National championship puts a target on the Gators' backs (Photo by Chris Spears) The hunter is now the hunted. No longer can Todd Golden sell the disrespect card. He did it so well a year ago when the Florida Gators made their climb from No. 21 preseason to national champs. Now that the Gators have the nation’s longest winning streak (12 games) and a roster that oozes the confidence that comes with experience, the roles have reversed.   The boulder-sized chip that rested on the Gators’ shoulders is gone, replaced by a target on their backs. The 2025-26 season doesn’t begin until November, but most of the major media outlets rank the Gators top five. ESPN ranks UF No. 2. That means every time the Gators go on the road, the arena will be loud, hostile and aching to storm the court in the event of an upset.   The respect that comes with an NCAA title includes a schedule worthy of a team capable of going back-to-back. Besides playing 18 games in the SEC, the nation’s deepest and best conference, the Gators will play Arizona in Las Vegas, Duke at Cameron Indoor Stadium and UConn in Madison Square Garden.   In Golden’s point of view, the transformation from hunter to hunted began when the Gators heated up at the end of last season, winning their last three regular season games and then blowing out three ranked teams (Missouri, Alabama and Tennessee) to win the Southeastern Conference Tournament. Once the Gators cut down the nets in Nashville, Golden couldn’t sell the disrespect card any longer.   “We win the SEC tournament and we went from a team that nobody – I don't want to say respected, but we were always kind of like, is Florida for real?” Golden said Tuesday afternoon after the Gators completed a full team workout minus only redshirt freshmen Viktor Mikic (Serbia) and Olivier Rioux (Canada), who are playing with their country’s under-19 teams in international tournaments. “Then we end up winning our last three regular season games, win the SEC tournament and then every ESPN personality was projecting us to win the national championship, and that changed over the course of like two weeks really.   “And so we kind of had that pressure on us to start the NCAA tournament. I thought we played that way the first weekend and then we kind of got through it and turned back to ourselves. So we kind of had that in real time. Now this team will have it for the whole year, and it's a different challenge, for sure, but one you have to embrace. When you're targeted every day, it's a compliment and we got to really kind of take pride in being in that position.”   The Gators are in that position because Golden returns the best frontcourt in the nation and he has replaced the best perimeter threesome in the country – Walter Clayton Jr., Alijah Martin and Will Richard – with three experienced, explosive scorers from the transfer portal. Golden knows exactly what he has in 6-11 Alex Condon, 6-10 Rueben Chinyelu, 6-9 Tommy Haugh and 7-1 Micah Handlogten. Through the portal he brought in 6-4 Xaivian Lee (from Princeton), 6-1 Boogie Fland (from Arkansas) and 6-4 AJ Brown (from Ohio).   Consensus among the nation’s experts is that Todd Golden has reloaded and it’s not a reach to think of the Gators as serious contenders for a repeat performance.  Golden has talent, experience and depth. The only real questions surround the newcomers in the backcourt, leadership and the non-conference schedule.   Lee was a 2-time All-Ivy League performer who averaged 16.9 points, 6.1 rebounds and 5.5 assists per game. He is a creative with the ball in his hands, both as a scorer and as a distributor. Fland only played 21 games at Arkansas because of an injury to a finger that required surgery. Still, he averaged 13.5 points, 3.2 rebounds and 5.1 assists per game.   Can these two guys who are accustomed to being the lead guard share the basketball? A hallmark of Florida’s championship team was the willingness to share the ball. Golden thinks Florida’s style of play will blend in well with what these guys do best.   “If you have guys who can dribble, pass and shoot you’re going to be really hard to guard,” Golden said. “With the way we play – obviously, you have to have continuous ball-screen motion – you have to have two or three guys out there that can make a play, can attack the defense, read the ball-screen scenario. So it’s a very good issue that we have and I’m excited to see these guys play together and see how teams are going to try to guard them.”    Golden has found great success with transfers in his three seasons at UF. Richard, who played his freshman season at Belmont, was Golden’s first recruit in 2022. Year two saw Golden bring in Zyon Pullin (UC-Riverside), Tyrese Samuel (Seton Hall), Clayton (Iona) and Handlogten (Marshall). All four were impact players on a team that made it to the SEC Tournament championship game and the NCAA Tournament. Martin (Florida Atlantic) and Chinyelu (Washington State) arrived last season and were fixtures in the starting lineup from day one to the national championship game.   If there is one thing these transfers had in common it is they blended in well from day one both culturally and on the court. Golden believes the transition for Lee and Fland will be easy.   "From a personality standpoint, I'm very confident about that,” Golden said. “I think they're both awesome young men, mature. And I think one thing, knock on wood, that we've done a good job of with transfers is we get on the same page before we bring them in to make sure that there's as little issue in that process as possible. So we recruited them both pretty intently and I say with intention for specific roles in understanding what they're going to do and their attitudes and their personalities, the people they have around them, you know, we're all good in our books. So I think from that cultural standpoint, it should be a pretty easy transition. And I think basketball wise, it might take some time for them to get comfortable in a new system, but I think they will do a really good job for us."   With Clayton, Martin and Richard, Golden had three alpha male types who led vocally and by example. Those three set the tone for the entire team. It’s not just their scoring that will be missed (combined 46.3 points per game), but their defense and above all, their leadership.   Can Lee and Fland provide leadership or will Golden have to find it from his front court guys?   "That's another thing that the summer's for,” Golden said. “We'll kind of see who kind of absorbs that leadership opportunity. I think we have a lot of guys that are capable. I think it might come from our front court a little more this year, guys that have been in the program for a couple years and just have a great understanding of what we do. I think Condo's (Alex Condon) a guy that might want to take that responsibility. I think Tommy's (Tommy Haugh) a guy that's more than capable. Rueben (Chinyelu), obviously, with the way he shows up and plays his tail off every day. I think we have a number of guys that will be able to. We'll be different that way, but I think we have a couple guys that will be willing to assume that role."   Then there is the schedule. The Southeastern Conference released each team’s opponents Wednesday and there are a few changes in store for the Gators.    Home and home opponents: Georgia, Kentucky, South Carolina Home only opponents: Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, LSU, Mississippi State, Tennessee   Away only opponents: Ole Miss, Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas, Texas A&M, Vanderbilt   The non-conference schedule isn’t complete yet, but the Gators will open the season with Arizona in Las Vegas November 3. They will play in the Rady’s Children’s Invitational in San Diego November 27-28. The field for that tournament is Providence, TCU and Wisconsin. In the SEC/ACC Challenge, the Gators will play Duke at Cameron Indoor Stadium December 2.   "Well, a lot of people talked about us not having a strong enough out of conference last year,” Golden said. “That won't be this year, and again, like, I think you get these opportunities when somebody calls and wants your team to come play on opening night against Arizona in a showcase game in Vegas, that's a compliment. You gotta really evaluate that, so we want to do that. Same thing with the opportunity to play UConn. We're not going to turn down an opportunity to play in Madison Square Garden on ESPN against one of the best programs in America. And we took it as a huge compliment that they put us against Duke in the SEC/ACC challenge. Obviously, Duke is the marquee program in the ACC right now. It's not close. And for us to be picked to go play there, we take that as another huge compliment.   “So it's a challenge, all three of those games are going to be incredibly difficult. We have other really challenging non-conference games as well. But there's different ways to do it. Last year, we went 13-0 in non-conference. I'm not sure we'll be able to do that this year. But we can still have a really, really successful non-conference because of the level of opponents that we have.”   Wherever the schedule takes the Gators, the target will be on their backs. This year there is no sneaking up on anyone and no one will disrespect them.

Florida recruiting is giving Albert reason to flex some muscle (Photo by Chris Spears) “The greatest danger is standing still.” – Andy Grove    In the locker room after Florida beat Florida State 34-7 at The Swamp on November 2, 2005, the atmosphere was like chum in shark-infested waters. Vernell Brown, who got the biggest Senior Day ovation because he was on crutches, spoke about what it meant to be a Gator. The late Avery Atkins, who had started as a true freshman that day and shut down FSU’s 6-6 wide receiver Greg Carr, was in tears talking about how Vernell had coached him up on the sidelines and inspired him to play better. By the time the locker room cleared, Urban Meyer had a handful of commitments including future All-American Brandon James. Seizing on the momentum of that night, Meyer landed Tim Tebow a couple of weeks later and Tebow was followed by Percy Harvin.   By the time the dust had cleared, Meyer had a class that would produce a Heisman Trophy winner (Tebow), four first team All-Americans (Tebow, Harvin, Brandon Spikes and James), six first or second team All-SEC (Tebow, Harvin, Spikes, James, Riley Cooper and Jermaine Cunningham), 12 who started two or more seasons and six NFL draft picks.   To this day, Urban will be the first to tell you the momentum of that night in the locker room carried over to a class that was the foundation of the 2008 national championship. The next year, the momentum of landing commitments from six Lakeland Dreadnaughts (Marquise Pouncey, Mike Pouncey, Chris Rainey, Ahmad Black, Paul Wilson and Steve Wilks) carried over to a class that included 12 two-year starters, five All-Americans, eight All-SEC, six NFL draft picks and a future Heisman Trophy winner at Auburn, Cam Newton.   Momentum is everything in recruiting and right now Billy Napier has momentum. Over the weekend, Napier got commitments from 4-star wide receiver Marquez Daniel (6-5, 200, Tuskeegee, AL Booker T. Washington); 4-star defensive end JaReylan McCoy (6-6, 250, Tupelo, MS) and 4-star running back Carsyn Baker (6-1, 200, Fairburn, GA Langston Hughes). We shouldn’t be surprised if Napier gets one or two more commitments before the sun sets Monday. Also committed since June 1 are 4-star wide receiver Justin Williams (5-11, 190, Gainesville, FL Buccholz), 3-star offensive tackle Chancellor Campbell (6-8, 306, St. Petersburg, FL Lakewood), 4-star safety Kaiden Hall (6-3, 200, Milton, FL), 3-star offensive tackle G’Nivre Carr (6-4, 325, Ocala, FL/Bradenton, FL IMG Academy) and 3-star tight end Kekua Aumua (6-5, 255, Kahuku, Hawaii/Bradenton, FL IMG Academy).   Per On3.com , Florida’s recruiting class, once an overnight hike away, is now No. 13. If Napier can take advantage of the momentum he has going for him, the Gators could be in for the kind of recruiting class that build on the strong foundation that is already in place.   It has been a long time since there was so much optimism about Florida football recruiting.   LINDY’S RATES THE SEC POSITION BY POSITION QUATERBACK: 1. LSU; 2. Texas; 3. South Carolina; 4. FLORIDA; 5. Oklahoma; 6. Vanderbilt; 7. Alabama; 8. Ole Miss; 9. Texas A&M; 10. Auburn; 11. Arkansas; 12. Missouri; 13. Georgia; 14. Mississippi State; 15. Tennessee; 16. Kentucky   RUNNING BACK: 1. Texas; 2. Oklahoma; 3. Georgia; 4. Missouri; 5. Alabama; 6. FLORIDA; 7. LSU; 8. Texas A&M; 9. Arkansas; 10. Ole Miss; 11. Tennessee; 12. Auburn; 13. South Carolina; 14. Kentucky; 15. Vanderbilt; 16. Mississippi State   RECEIVERS:   1. Auburn; 2. Texas A&M; 3. LSU; 4. Alabama; 5. FLORIDA; 6. Georgia; 7. Texas; 8. Oklahoma; 9. Ole Miss; 10. Arkansas; 11. Tennessee; 12. South Carolina; 13. Missouri; 14. Kentucky; 15. Vanderbilt; 16. Mississippi   OFFENSIVE LINE: 1. Alabama; 2. Texas A&M; 3. FLORIDA; 4. Georgia; 5. Texas; 6. Missouri; 7. South Carolina; 8. Auburn; 9. Ole Miss; 10. Oklahoma; 11. Vanderbilt; 12. Tennessee; 13. Arkansas; 14. LSU; 15. Mississippi State; 16. Kentucky   DEFENSIVE LINE: 1. Texas; 2. Alabama; 3. Ole Miss; 4. Oklahoma; 5. LSU; 6. South Carolina; 7. Georgia; 8. FLORIDA; 9. Texas A&M; 10. Auburn; 11. Tennessee; 12. Vanderbilt; 13. Missouri; 14. Kentucky; 15. Arkansas; 16. Mississippi State   LINEBACKERS: 1. Texas; 2. LSU; 3. Georgia; 4. Alabama; 5. Ole Miss; 6. FLORIDA; 7. Missouri; 8. Texas A&M; 9. Auburn; 10. Oklahoma; 11. Tennessee; 12. Vanderbilt; 13. Arkansas; 14. South Carolina; 15. Kentucky; 16. Mississippi State   SECONDARY: 1. Alabama; 2. Georgia; 3. Texas; 4. Tennessee; 5. South Carolina; 6. Georgia; 7. LSU; 8. FLORIDA; 9. Texas A&M; 10. Oklahoma; 11. Auburn; 12. Ole Miss; 13. Kentucky; 14. Vanderbilt; 15. Mississippi State; 16. Arkansas   SPECIAL TEAMS: 1. Georgia; 2. LSU; 3. Texas; 4. Alabama; 5. Tennessee; 6. FLORIDA; 7. Texas A&M; 8. Ole Miss; 9. Oklahoma; 10. Auburn; 11. Kentucky; 12. Vanderbilt; 13. Mississippi State; 14. Missouri; 15. South Carolina; 16. Arkansas   UF WOMEN’S TRACK: Gators finish 15th at NCAA championships   When Habiba Harris pulled up on her leg of the 4X400 relay, any chance the Florida women had of a top 10 finish at the NCAA championships was doomed. The injury cost the Gators points in the relay and possibly 10 points in the 100 meter hurdles. The Gators also lost points when Hilda Olemomoi had to scratch in the 5000 and 10,000 races. Instead of a top five finish, the Gators finished 15th with 18 points.   By finishing outside the top 10, Florida will likely finish a few points behind Tennessee in the Learfield Director’s Cup standings. Florida is a likely seventh place finisher. A top five finish was doomed by injuries that proved costly in baseball, softball and track and field, both in the indoor and outdoor seasons.   BRIAN KELLY SAID IT …   On ESPN’s College Game Day podcast, LSU coach Brian Kelly tried to pour some water on the hype surrounding Arch Manning while touting his on QB, Garrett Nussmeier.   Kelly said: "Look, we hear it every day because [Manning is] from Louisiana. … And listen, there's another guy that hears it all the time and that's Garrett Nussmeier. He's committed, and more than anything else, he's experienced. And in this league, you need to see the bullets flying. "Now, Manning is extremely talented, but he's got to go do it. And there's going to be a couple of days where it doesn't come out the way it's supposed to. How do you bounce back, how do you come back from that? How does it work the next week in your gameplan? So there's a lot out there. I can see the assessment of Manning, he's an outstanding player. But I'll take the guy that's been in the SEC and seen what it looks like." There is no question Garrett Nussmeier is more experienced than Arch Manning. Nussmeier started 13 football games last year. Manning got one start against Louisiana-Monroe and while impressive that pales in comparison to Nussmeier. Still, Nussmeier threw 12 interceptions, tied for most in the SEC, and with a playoff berth on the line, he lost three consecutive games. In the losses to Alabama (42-13) and Florida (27-16), Nussmeier averaged only 5.6 yards per pass attempt and had as many interceptions (2) as touchdown passes. Against Florida he was sacked eight times. How much of Nussmeier’s struggles in games that mattered most is the result of poor coaching? Or, is it possible that he’s one of these quarterbacks who will always put up big stats but come up empty when his team needs him to lead the way to victory? It should be noted that in the two previous seasons at LSU, Kelly’s quarterback was Jayden Daniels, who put up ridiculous numbers and won the Heisman Trophy in 2023. Daniels also lost seven games in two years. Nussmeier lost four a year ago. So, that’s 11 losses in three years with great talent at quarterback. File that under things that make you go hmmmmm. Here’s a prediction for you: Garrett Nussmeier will put up interplanetary stats this year but LSU will lose at least four games. If Kelly couldn’t get into the playoff when he had the best quarterback on the planet for two years, he darn sure won’t get in this year with Nussmeier. Arch Manning’s stats may or may not compare with Nussmeier, but he won’t lose four games. You can pencil in Texas right now on your playoff dance card. Here is another prediction: DJ Lagway will have ridiculous stats and Florida will win at least nine games, maybe 10. At the end of the season, the best three quarterbacks in the Southeastern Conference will be DJ, Arch Manning and Oklahoma’s John Mateer.   ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT   Remember the tease for the movie Jaws 2? Just when you thought it was safe to get back in the water it said, reminding millions who refused to stick a toe in the ocean that there are great white sharks out there.   Well, we also have college football. We had a 4-team playoff that expanded to 12 last year. Don’t get comfortable with 12 teams. Just when you were resigned to an expanded playoff format, brace yourself. The 12-team format will expand to 16, perhaps as early as 2026.   We’ve known the playoff is going to expand for some time now, but who gets in and who is out? That was the question that raged at the Southeastern Conference spring meetings in Destin a couple of weeks ago. The Big Ten would prefer the 4-4-2-2-1 format which would assure the SEC and Big Ten of four teams. The guarantee of half the field before we even fill up the rest of the brackets doesn’t float well with the ACC and Big 12, nor is it favored by the SEC.   “I don’t like it,” Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark said. “Obviously, that model has been out there for almost a year now, and I didn’t like it because I just felt it created a huge divide between us and those two [SEC and Big Ten] conferences.”   Yormark has an ally in Greg Sankey. Sankey and the SEC want a 5-11 format. Basically, it is quite similar to what we have with 12 teams, which guarantees the conference champ from each of the power four conferences and the highest ranked conference champ from the Group of Five. In this 16-team expansion plan five conference champs will stay the same and four more at-large teams will be added.    You can bet the farm that there will be a 16-team playoff in 2026 and it will probably be a 5-11 format. That is probably the least of our concerns. How the teams are selected and ranked is a raging debate. Do we stay with the selection committee not only picking the at-large teams but ranking the 16 teams that will be in the playoff? Do we play first and second rounds on campus and then incorporate the bowls? Or do we play just first round games on campus and then incorporate more bowls into the format? How do we deal with the Rose Bowl which insists that it will play a game January 1.   There is a simple way to do it. Five conference champs are in which assures the Group of Five will have at least one team in. The next 11 ranked teams. Selection committee of 15 makes the decisions. Two years on and then new committee. Old committee members can’t be on the committee for five years after they are replaced. Eight games on campus in round one. Four quarter-final games and two semifinal games split between the Orange, Sugar, Rose, Cotton, Fiesta and Peach bowls. Championship game rotates between Dallas, Atlanta, Miami and Los Angeles.     A 16-team playoff is too much for one network, so split it each year between two networks. First round, for example, four games CBS, four games ESPN/ABC. Quarter-finals two CBS, two ESPN. One network gets the semifinals and championship game. Next year, same two except CBS gets the semis and championship game. Year three two new networks.   This is a common sense approach, which is exactly why they will never go for it. Common sense is in short supply when it comes to collegiate athletics and will remain in short supply until football becomes its own independent entity, free from the NCAA and free from all the rules.

Billy Napier is on a recruiting hot streak (Photo by Chris Spears) Thinking out loud on a Tuesday morning Brace yourselves! Some very confident people who know a lot more about recruiting than I ever will are whispering that the recent joy ride Billy Napier has been on isn’t anywhere near finished. They’re saying Billy’s just getting warmed up and more commitments are inevitable.     Napier’s hot streak continued Monday with the commitment from offensive tackles Javarii Luckas (6-5, 305, Belle Glade, FL Glades Central) and Tyler Chukuyem (6-6, 290, Douglasville, GA South Paulding). These are the fourth and fifth commitments just since Friday.   Luckas, a cousin of Gator great Fred Taylor, is a 3-star recruit who chose the Gators over West Virginia, Miami, South Florida and Penn State.  Chukuyem is a 3-star recruit who chose the Gators over Ole Miss.   Jason Higdon, the best source for Florida football recruiting has these guys on his Red Zone list, which is players he thinks the Gators have a reasonable expectation to land: 5-star DE Trenton Henderson (6-4, 225, Pensacola, FL Catholic); 3-star CB CJ Hester (6-1, 185, Cocoa, FL);  4-star CB (Nebraska commit) CJ Bronaugh (6-1, 175, Winter Garden, FL Windermere); 4-star LB Malik Morris (6-1, 230, Lakeland, FL) and 4-star WR Somourian Wingo Jr. (6-3, 180, St. Augustine, FL).   Florida’s 11 commitments:   5-star WR Marquez Daniel (6-5, 200, Tuskeegee, AL Booker T. Washington); 4-star DE JaReylan McCoy (6-6, 250, Tupelo, MS); 4-star WR Justin Williams (5-11, 190, Gainesville, FL Buccholz); 4-star S Kaiden Hall (6-3, 200, Milton, FL); 4-star RB Carsyn Baker (6-1, 200, Fairburn, GA Langston Hughes); 4-star QB Will Griffin (6-3, 225, Tampa, FL Jesuit); 3-star OT Chancellor Campbell (6-8, 310, St. Petersburg, FL Lakewood); 3-star OG G’Nivre Carr (6-4, 325, Ocala, FL/Bradenton, FL IMG Academy); 3-star DL Jamir Perez (6-4, 330, Cleveland, OH Glenville); 3-star TE Kekua Aumua (6-6, 257, Kahuku, Hawaii/Bradenton, FL IMG Academy); 3-star OT Javarii Luckas (6-5, 305, Belle Glade, FL Glades Central)   A DOSE OF COMMON SENSE NEEDED Next week the Football Bowl Subdivision Oversight Committee will discuss moving to a single transfer portal window from the current two. Currently, the portal opens in December and again in April. The American Football Coaches Association proposed a 10-day window from January 2-12, starting in 2026.   The January date will likely prevail when it comes to a vote because coaches prefer transfers to be in school in time for spring football. It isn’t ideal because the playoffs are still going on, so those teams would be at a disadvantage.   Here is a common sense solution. Open the transfer portal for the entire month of January. Spring football eliminated until a May 1-31 window. This would give players adequate time to take visits and coaches time to decide if a player is a good fit for the football culture and the academics. It would also give players time from January to May to get their academics in order without having to deal with spring practice. Kids who early enroll miss out on senior activities at their high school, so they could remain in school until May and then be at their new university for spring football.   Here are some other common sense suggestions regarding the portal: 1. Unless a player has a 2.5 GPA he sits a year when he transfers. 2. If a player is still taking remedial course, he has to sit a year. 3. Transfer a second time you sit a year unless there was a coaching change.   Since we’re talking common sense, let’s take a cue from the Canadian Football League where players have the option of wearing those funky guardian caps on their helmets. Last year the CFL reported 38 concussions for the entire league, a 21 percent decrease from 2023 and a 50 percent decrease from 2015. The helmets don’t look nearly as shiny and they don’t make that crackling sound you get on a helmet to helmet collision, but they do prevent concussions. So, if the powers that be in college football are nearly as concerned about player safety as they claim to be, then why not mandate guardian caps?   I’m old enough to remember when batting helmets weren’t mandatory in Major League Baseball and when facemasks weren’t mandatory for the National Football League. Batting helmets didn’t become mandatory until 1971. Hall of Fame receiver Tommy McDonald, who went an entire 12-year career without wearing a facemask. The single bar facemask was banned in 2004.   The guardian cap isn’t a brand new innovation. It’s been around long enough to know that it does provide more protection against concussions. Time to require it at all levels of football, from the pee wees all the way to the NFL.   IT’S WAY TOO EARLY BUT … Athlon and Lindy's are out with their preseason SEC picks. They are in agreement about Texas at No. 1 but after that they see things quite differently. Here are the Athlon and Lindy's picks and my own even though it's way too early. Athlon picks the SEC: 1. Texas; 2. Georgia; 3. LSU; 4. Alabama; 5. FLORIDA; 6. South Carolina; 7. Ole Miss; 8. Texas A&M; 9. Oklahoma; 10. Tennessee; 11. Auburn; 12. Missouri; 13. Arkansas; 14. Vanderbilt; 15. Kentucky; 16. Mississippi State   Lindy’s picks the SEC: 1. Texas; 2. LSU; 3. Alabama; 4. Georgia; 5. Oklahoma; 6. South Carolina; 7. FLORIDA; 8. Ole Miss; 9. Auburn; 10. Missouri; 11. Tennessee; 12. Texas A&M; 13. Arkansas; 14. Vanderbilt; 15. Kentucky; 16. Mississippi State   How I see it 1. Texas: Arch Manning doesn’t have to be spectacular. He just has to get the ball to the right people and avoid turnovers. The defense will do the rest.   2. Alabama: Ty Simpson will start at QB but he might be on a very short leash if he can’t get the ball to Ryan Williams on a regular basis. Freshman Keelon Russell is the future. If Bama beats Georgia in Athens September 27, Kalen DeBoer will have himself a serious contender.   3. FLORIDA: The secret for Billy Napier is getting out of the gate fast. If the Gators go 2-0 at LSU and Miami, there will be no more electric place on the planet than The Swamp when Texas comes to town September 27. DJ Lagway has NFL talent at wide receiver to throw to. If the Gators can stuff the run, they’ll be formidable. 4. Georgia: The Poodles couldn’t run the ball last year and they won’t run it this year either, which is bad news for Gunner Stockton. He needs a running game because he’s not exactly the second coming of Patrick Mahomes. More new faces on defense than we’ve seen at Georgia in a long time. Alabama and Texas come to Austin. Go 0-2 against those two and it might be the longest season since 2020.   5. LSU: Lindy’s ranks LSU’s offensive line No. 14 in the SEC. Even with stud receivers, Garrett Nussmeier isn’t going to be the all-interplanetary QB throwing on his back. The Tigers open with Clemson and get Florida two weeks later. Go 0-2 in those games and it might be the kind of season that has Tiger fans thinking a regime change is in order despite a buyout that could fund some third world countries.   6. Missouri: Surprised? Don’t be. That defense is going to be beastly and Eli Drinkwitz has a way with quarterbacks. Beau Pribula is going to be the big surprise of the SEC and Louisiana-Monroe transfer Ahmad Hardy is going to run for more than 1,000 yards.   7. South Carolina: LaNorris Sellers is one of the best dual threat QBs in the country, but he doesn’t have anyone to throw it to. The Gamecocks are going to have to beat people on the ground with Sellers and Utah State transfer Rahsul Faison grinding away. The back end of the defense will be good but answers needed up front.   8. Ole Miss: Nobody works the portal like Lane Kiffin. He has 30 new faces from different places including running back Logan Diggs, formerly of Notre Dame and LSU. He will gain more than 1,000 yards. If Austin Simmons can find Cayden Lee running free like a banshee in the secondary, the Ole Miss passing game will be fine. The defense will be top five in the league.   9. Oklahoma: Washington State transfer John Mateer was the best QB in the portal. He needs to come up big to save Brent Venables’ job. Venables will have a good defense, but last year’s offense was anemic. Mateer needs to be the answer.   10. Auburn: Hugh Freeze has last year’s Oklahoma QB Jackson Arnold, who is a real dual threat. Hugh has always done well with QBs who can run and throw. He needs Arnold to play like the 5-star recruit he was out of high school. On paper, the defense looks like it needs a lot of help.   11. Texas A&M: The Aggies are one of those teams that can go in either direction. They could be surprisingly good or they may go in the tank early. They’ve got Notre Dame and Florida in the first half of the season. That will go a long way toward telling us how good they will be.   12. Vanderbilt: Diego Pavia somehow got the NCAA to wipe out his juco years and give him another year of college football. He isn’t pretty but he inspires teammates and they find ways to win. Another 6-6 season isn’t out of the question. 13. Tennessee: The Vols’ fate is in the hands of former App State QB Joey Aguilar, who never took a snap at UCLA. He transferred to UT when former UT QB Nico Iamaleava transferred to UCLA over a contract dispute. At best this is a 6-6 team.   14. Arkansas: Once again Sam Pittman is on the hot seat but that’s nothing new. He’s there every year. He has a good QB in Taylen Green but not a lot of weapons around him. A long year predicted, but Sam could shock the world and break even.   15. Kentucky: Just a couple of years ago everybody was ready to anoint Mark Stoops as the coach who would be the next Nick if only he had the talent. That’s the problem. He doesn’t have the talent. He might coach good, but they will sure play bad this year.   16. Mississippi State: One day people are going to realize just how good Dan Mullen and Mike Leach were to win in Starkville. Jeff Lebby isn’t going to. He’s got a dead end job.

The foundation is in place for sustained football success at the University of Florida (Photo by Chris Spears) A few thoughts to jump start your Saturday morning:   It is called the Parable of the Wise and Foolish Builder, a section of the Sermon on the Mount in which Jesus spoke of two men, one who built his house on a rock, the other who built his house on sand. When the storms came, the house built on the rock was still standing. The house built on a foundation of sand was swept away.   The parable not only applies to life – with a strong foundation you weather the storms that inevitably come your way – but to football as well. We could point to the Florida Gators as the perfect example. Dan Mullen was fired at the end of the 2021 season because the powers that be at the University of Florida saw a program in decline and mediocrity in the future. Inheriting the remnants of Mullen’s shoddy recruiting, Billy Napier has spent three seasons putting in a foundation that stands on a rock. The first 2-1/2 seasons were the kind that had Florida fans pulling their hair out, wondering how Napier was ever going to keep Gator House from being washed away into a permanent state of losing football. Then came eight sacks of Garrett Nussmeier and a win at The Swamp over LSU followed by a win over Ole Miss a week later. The win over FSU in Tallahassee and the bowl win over Tulane were rewards for a job well done.   So here we are a little less than three months from the start of the 2025 season and rather than the so-called experts explaining why it is Billy Napier won’t last beyond midseason, we find the Gators on the fringe of College Football Playoff expectations. The reason is simple: Napier has put in place a solid foundation that bodes well for the future. Just this past week, ESPN came out with its two-year projections for all 68 schools that make up the power four. Florida, which wasn’t ranked among the top 25 a year ago, is No. 15, which is a very good place to start. At No. 15 the Gators will start the season close enough to get into the CFP mix early and stay there by dealing with a difficult but manageable schedule.   The Gators have exactly what is necessary to win big in 2025. It starts with a stud quarterback in DJ Lagway; SEC caliber offensive and defensive lines; and speed, depth and athleticism across the board at the other positions. For the first time since he became Florida’s head coach, Napier has a real SEC roster and he’s built it from the ground up.   Florida has only seven transfers and only two – punter Tommy Doman (from Michigan) and wide receiver J. Michael Sturdivant (from UCLA) – figure to have starting roles. When you only need to dip into the portal for one or two plug and play types, you have a solid foundation, one that can sustain success.   It is that strong foundation that helped Napier land a commitment Friday from 4-star running back Carsyn Baker (6-1, 200, Fairburn, GA Langston Hughes). It’s a big recruiting weekend at UF and Napier could land two or three other studs for the 2026 class. On hand and doing his part to help recruit is quarterback Will Griffin (6-3, 225, Tampa, FL Jesuit). When your quarterback who probably won’t see the field until 2027 is on hand helping to recruit, you know your foundation is built on a rock.   ESPN 2-year projections top 25/SEC: 1. Texas; 2. Ohio State; 3. Georgia; 4. Oregon; 5. Notre Dame; 6. Penn State; 7. Clemson; 8. LSU; 9. Tennessee; 10. Alabama; 11. Miami; 12. Arizona State; 13. Michigan; 14. SMU; 15. FLORIDA; 16. Ole Miss; 17. Illinois; 18. South Carolina; 19. Iowa State; 20. Indiana; 21. Kansas State; 22. Missouri; 23. Iowa; 24. Louisville; 25. BYU; 27. Oklahoma; 28. Texas A&M; 37. Auburn; 48. Vanderbilt; 52. Kentucky; 55. Arkansas; 59. Mississippi State   247Sports national recruiting rankings for 2025 (as of June 13/SEC teams bold face): 1. Texas; 2. Georgia; 3. Alabama; 4. Ohio State; 5. Oregon; 6. Michigan; 7. FLORIDA; 8. Auburn; 9. Texas A&M; 10. LSU; 11. Tennessee; 12. Notre Dame; 13. Southern California; 14. Miami; 15. Penn State; 16. Ole Miss; 17. Oklahoma; 18. South Carolina; 19. Missouri; 21. Georgia Tech; 22. Nebraska; 23. Washington; 24. TCU; 25. Maryland; 26. Clemson; 27. Wisconsin; 28. Mississippi State; 29. Kentucky; 30. Duke; 31. SMU; 32. Arkansas; 77. Vanderbilt   2025 transfers to SEC schools: Mississippi State 33; Arkansas 31; Ole Miss 30; Kentucky 26; Missouri 22; Oklahoma 22; Vanderbilt 20; Auburn 19; LSU 18; South Carolina 18; Texas A&M 14; Alabama 12; Texas 11; Georgia 10; Tennessee 7; Florida 7   UF TRACK AND FIELD: Men finish 8th at NCAA championships The injury bug wasn’t confined to Florida baseball and softball. Mouse Holloway endured a season of injuries on the track, a chief reason the Gators finished eighth at the NCAA championships, ending a three-year run of national titles. The Gators finished fifth in the 4X100 relay Friday night to close out the meet with 22 points, tying Ole Miss and Kentucky. Texas A&M and Southern Cal tied for the national title with 41 points apiece, the same total the Gators won the national championship with last year. Florida was particularly hurt by the absence of sprinter Wanya McCoy, who scored points last year in the 100, 200 and as a member of the 4X100 relay team.   Florida has five entries today in the women’s championship. Although the Gators have only four points through the preliminaries, they could score big with Anthya Charlton in the 100 and running a leg on the 4X100 and Habiba Harris in the 100 hurdles.   A strong finish by the Florida women could move the Gators past Tennessee for sixth place in the Learfield Director’s Cup final standings.   UF BASEBALL IN THE TRANSFER PORTAL The big news for Florida baseball is a commitment from Jacksonville University center fielder Jaden Bastian, who hit .302 with 11 homers, 10 doubles, five triples, 33 RBI and 36 stolen bases last year. He is the third transfer to commit to the Gators, joining UCF righthander Russell Sandefer and Notre Dame righty Ricky Reeth.   Bastian in the outfield with a healthy Kyle Jones and Hayden Yost could give Kevin O’Sullivan his best defensive outfield in some time.   Florida has also gotten a commitment from righthanded pitcher Aaron Watson of Jacksonville’s Trinity Christian. He signed with Virginia but when Brian O’Connor left Virginia for the head coaching job at Mississippi State, Watson got out of his LOI and committed to the Gators. He is currently listed as the No. 42 prospect for the Major League Baseball Draft. There are rumblings that he will choose college baseball if the money isn’t right in the draft.   Newbies: P Russell Sandefer (SO, from UCF ); P Ricky Reeth (SR, from Notre Dame ); CF Jaden Bastian (SO, from Jacksonville ) Goners: C/OF Brock Clayton (FR); P Felix Ong (FR); P Nikko Janssens (FR); C Cole Bullen (JR); P Carson Montsdeoca (FR); P Alex Philpott (SO); P Jacob Gomberg (SO)   Freshman All-Americans: RHP Aidan King; INF Brendan Lawson   Gators at the Major League Baseball Draft Combine: RHP Jake Clemente; LHP Pierce Coppola; C Brody Donay; SS Colby Shelton; SS Jordan Yost (Sickles HS, Tampa)   UF SOFTBALL IN THE TRANSFER PORTAL All-America second baseman Mia Williams has transferred to Texas Tech while outfielders Alyssa Hovermale (South Carolina) and Kylie Shaw (Auburn) have found new homes. Meanwhile Tim Walton has added catcher Ella Wesolowski from Mississippi State and 3B/1B Madison Walker from Missouri. Walker hit 18 home runs and drove in 48 for Mizzou last season.   Newbies: 3B/1B Madison Walker (SO, from Missouri ); C Ella Wesolowski (SO, from Mississippi State ) Goners: OF Kylie Shaw (FR, to Auburn ); 2B Mia Williams (SO, to Texas Tech ); OF Alyssa Hovermale (SO, to South Carolina ); C Makenna Bellaire (FR); OF Layla Lamar (FR)   ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT   Leave it to CBS to put a chip back on the shoulder of the Florida Gators. Winning the NCAA basketball championship knocked it off, but it’s back where Todd Golden hopes it stays now that CBS has ranked the games of the SEC/ACC Challenge. The marquee game of this year’s challenge will be Florida at Duke and already Duke is being billed as the favorite. Strange since the ACC will be about as weak as it was a season ago and the Southeastern Conference figures to be every bit as strong as it was when it sent a record 14 teams to the NCAA Tournament.   Here is what David Cobb of CBS said: “ Duke will put its top-ranked high school recruiting class against the reigning national champions in a must-see showdown. On a neutral floor, the Gators and their returning convoy of bigs would be the play. At Cameron Indoor Stadium? Well, that's a different story. The Blue Devils have enough veteran savvy to combine with the newbies for what would amount to a critical victory in the ACC's efforts.”   The Gators beat three No. 1 teams last season – Tennessee, Auburn on the road and Auburn again in San Antonio at the NCAA Final Four. While Walter Clayton Jr., Will Richard and Alijah Martin have all moved on to the pros, the Gators are returning Alex Condon, Rueben Chinyelu, Tommy Haugh and Micah Handlogten in what will be the deepest and most experienced front court in the nation. Thanks to the portal, the Gators will have plenty of firepower and starting experience in Xaivian Lee, Boogie Fland and AJ Brown.   Yes, the game will be at Cameron Indoor Stadium where Duke has been known to get the benefit of numerous whistles, but the Dookies are beatable on their home court and they won’t have near the experience of the Gators.   You can bet the farm Todd Golden is already preaching disrespect to the Gators.   SEC/ACC Challenge FLORIDA at Duke Louisville at Arkansas North Carolina at Kentucky North Carolina State at Auburn Missouri at Notre Dame Tennessee at Syracuse SMU at Vanderbilt Clemson at Alabama Virginia at Texas Oklahoma at Wake Forest Miami at Ole Miss Texas A&M at Pitt Mississippi State at Georgia Tech Georgia at Florida State LSU at Boston College Virginia Tech at South Carolina

I’ve seen enough of recent video to believe DJ is championship timber who is on a Heisman-contending path.

My first glimpse of Doak Campbell Stadium and my thoughts were even less impressive than the ones I had the night before regarding the Tallahassee Civic Center. We would call it “The Erector Set” because it looked just like ones you played with as a child.

He will share some with the Gatorbait family and hopefully revive some memories of their own in the process. Carlton Reese is a 1990 graduate of the University of Florida with a B.A. in English. From a family with roots deep and long in the Sunshine State, Reese grew up in a world of Gators and Dawg haters. His first experience covering Florida football was while still in college during the Emmitt Smith era working as a news assistant and correspondent for the Gainesville Sun. After a professional career that has taken him from sports writer to editor to columnist to golf professional to freelance journalist, Reese is now publisher of the magazine The Ocalan along with being a contributing columnist for Gatorbait. Like all writers, Reese has a torrent of memories yet to find the ways onto any pages. With “Looking Back” he will share some with the Gatorbait family and hopefully revive some memories of their own in the process. ReplyForward Add reaction

Center Jake Slaughter (66) is the only Gator to make first team All-SEC at Lindy's (Photo by Chris Spears) “I don’t get no respect. I called Suicide Prevention. They tried to talk me into it.” – Rodney Dangerfield   Right up to the very end, Todd Golden did a dandy impersonation of Rodney Dangerfield. He played the no respect card until he couldn’t play it anymore. It’s hard to claim you get no respect when you’ve won the NCAA basketball championship.   Throughout the 2024-25 season, Golden made sure the chip he placed on the Gators’ shoulder stayed there and got bigger as the season wore on. When the Gators reached the Final Four in San Antonio, the talk was all about Duke and Cooper Flagg, not about Florida and Walter Clayton Jr., winners of 10 straight games including heart attack come from behind finishes to take out UConn and Texas Tech. Duke and Flagg never made the championship game. Florida beat No. 1 seed Auburn and Houston to win the national championship. Walter Clayton Jr. proved in San Antonio that he, not Cooper Flagg, was the best player in the country, and Florida won the national championship that Dickie V had reserved for Duke.   Billy Napier should have some conversations with Golden about how to put a chip on the shoulder of the Florida football team and keep it there throughout the season. As evidenced by the Lindy’s Sports college football preseason magazine, there is very little in the way of respect for the Gators. Lindy’s ranks the Gators No. 15 in their preseason top 25 and only three Gators receive any All-SEC mention – first team center Jake Slaughter and place kicker Trey Smack and D-lineman Caleb Banks, both of whom earned third team mention. Slaughter was also named first team All-America. He was the first team All-America center last year even though the SEC coaches failed to name him to either their first, second or third team all-league selections.   Lindy’s ranks Florida No. 7 in the Southeastern Conference even though the magazine says quarterback DJ Lagway “is an expected superstar.” Bad news, Lindy’s says, is edge rusher Jack Pyburn leaving in the portal for LSU. Barring injury, Lagway will indeed be a superstar. Lindy’s doesn’t even list Pyburn as a starter for LSU’s defense.   In their national rankings of the top players at every position, Lagway is the No. 7 quarterback; Slaughter is the No. 1 center; and Smack is the No. 7 placekicker. That’s it.   Napier and his assistant coaches should be preaching disrespect every chance they get this summer. Golden did it and the Gators went from the No. 21 team in the preseason to national champions. Give a team an us against the world mentality and it’s absolutely amazing at what they can accomplish.   LINDY’S PRESEASON TOP 25: 1. Texas; 2. Penn State; 3. Ohio State; 4. Clemson; 5. LSU; 6. Notre Dame; 7. Oregon; 8. Alabama; 9. Georgia; 10. Miami; 11. SMU; 12. Oklahoma; 13. South Carolina; 14. Arizona State; 15. FLORIDA; 16. Michigan; 17. Illinois; 18. Texas Tech; 19. Ole Miss; 20. Kansas State; 21. BYU; 22. Iowa State; 23. Louisville; 24. Nebraska; 25. Baylor   LINDY’S SEC PRESEASON ORDER OF FINISH WITH MY COMMENTARY 1. Texas: The Longhorns are counting on Arch Manning to take the offense places Quinn Ewers couldn’t. The defense could be as good as last year. The Longhorns open at Ohio State, play at Florida October 4 and at Georgia November 15.   2. LSU: The Tigers couldn’t run the football last year even when they were supposed to have the best O-line in the country. They won’t run the ball this year and Garrett Nussmeier needs to have a feets don’t fail me now mentality. The defense won’t stop anyone. Brian Kelly couldn’t make the playoff when he had the best QB on the planet. He won’t make it this year because he’s too reliant on transfers. LSU is at Clemson game one, home against Florida game three. Overrated.   3. Alabama: The Crimson Tide has potentially its greatest wide receiver ever in Ryan Williams. Can Ty Simpson get the ball to him? Can Simpson make up for the lost rushing yards of Jalen Milroe? The defense was torched by Vandy for 40 points. Bama is at Georgia September 27 and home against LSU November 8. If the Tide can’t win 10 games Kalen DeBoer might get run out of Tuscaloosa.   4. Georgia: Only one starter returns on the O-line and three on defense. The QB will be Gunner Stockton. Georgia averaged only 124 yards per game running the ball last year.  The defense didn’t dominate a year ago. In Georgia’s favor is a schedule that has both Alabama and Texas coming to Athens. The Bulldogs will lose three in the regular season.   5. Oklahoma: Get ready for Washington State transfer John Mateer. If the Sooners can protect him he is going to light up nearly every defense he sees. Brent Venables is going to call the defense which should mean improvement. The schedule is brutal with Michigan, Auburn, Texas, South Carolina, Alabama and LSU.   6. South Carolina: The Gamecocks won their last six regular season games behind LaNorris Sellers. The offensive line was gutted and so was the defense. Finishing in the top 15 teams nationally is overly optimistic. The back end of the schedule includes Oklahoma, Alabama, Ole Miss, Texas A&M and Clemson.   7. FLORIDA: The Gators might be better offensively than they were in Kyle Trask’s senior season. The O-line is as good as there is in the country, the running backs are explosive and Lagway has some studs to throw to. If the defense is as good as it was in the last four games, the Gators will challenge for the SEC. The stretch of at LSU, at Miami and home against Texas will tell us if the Gators are contenders or pretenders.   8. Ole Miss: Lane Kiffin is transfer-heavy once again, but that won’t stop the Rebels from winning nine football games. They will score plenty of points and the defense will be surprisingly good.   9. Auburn: Oklahoma transfer Jackson Arnold is a vast improvement over the QB play the last two years. The wide receivers are excellent. Auburn will have to be able to run the football if they are to navigate a schedule that includes road games at Oklahoma, Texas A&M, Georgia, Missouri and Alabama.   10. Missouri: Everybody underestimates Eli Drinkwitz who won 10 games a year ago. The defense is going to be very good. The question is at quarterback where Penn State transfer Beau Pribula has to prove he can get the job done against SEC defenses. South Carolina, Alabama and Texas A&M are at home.   11. Tennessee: No. 11? Oh please. No. 14 I can understand.   12. Texas A&M: The Aggies will be better than No. 12. The O-line has four returning starters and the Aggies will be able to run the ball. The pass defense has to improve and the Aggies have to generate some pass rush. Game three at Notre Dame will go a long way toward telling us how good the Aggies will be.   13. Arkansas: The Hogs are going to have to outscore people because the defense will stink. Again. Everybody loves Sam Pittman, but he has to win at least eight games to be gainfully employed next year. Notre Dame shows up in Fayette Nam on September 27.   14. Vanderbilt: The Commodores won seven games last year including a win over Alabama. Diego Pavia is back for a sixth season of eligibility. He will have to be better than last year for Vandy to win seven again. The Dores play at Alabama and at Texas.   15. Kentucky: The QB will be Zack Calzada, who started at Texas A&M, moved to Auburn and then transferred to Incarnate Word. The Wildcats couldn’t stop anyone running the ball last year. They won’t be able to do it again. Mark Stoops is going to feel the heat.   16. Mississippi State: Another long, long season at Moo U.

Florida AD Scott Stricklin (R) will have his hands full navigating the changes to college sports (Photo by Chris Spears) A few thoughts to jump start your Saturday morning: Friday, Federal Judge Claudia Wilken of the Northern District of California signed off on the United States House of Representatives v. NCAA, a deal that settles three antitrust cases while making it perfectly legal for schools to fork over as much as $20.5 million to its athletes. Not only that, the deal will allow a substantial increase in scholarships. In the case of the University of Florida, which offers nine men’s sports and 12 women’s sports, the new agreement allows the Gators to go from a combined 285.2 scholarships to 520 (265 for men, 255 for women).   If a scholarship has a value of $75,000 per year, then the University Athletic Association will be on the hook for $17,610,000 per year if it fills all of its available scholarships. With a $20.5 million pay for play cap as mandated by the settlement, the UAA will be spending $38,110,000 for its athletes.   The University of Florida can afford it. With athletic revenues in excess of $200 million in the fiscal year ending in 2024 there is no shortage of money. Still, that pales in comparison to Texas, whose revenues exceeded $331 million or Texas A&M, Alabama, Tennessee and Georgia, all of whom had more than $230 million in revenues.   Think of it in these terms. Bet the ranch that all 16 SEC schools will pay the full $20.5 million to their athletes, so that is $328,000,000 right there. Let’s say the 16 SEC schools combine for an average of 520 scholarships at $75,000 per year, that’s another $624,000,000. That is $952,000,000 on pay for play and scholarships.   And here you are wondering why it is there is a scramble to expand the College Football Playoff to 16 teams even though we’re only one year into expansion from four to 12 teams. Or, why you just got your season ticket renewal application and you will be spending hundreds more for the same seats that have been in your family for years. Or why you will be paying more money for a single skinny weenie that you pay for a 24-pack of Ball Park dogs at Sam’s.   Figure the SEC and Big Ten schools will be able to cover the increases because they have the TV deals and big stadiums. That is not the case in the ACC or the Big 12, but they still have a lot more money than those in the American, Mountain West, Sun Belt and other Group of Five conferences.   The haves of the college sports world will have more and the almost haves and never will haves will fall farther behind.   Adding more scholarships and a $20.5 million spending limit to pay athletes is going to trickle down negatively to the Group of Five, FCS and Division II levels. The power conferences will have more scholarships to offer so they will take a flyer on a kid that they otherwise wouldn’t have room for under the old limitations. Good football players at the lower levels will be more inclined to transfer to schools that (a) can afford to pay them and (b) have more scholarships to offer.   We are going to have chaos. Count on it. At some point in time – probably sooner and not later – we’re going to see schools that can’t afford to keep up with the big boys dropping sports. If we continue on the present course, then it is only a matter of time before multiple schools completely eliminate their athletic departments in an effort to stave off bankruptcy or elect to compete at a non-scholarship level.   So what is the answer? Let’s start with the obvious. We have a deal brokered by the NCAA and the House of Representatives that is supposed to solve a myriad of problems, but will it?  In the words of the late, great Ronald Reagan, “The nine most terrifying words in the English language are, ‘I’m from the government and I’m here to help.’” We have taken a branch of the government (House of Representatives) that hasn’t balanced a budget since the Clinton administration and yet the NCAA begged it for help solving the problems of college sports.   Yeah, that makes total sense.   Combine the House with the NCAA, which redefines ineptitude, and the words of Jesus come to mind: “Father forgive them for they know not what they do.”   At the Final Four, I had a conversation with Jay Wright, who won two NCAA basketball championships at Villanova before throwing up his hands in disgust and retiring, all because the NCAA has lost control. A few highlights of our conversation: (1) The NCAA is incapable of solving the problems it created and should be relegated to doing the one thing it does well, which is run championship events; (2) Football, the cash cow for college athletics, has to secede from the NCAA and once it has worked out the kinks, then bring in the other sports one-by-one; (3) Hire a commissioner for the new organization, one who understands the business of sports and give him real power to make decisions; (4) Make all athletes employees of their school and let each conference establish a salary cap; and (5) Make all athletes sign enforceable contracts.   I believe the NCAA has long since outlived its usefulness. I believe a divorce is necessary and a new organization formed run by a far thinking commissioner who understands the business of sports. Since we’re headed for an NFL model for football and since football pays the freight, put someone in charge who has been successful running an NFL team, but make sure whoever it is has strong leadership qualities.   The NCAA is the perfect example of what happens when well meaning people choose to be led by someone incapable of running the midnight shift at a convenience store. NCAA presidents such as Myles Brand and Mark Emmert are why we have the mess we’re in when it comes to the transfer portal, NIL and pay for play. Rather than listen to athletes who were asking for things like extended health care to cover lingering effects of injuries or scholarships to pay for the classes necessary for graduation after they have exhausted their eligibility the NCAA chose to fight in court where they kept on losing.   It didn’t have to be this way.   The new agreement between the House and the NCAA is nothing more than an expensive band aid at a time when a tourniquet is necessary. Three or four years from now, when it is clear to everyone with a functioning brain that this latest deal is nothing more than another dumb idea, perhaps a strong enough leader will emerge complete with a common sense plan that calls for the abolition of the NCAA. If you appreciate college sports, then you should pray that day comes sooner and not later.   ***   Here are the scholarship limits and how they apply to the University of Florida: Baseball: New limit 34; old 11.7 Men’s basketball: New limit 15; old limit 13 Women’s basketball: No change; 15 scholarship limit Men’s cross country: New limit 17; old 5 Women’s cross country: New limit 17; old 6 Football: New limit 105; old 85 Men’s golf: New limit 9; old 4.5 Women’s golf: New limit 9; old 6 Women’s gymnastics: New limit 20; old 12 Men’s track and field: New limit 45; old 12.6 Women’s track and field: New limit 45; old 18 Women’s lacrosse: New limit 38; old 12 Women’s soccer: New limit 28; old 14 Softball: New limit 25; old 12 Men’s swimming: New limit 30; old 9.9 Women’s swimming: New limit 30; old 14 Men’s tennis: New limit 10; old 4.5 Women’s tennis: New limit 10; old 8 Women’s volleyball: New limit 18; old 12   TOTALS Men: New limit 265; old 156.2 Women: New limit 255; old 129

Walter Clayton Jr. drives on UConn in the NCAA second round (Photo by Chris Spears) A few thoughts to jump start your Monday morning: The NCAA, in its infinite wisdom, is thinking of tinkering with the one thing it does very well. At 64 teams, the NCAA Basketball Tournament is three consecutive weekends of heart attack drama that grips the country, yet Charlie Baker, the latest figurehead at the top of the NCAA food chain in Indianapolis, says tournament expansion could happen as early as next year. Instead of 64 teams we could be seeing another eight teams added to the field.    The tournament doesn’t need expanding. It’s great the way it is and it won’t get better because the NCAA feels sorry for teams that got left out because they weren’t good enough to win their conference tournament or didn’t win enough games against quality opponents to impress the selection committee enough to be included in the field of 64. Can you name a team from a low- or mid-major conference that was left out of the tournament that could have made a run to the Final Four?   The way the tournament is set up every conference champion is guaranteed a seat at the table. When the regular season ends, every team in the country has a shot at winning the national championship. All it has to do is win its conference championship tournament and it is assured of a chance to wear the glass slippers in the big dance. Adding more games to include teams that couldn’t win their conference championship isn’t going to improve the NCAA Tournament.   Expanding the basketball tournament is not about NCAA benevolence although the NCAA will try to sell this as more teams, more games, more opportunity for a Cinderella story that will grip the nation. This is a money grab pure and simple. The NCAA has a $2.8 billion settlement with the United States House of Representatives so it is looking for ways to make up that lost revenue. More tournament games, more television money.  The NCAA hopes no one notices that the overall quality of the tournament will be diluted.   Instead of expanding the NCAA needs to do whatever it can to make sure it gives us the best chance of another three weeks like the one we just had that culminated with three games at the Final Four in San Antonio that left us all gasping for air and clutching our chests. The Final Four was a crescendo of excitement that began building the first weekend of the tournament.   Was there a better second round game than Florida’s win over two-time NCAA champ UConn in Raleigh? That’s where Walter Clayton Jr. began his flirtation with basketball immortality. A week later in San Francisco, Clayton had an encore performance against Texas Tech and that simply set the stage for the basketball equivalent of Woodstock in San Antonio.   Has there ever been a better Final Four than the one we just witnessed in San Antonio? With Clayton going beast mode, Florida came from nine down to beat Auburn in one semifinal. In the other, Houston came from 14 down to beat Duke as Cooper Flagg blew his chance to live up to the Dickie V hype by leaving what would have been the game-winning shot on the front of the rim. You can decide for yourself whether Houston staged one of the greatest comebacks ever or else Duke choked like no team in NCAA history.   Two nights later, Houston held Walter Clayton Jr. in check most of the game only to find out the Gators were far from a one-man team. Florida took the lead in the final 30 seconds then gave us a text book demonstration of perfect defensive rotations that forced a Houston turnover with eight seconds to go. When the clock flatlined at 00:00, Clayton was holding the basketball and the Florida Gators were national champs.   As Florida cut down the nets, you could almost hear the late, great Jim McKay’s signature line from Wide World of Sports, “The thrill of victory, the agony of defeat.” This is what the NCAA Tournament is all about. Expanding the tournament won’t give us more games like we saw in Raleigh, San Francisco or San Antonio. That’s what we need, not an expanded field.   WALT IN THE NBA DRAFT   Dean Smith once said he would never recruit a player who scored 33 points a game for a team that barely broke even. Dean tried to stock his roster with players who best impact winning.   The NBA is going to draft in a couple of weeks. When I look at these mock drafts, I see players like Ace Bailey and Dylan Harper of Rutgers. They have lots of athletic ability and potential but with a pair of top five draft picks, Rutgers went 15-17. That would stick out to me if I was the general manager of an NBA team. Give me someone who knows how to win.   Walter Clayton Jr. will be selected in the first round. Adam Finkelstein of CBS has Walt going No. 13 to the Atlanta Hawks. Most other mock drafts have Walt going to the Orlando Magic at No. 25.   Whoever gets him will get a player who knows how to win basketball games, something I think the Magic need in the worst way. There are very few players whether in college or already in the NBA that can shoot like Walter Clayton Jr. He is an underrated defender, a very good passer and best of all, he knows how to win. If the Magic draft him they will get a winner, something they need desperately.   CAGLIANONE BREAKS OUT; POLAR BEAR GOES BEAST MODE   Prior to Sunday, Jac Caglianone was 2-21 since being called up to Kansas City from Omaha of the triple-A International League. Sunday was a different story, however, as Caglianone went 4-4 (three singles and a double) against the Chicago White Sox.   Tuesday night, Caglianone and the Royals will be home in Kansas City to host the New York Yankees for a three game set. If Caglianone hits the ball out of the yard, you can bet the farm the media will start comparing Cag to Yankees star Aaron Judge because of their size (Cag 6-5, 250; Judge 6-7, 282) and their ability to drive baseballs 400-feet at astonishing rates of speed.   Also Sunday, former Gator Pete Alonso hit two homers and drove in four against the Colorado Rockies. The Polar Bear is hitting .301 with 17 homers and a Major League Baseball leading 61 RBI. ESPN projects Pete to hit 42 homers and drive in 150 runs.   TWO SEC TEAMS MAKE IT TO OMAHA   Back in March there were complaints that the Southeastern Conference got 14 of its 16 teams in the NCAA Basketball Tournament. Seven made it to the Sweet 16, four to the Elite Eight and two to the Final Four. When Florida beat Auburn and Houston in San Antonio to win the national championship it justified the SEC getting so many teams.   A few weeks ago, the NCAA invited 14 SEC softball teams to its tournament. Missouri was the only SEC team that didn’t get invited (Vanderbilt doesn’t play softball). Six SEC teams emerged from the regionals to host a super regional and five (Texas, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Ole Miss and Florida) advanced to the Women’s College World Series in Oklahoma City. In OKC, three advanced to the semifinals and Texas won the national championship.   The SEC started out with 13 teams in the NCAA Baseball Tournament, but only two – Arkansas and LSU – will make it to Omaha for the College World Series. Arkansas beat Tennessee in two games to win its super regional and LSU beat West Virginia in two games. Some talking heads were touting the ACC to make half the CWS field, but North Carolina was eliminated by Arizona in Chapel Hill and Florida State was eliminated by Oregon State. Duke is playing for its season in a super regional final against Murray State today. Murray State beat Duke 19-9 Sunday so it’s entirely possible Duke will go down, leaving only Louisville to make the trip to Omaha.   Some might think only two teams in Omaha is proof that the SEC was overrated, but 25 percent of the field is an extraordinary accomplishment for a league that has won six of the last seven College World Series.   ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT   A Federal judge has signed off on the United States House of Representatives v. NCAA case, opening the door for athletes to be paid. Schools can pay as much as $20.5 million but that’s supposed to cover all sports. Expectations are that football and men’s basketball will take the lion’s share of the money, leaving all the other sports to divvy up whatever is left. By some accounts, football alone will probably take 75 percent of the money.   Bet the farm that the lawyers are already lining up to challenge how the money is distributed. It’s rare that any sport other than football and men’s basketball makes money but that won’t stop lawyers from demanding equal pay for women’s sports.   There is also the issue about NIL money. Supposedly, the settlement allows for NIL money to be distributed through a clearinghouse, a glorified middleman. Wealthy boosters are going to take a look at that and decide it’s a good idea to skip the middleman altogether and pay players directly. That’s not supposed to happen, but you know it will. Think of it as a hundred dollar handshake multiplied several thousand times delivered through CashApp.   You don’t have to be a rocket surgeon or a brain scientist to figure out the NCAA, in its infinite wisdom, elected to make a deal with the Congress, which is as brain dead as the NCAA. Chaos will ensue. Bet on it.   There are common sense answers to the problems of college sports. Unfortunately, the NCAA is involved and at the NCAA common sense is in short supply these days.