly, understands that socialism doesn’t work in college sports. Not all athletic programs, sports or conferences are created equally. For example, why should schools with athletic budgets of less than $50 million have a say in what goes on in the SEC? That makes no sense at all and the only way to rectify this problem is to take a flamethrower to the NCAA then start a brand new organization with new leadership and new rules.

A few thoughts to jump start your Tuesday morning: FLORIDA PRO DAY QUOTES Florida held its Pro Day Monday morning. Here are a few quotes from a few of the participants. Kaiir Elam (CB), who projects late first to second: “I sat down with my parents after the season and we discussed it, my pros and cons of staying and going. Obviously there were more pros and less cons going. But coach Napier made it hard for me. I felt like I had a lot more to prove and more I didn't get to accomplish with my team goals, as well. We went to the SEC Championship and lost, so that was something holding me back from leaving as well. So I just, God willing I made the right decisions." Zach Carter, who is projected to go late second or third round: “Before Pro Day I already talked to a lot of teams. I talked to Seattle, New Orleans, Atlanta, Minnesota, Buffalo to name a few. And set up here before the draft I have some visits. I’m actually going to Jacksonville this week. I’m going to see the 49ers maybe this month. Right now that’s all that’s set up visit wise. But I got some meetings and workouts scheduled back in January, so it’s going good.” Malik Davis (RB), who most likely projects undrafted free agent: “I have a few visits. I have a visit with the Cowboys. I have a visit with the Bucs coming soon, and a few more other teams.” Antonio Valentino (DT), who is most likely an undrafted free agent: “I think I can move. I think I showed I can move very well. A lot of people will say I’m undersized. I’m 6-2. I think that being quote unquote undersized, there are certain guys in the NFL that are breaking that mold. I know as long as I go in there and play my game, be as consistent as I can be, I think I’ll be fine. I think I showed that I can move very, very well. I showed that I’m very explosive. I’m strong at the point of attack. I’m strong with my hands. Flipping my hips.” Stewart Reese, who has medical school waiting when football is over: “This is what I fell in love with. This is the opportunity that’s primary at this point. Not to say that the medical field is not important. But right now, this is at the top of the list because it’s the most prevalent in my life right now. I owe it to myself to see it through. I don’t want to give up saying, ‘What if,’ or ‘What could have been.’ At the end of the day I want to say I gave my best and I can go to sleep knowing I gave it my all.” Daquan Newkirk (DT), who is most likely an undrafted free agent: “I was supposed to get 30 (reps), man, but, they had me. So, I don’t count, I asked them, I said, ‘Let me know when I get to 15’ so I could chunk out 5,5,5 and then 1s. So once I got to 15, I chunked out 5, I chunked out 5, so I got to 25, then I really lost count. So I can’t think, my brain’s hurting, so I’m like, ‘I’ve gotten like 27 I think,’ I don’t know. I’m asking them, ‘What am I at, what am I at’, they wouldn’t tell me, so I just tried to keep going. But that pause kind of messed me up, so.” Jean Delance (OT), who is most likely an undrafted free agent: “They like me personally, they like that I'm an athletic, long guy. They feel like I can be a swing tackle but also get in there and play guard. A lot of different teams want me to be able to play five positions and I feel like I can do that, so they were very impressed … April 4th I'm going to the Chargers, then April 11th I'll be with the Cardinals. Then, on April 7th I'll be going to Tampa's pro day as of now ... I met with the Eagles last night, had a dinner with them. So there's a lot of different interest from different places." Carter on Billy Napier: “All the coaches greeted me like I was still a player. I really don’t know anybody on this new staff. They kept a few faces around, but just the feeling I had when I met these guys they made me feel like I was still part of the family. So that was a good feeling for me. I had tweeted the other day, I was like, Florida is family. Even with a new staff it still feels like home. I think they have something good going on.” Carter on Dameon Pierce: “Oh man, Dameon Pierce is an animal. He deserves all the hype he’s getting. We all knew he might not have gotten enough carries while he was here and all that stuff. I look at that as a good thing. He’s a fresh back going to the league. He’s a good guy. He lights up a room everywhere he goes. He’s a good guy to have.” Delance on the state of the Florida program: "I mean, so far, just coming around and seeing these guys, how they work. It's like, 'Okay, this is how we're going to do things the right way.' There's organization, first and foremost. Guys are coming in and buying into the process, they're looking better, they're running better. And in practice, it's set. It's like, this is the tempo, this is the tone and this is how we're going to practice. So those guys are looking really solid." APPLEBY TRANSFERRING Tyree Appleby is a good kid who never gave less than his best on the court for the Florida Gators. He had some great games, hit some big shots, and unfortunately had some games that can only be described as forgettable. There’s a pretty good explanation for the inconsistency. Tyree is a shooting guard in a point guard body but he operated best with the ball in his hands. Brandon McKissic was a true point but no threat offensively, a situation that was made worse when he gave the ball up to Appleby, which essentially left him standing around, something the Gators did way too much in the Mike White offensive scheme anyway. Playing the two of them together was always a liability. That Appleby is taking advantage of his COVID year is no surprise. He told me more than a month ago that was a likely decision. It’s also no surprise that he’s elected to play his final year somewhere else. He could use a fresh start and maybe, in the right offense with the right guidance, he can become more of a pass first point guard who has shooting skills. There is no word presently on Colin Castleton, although it might be in his favor to come back rather than go NBA. He won’t have a chance to work out for the NBA since he has to have surgery and the recovery time typically goes 4-5 months. That might make a return to UF more likely. UF BASEBALL: GATORS FALL OUT OF TOP 10 D1Baseball Top 25: 1. Tennessee 23-1; 2. Arkansas 18-4; 3. Oregon State 17-5; 4. Virginia 22-2; 5. Florida State 16-7; 6. Oklahoma State 18-6; 7. Texas Tech 20-5; 8. Texas 19-7; 9. Vanderbilt 19-4; 10. Ole Miss 16-7; 11. Louisville 19-5; 12. TCU 18-5; 13. LSU 17-7; 14. FLORIDA 17-7; 15. Arizona 17-7; 16. Notre Dame 12-5; 17. Miami 17-6; 18. North Carolina 18-6; 19. Dallas Baptist 15-8; 20. Texas State 20-5; 21. Oregon 16-7; 22. Georgia Tech 16-9; 23. Georgia 18-6; 24. Gonzaga 16-6; 25. UConn 17-5 UF SOFTBALL: GATORS DROP TO NO. 7 D1Softball Top 25: 1. Oklahoma 29-0; 2. UCLA 28-3; 3. Florida State 30-2; 4. Alabama 28-4; 5. Virginia Tech 25-3; 6. Northwestern 22-4; 7. FLORIDA 27-5; 8. Duke 23-5; 9. Oklahoma State 24-6; 10. Arkansas 21-6; 11. Tennessee 22-9; 12. Kentucky 22-7; 13. Oregon 24-5; 14. Arizona State 25-5; 15. Texas 26-9-1; 16. Washington 20-10; 17. Auburn 27-4; 18. Georgia 29-5; 19. Clemson 21-10; 20. UCF 29-7; 31. Michigan 18-9; 22. LSU 22-11; 23. Oregon State 25-8; 24. Ohio State 20-6; 25. Boise State 27-5 SEC FOOTBALL/BASKETBALL Auburn: Corner Eric Reed, who has already been in and out of the portal, is back in it again. He was a 4-star recruit in 2020. Georgia: The new women’s basketball coach is Katie Abrahamson-Henderson, formerly the head coach at UCF. She replaces Joni Taylor, who left to take the HBC job at Texas A&M. Abrahamson-Henderson has a career 372-157 record in 17 seasons as a head coach with stops at Albany and Missouri State prior to UCF. LSU: Kendal Coleman (6-8, 220), who averaged 15.4 points and 10.1 rebounds at Northwestern State, will transfer to LSU ... Shareef O’Neal, son of LSU great Shaquille, is transferring. Missouri: New basketball coach Dennis Gates got a 6-year deal worth $16.5 million with a first year salary of $2.5 million … 7-3 center Jordan Wilmore, who averaged 1.7 points and 1.6 rebounds, is transferring. South Carolina: Reserve guard Devin Carter, a former 4-star recruit who averaged 18.7 minutes per game last year, is the fifth South Carolina player in the transfer portal. Tennessee: Reserve guard Victor Bailey Jr., who averaged 9.6 minutes per game off the bench, is in the transfer portal … Nose tackle Elijah Simmons, who played at 340 last year, says he has lost 20-25 pounds and predicts a breakout 2022. Texas A&M: Former 5-star wide receiver Demond Demas is transferring. ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT: A couple of things that make me go hmmm on a Monday night. JT Daniels was at Missouri for the spring game. Mizzou is one of his three finalists along with Oregon State and West Virginia. These three were about as average as it gets last year and none of the three figures to be any better in 2022 than they were in 2021. They do share a need for a quarterback but why is this guy that the national and SEC media had penciled in on the Heisman podium even before the 2021 season began transferring to a mediocre team that won’t get that much better if he’s taking the snaps in 2022? We know why he’s transferring from Georgia. He can’t beat out Stetson Bennett IV and the Poodles have at least two other QBs they think are better. Still, if this guy oozes with as much arm talent as he’s alleged to have, then why aren’t championship contenders from all over the country who lack only a stud QB beating down his door and begging him to transfer? And why, pray tell, did JT Daniels sit until after Georgia lost to Florida in 2020 when he was actually cleared to play after week two? I don’t bet on anything that can talk, but if I were the wagering type, I would put money on the national and SEC pundits placing Texas A&M in the preseason top five while lauding Jimbo Fisher as the coach who will surpass Nick, Kirby and everybody else in the SEC and the entire country to become the greatest that ever lived. All because Jimbo beat Alabama last year, ironically by the same score he beat Florida in 2020 (41-38). Please note that Jimbo and the Aggies went 8-4 last year with losses to Arkansas, Mississippi State, Ole Miss and LSU. Now if he beat Alabama and then did something phenomenal like finish 11-1 I would have been impressed. To go 8-4 with all the talent he had last year? Sorry, not impressed. I couldn’t care less about all the stud freshmen he signed thanks to all that NIL money – I for one don’t believe Jimbo’s denial – because until the Aggies go 11-1 or 12-0 regularly, I’m not buying the hype.

A few thoughts to jump start your Monday morning: 16 GATORS WILL PARTICIPATE IN PRO DAY Florida has had at least one first round NFL Draft pick in 13 of the last 15 years but unless Kaiir Elam can wow the scouts at Pro Day today, it’s unlikely UF will have a first rounder this year. Elam is one of only four Gators who realistically have a chance to get drafted this year although there will be 16 who will be trying to catch the eye of the scouts today. Elam was once projected as one of the top three or four corners for the 2022 draft but he’s slipped out of the top five on Mel Kiper’s board although he’s still listed at No. 5 by Todd McShay. Most of the draft speculation is that Elam will go second round. The others who are realistic draft picks are running back Dameon Pierce, defensive tackle Zachary Carter and linebacker Jeremiah Moon. Pierce has picked up a lot of interest since a strong Senior Bowl and a solid NFL Combine. He could be taken as high as the late second round but third round seems more realistic. Carter seems to have a third round appeal since he can also play defensive end in a 3-4 alignment. Moon should be a third day guy who will make a roster as a backup and special teams guy. Expected participants: LB Lacedrick Brunson, DT Kyree Campbell (2020), DT Zachary Carter, PK Jace Christmann, RB Malik Davis, OT Jean Delance, OG Stewart Reese, CB Kaiir Elam, LB Jeremiah Moon, DT Daquan Newkirk, RB Dameon Pierce, DT Tyrone Truesell, DT Antonio Valentino, WR Rick Wells, DB Brett Sutton and LS Brett DioGuardi (2020). REPORTS: GOLDEN HIRES KOREY MCCRAY FROM MISSISSIPPI STATE There are multiple reports that Todd Golden has filled a second position on his basketball staff by hiring former Mississippi State assistant Korey McCray. The son of Karl McCray, who founded the Atlanta Celtics AAU program along with Wallace Prather, McCray has strong recruiting connections in the south, particularly in Metro Atlanta. He played collegiately at Mercer and worked as a grad assistant at FSU under Leonard Hamilton. He worked as an assistant at UCLA and LSU prior to joining Ben Howland’s staff at Mississippi State. GATORS FINISH THIRD IN NCAA SWIMMING Olympic gold medalist Bobby Fincke won his second straight 1650 freestyle championship on Saturday as the Gators finished third in the NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships in Atlanta. California won the title with 487.5 points while Texas finished second (436.5) followed by the Gators with 374. The Gators have finished ninth or better in every NCAA Championship since 2000 (9th). The last time they finished outside the top 10 was in 1999. Fincke was Florida’s only individual champion but the Gator did win the 200 individual medley relay and the 200 freestyle relay. UF BASEBALL: GOOD START, LOUSY FINISH TO THE WEEKEND Beyond Hunter Barco (5-1, 1.41 ERA) you have to wonder where the 8th-ranked Gators (17-7, 3-3 SEC) are going to get the pitching. Barco pitched seven shutout innings, allowing just two hits while striking out eight Friday night as the Gators took a 7-2 series opening win over LSU (17-7, 3-3 SEC) but in the final two innings Friday night and in games two and three pitching was in short supply. The Gators were bombed by LSU 16-4 Saturday and 11-2 on Sunday. The Gators backed Barco with homers from Colby Halter, Wyatt Langford and BT Riopelle Friday night. Sterlin Thompson and Dedric Fabian left the yard Saturday but the Gators were already down 9-0 when that happened. It was 11-0 in the sixth before the Gators put a couple of runs across the plate. Barco is Florida’s only experienced starting pitcher who isn’t coming off an injury, so the pitching could be a bit dicey for awhile. There are a lot of big arms that throw heat at Kevin O’Sullivan’s disposal, but they’re young and still learning that you can’t just overpower people like they did in their high school days. The Gators play Florida State Tuesday in Jacksonville and travel to Georgia (18-6, 3-3 SEC) next weekend. UF SOFTBALL: GATORS AVOID GETTING SWEPT BY VOLS Natalie Lugo (6-2, 1.66 ERA) pitched 2-2/3 innings of hitless relief and Reagan Walsh delivered the go-ahead RBI in the fifth inning as the 6th-ranked Gators (27-5, 5-4 SEC) took a 4-1 win over 15th-ranked Tennessee (22-9, 5-3 SEC) Sunday afternoon. The win salvaged an otherwise dismal weekend for the Gators, who lost the first two games of the series, 6-0 and 7-2. When Lugo came on to relieve Elizabeth Hightower in the top of the fifth, it was a 1-1 game and the Vols had runners on first and second, the result of a walk and a hit batter. Lugo got a double play to escape without any damage, then in the bottom of the inning Skylar Wallace singled, stole second and scored on Walsh’s single to center field. In the sixth, the Gators added two insurance runs on an Avery Goelz home run, a walk to Walsh and a run-scoring double by Charla Echols. The Gators host UCF Wednesday at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium (6 p.m.). Next weekend they travel to Auburn (27-4, 6-3 SEC). UF MEN’S TENNIS: HO HUM! ANOTHER BLOWOUT WIN FOR NO. 1 GATORS The No. 1 Gators (15-2, 7-0 SEC) stretched their winning streak to 10 matches. Friday with a 6-1 win over Arkansas (10-9, 1-5 SEC) in Fayette Nam. The Gators won the doubles point by taking all three matches while Ben Shelton, Sam Riffice and Andy Andrade won their matches in straight sets. Next up for the Gators are home matches next weekend against LSU (12-5, 3-3 SEC) on Friday and Vanderbilt (13-6, 1-5 SEC) on Sunday. UF WOMEN’S TENNIS: GATORS STRETCH WINNING STREAK TO SIX MATCHES Carly Briggs scored a 6-0, 7-6 win over Alexandra Mikhailuk for the clinching point Sunday afternoon as the 16th-ranked Gators (14-4, 6-2 SEC) squeaked out a 4-3 win over Mississippi State, stretching their winning streak to six matches. On Friday, the Gators took a 7-0 win over Ole Miss (8-7, 2-5 SEC). The Gators hit the road next weekend to face Kentucky (12-8, 0-7 SEC) on Friday and Vanderbilt (10-6, 2-5 SEC) on Sunday. Other UF sports: At the Texas Relays, Florida’s 4X100 relay team of Dedrick Vanover, Tyler Davis, PJ Austin and Joseph Fahnbulleh ran a 38.47, the fastest time in the NCAA and the world this year. Florida’s 4X200 relay team of Vanover, Jacory Patterson, Ryan Willie and Jacob Miley ran a 1:21.02, the second fastest time in UF history. Jasmine Moore, the NCAA women’s indoor champ, had a 22-1.75, the second best jump in UF history. Long jumpers Caleb Foster (26-3) and Malcolm Clemons (26-2.75) had the third and fourth best men’s marks this outdoor season … The 11th-ranked Gators (6-4) grabbed a 14-4 halftime lead then cruised to a 21-10 win over Arizona State (5-4) in Tempe Sunday. Danielle Pavinelli led the Gators with seven goals while Ashley Gonzalez had four goals and an assist. Next up for the Gators is a midweek match with Mercer in Macon. American Athletic Conference play begins next Sunday at Cincinnati … The women’s golf team finished fourth at the Clemson Invitational, five shots behind tournament winner LSU in the final regular season tournament of the season. Annabell Fulller finished runner up, 1-over par at 217 for the 3-day event. Next up for the Gators is the SEC Tournament in Birmingham starting on April 13. SEC FOOTBALL/BASKETBALL Auburn: Running back Jaquez Hunter is out for the remainder of the spring after having a procedure on his leg … Devan Cambridge, one of the most important players off Bruce Pearl’s bench, is in the transfer portal. The 6-6 small forward is one of the most prolific dunkers in the open court. Georgia: Freshman linebacker C.J. Washington will miss the rest of spring football with an undisclosed injury. Kentucky: Dontaie Allen, a 6-6 small forward who averaged playing 6.4 minutes per game, is in the portal. He has three years eligibility remaining. LSU: All-SEC forward Tari Eason, the SEC sixth man of the year, has declared for the NBA … New basketball coach Matt McMahon has hired Cody Toppert off Penny Hardaway’s Memphis staff. Ole Miss: Lane Kiffin threw out the first pitch before Friday night’s Ole Miss-Tennessee baseball game. Rather than a baseball, Lane threw a golf ball, a reminder that UT fans threw golf balls at him when they basically started rioting in the stands at Neyland Stadium when Ole Miss beat the Vols last fall. South Carolina: Starter Wildens Leveque put his name in the transfer portal, making the fourth player to exit South Carolina since Frank Martin was fired. Also gone are Erik Stevenson, Jermaine Cousinard and Tra’Quan Woodley. Tennessee: Santiago Vescovi will enter the NBA draft but won’t hire an agent, giving him the option to return to UT if he chooses prior to June 13. Texas A&M: The Aggies (26-12) are the last SEC basketball team standing. They face Washington State (22-14) in the semifinals of the NIT in New York on Tuesday. Vanderbilt: The Commodores have gained a transfer D-lineman from the portal in Myles Cecil from D1AA Cal Poly. NCAA TOURNAMENT AND OTHER HOOPS STUFF East Regional: North Carolina (28-9) ended the Cinderella story for Saint Peter’s (22-12), the first 15th-seeded team to every make it to the Elite Eight. UNC is 16-3 since taking back-to-back losses by more than 20 points to Miami and Wake Forest back in January. The Tar Heels get Duke in the Final Four. They beat Coach K in his final game at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Will they also beat him to end his coaching career on a loss to the ultimate arch-rival? South Regional: Villanova (30-7) is back to the Final Four for the fourth time in the last six years after a grind it out win over Houston (32-6), but the Wildcats will be without Justin Moore the rest of the way. Moore tore his Achilles with only 35 seconds left Saturday. Moore was Villanova’s second leading scorer. Midwest Regional: The bubble burst for Miami (26-11) in the second half against Kansas (32-6), which held the Hurricanes to 15 second half points. Kansas is the only No. 1 seed to make the Final Four. West Regional: Duke (32-6) is in the Final Four after shooting 54.7 percent from the field against an Arkansas team that made it to the Elite Eight game by playing brilliant defense. It’s the 13th Final Four trip for Coach K, which is an NCAA record. SMU: Former Billy Donovan assistant Rob Lanier is the new head coach at SMU. Good move for SMU as Lanier was Rick Barnes top recruiter when the two of them were at Texas together. Lanier was 53-30 at Georgia State. Seton Hall: Saint Peter’s coach Shaheen Holloway is expected to be formally named the head coach at Seton Hall today. Memphis: You can probably kiss Penny Hardaway’s college coaching career good-bye. Documents obtained by several outlets show that Hardaway and Memphis have been hit with four Level 1 and two Level 2 violations. Memphis is likely to get hit with a lengthy probation, lack of institutional control, and Hardaway show cause. In the case of Hardaway, he earned it. ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT: The clock struck midnight and the carriage that took Saint Peter’s to the Elite Eight matchup with North Carolina turned into a pumpkin Sunday afternoon. It sure was fun while it lasted, though, wasn’t it? I enjoyed every second of watching the Peacocks do the unthinkable by knocking off Kentucky, Murray State and Purdue to get to the game with the Tar Heels and quite frankly, I would have celebrated if they had scored a win Sunday even if I fully expected UNC to win handily, which it did. What Saint Peter’s run to glory proved is that it’s beyond past time for the College Football Playoff to expand. As long as it stays at four teams, it will be next to impossible for there to be a Cinderella story but add eight teams to the mix and the possibility exists for an upset of epic proportions. We may still wind up with the usual suspects making the semifinals of the playoff, but the sport needs the injection of excitement that only a double-digit underdog winning could produce. Odds aren’t with a Group of Five team winning four straight games to win the national championship but the idea that one could maybe win one or two games is very, very appealing.

"Promising though the future looks with the employment of newbies Billy Napier and Todd Golden (seen here), as much as Gator fans are patting themselves on the back for 'getting it right' with their procurement, the reality is that neither of them have ever won anything of Power Five significance. Put that in your Analytics Pipe and smoke it." “Those who do not learn history are doomed to repeat it.” – George Santanyana This has been a bloodless coup. It’s called a “reset” in business and life. For Scott Stricklin and the University of Florida, the odometer is 0-0-0. For the first time ever, the two major sports at UF are guided by coaches without a single victory – or even a result. Speak to us, oh analytics, if you can. And don’t feed us the company line about the overall greatness of the Gator Nation and the success yielded from all the many sports. Around here it’s about revenue sports. That being football, mainly, and basketball. Promising though the future looks with the employment of newbies Billy Napier and Todd Golden, as much as Gator fans are patting themselves on the back for “getting it right” with their procurement, the reality is that neither of them have ever won anything of Power Five significance. Put that in your Analytics Pipe and smoke it. Do I like the hires? Yes. Do I love the hires? Give me some time. No, not yet, but mostly because of my own lack of knowledge or my ignorance. And a resistance to the notion of falling in love on the first date. I suspect Napier might wind up being a home run, but I'll wait on some results before making that declaration. And I only met Todd Golden yesterday. Check that, I only heard Golden’s press conference. I’m having to trust my colleague Franz Beard when he tells me Golden was an excellent choice. Mr. Stricklin, you are facing a more uncertain future of complex issues than any AD in Florida history, rife with challenges of NIL, The Transfer Portal and more intense fund-raising pressures than ever. You are going to earn that million-dollar-a-year salary. Good luck! This is the harsh reality of the high stakes in college sports these days: Money not only talks, it screams. You’ve got to win on the field or court in order to ring that cash register. And you’ve got to wrap it all up in a pretty package to sell the fans, alumnae and players. The next question being, where do things go from here? Meanwhile, in this reset, the GPS must not only project the pathway forward, but also calibrate from whence you came. Let’s start by counting what’s most recently in front of us: Scott Stricklin’s scorecard since being hired in 2016. This is an arduous task, somewhat unfair, but all we can do is show the numbers “on his watch.” Stricklin officially came aboard in November 2016 when Jim McElwain was football coach, promptly presiding over his demise – McElwain starting the season 3-0 and finishing it 3-3. He posted a 9-4 mark after the Outback Bowl win over Iowa. So Stricklin’s share of that is 3-3. The following year, 2017, McElwain’s tailspin led to his firing as Florida finished a miserable 4-7 mark whereupon McElwain was fired after the Georgia loss and alleged “death threats” against him. Attributing the partial 2016 season to him, on Stricklin’s watch the McElwain era produced a 7-10 record. Time to hire his first coach. After a brief courtship with Scott Frost at UCF (who went to Nebraska) and a close encounter with Chip Kelly (who went to UCLA), Stricklin brought in his former coach at Mississippi State and for a couple of years, it looked like Stricklin had gotten it right with Dan Mullen. Turns out, despite early success, he didn’t. Upon a final autopsy one day, maybe we’ll discover the reason for his Humpty-Dumpty crash and burn. Mullen departed with a game left in 2021 under a cloud of disappointment and a curious show-cause infraction for recruiting which was never fully acknowledged or even explained. And a record of 34-15. Counting interims, that adjusts Stricklin’s football numbers to 41-26. By the time Stricklin arrived in 2016, Mike White was already coach, having been hired by predecessor Jeremy Foley. With a 21-15 to his credit in 2015 following the takeover from Billy Donovan, White went on to average 20 wins per season and left for Georgia of his own volition with a career mark in Gainesville of 141-88. On Stricklin’s watch, 121-73. Which brings us to the current 0-0-0 in football and basketball at Florida. Now, going backwards on the GPS to trace footprints, measure failures and success, how and why we’ve reached this point. Here’s where I like to put on my old-timers spectacles and drill down on the past. I’ve seen all the movies. Basketball is harder. As Golden pointed out at this presser, for 30 years Florida had only three coaches: Lon Kruger, Billy Donovan and Mike White. All three of them left of their own volition. We could argue about Norm Sloan, but at the very least the last time he left Florida, Sloan was pushed out by AD Bill Arnsparger under threats of an NCAA probe. Some will argue that fan disdain and disrespect drove White into the arms of Georgia. No matter, it was likely time for a change of environment for White, who could reinvigorate both his career and Georgia’s basketball program. So for many reasons, including the freshness of a new start, Todd Golden appears to already be trending upward in the addition-by-subtraction calculus. I was a fan of Mullen’s offense, but not so much his stand-offish, quirky personality. I say Mullen was afflicted by what is known as “the duck syndrome.” That’s what psychiatrists call it when people who appear to be calm on a “superficial level” are “frantically paddling hard down below in trying to keep up with demands.” Turns out there were apparently things that went begging under Mullen, including the disconnect in recruiting and a lack of team discipline. That brings us to March 2022 and these questions. Basically, almost every coaching change in the two sports has been the result of Newton’s Law: For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. Looking for the pot of gold, or trying what we perceive is broken. Coach B was hired because Coach A didn’t do this … and may I remind you of the mission at hand: Winning championships with integrity in environment of academic excellence. Now I leave you with these questions – 1)Who’s really keeping a watch on the store? 2)Who are the Guardians Of The Gator Galaxy? 3)Who eventually takes the torch? Your move Scott Stricklin. And you’re on the clock.