Florida Football: Jaden Rashada flip proves money isn’t everything
![Florida Gators recruit Jaden Rashada smiles on the sideline during the second half against the Florida Gators at Steve Spurrier Field at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville, FL on Saturday, November 12, 2022. [Matt Pendleton/Gainesville Sun]Ncaa Football Florida Gators Vs South Carolina Gamecocks](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_fill,w_1080,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/shape%2Fcover%2Fsport%2Fcf9cf8c6b9f432cb5c8af0300ae6176e45467b416dd882b744ae19e2c3161392.jpg "Florida Gators recruit Jaden Rashada smiles on the sideline during the second half against the Florida Gators at Steve Spurrier Field at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville, FL on Saturday, November 12, 2022. [Matt Pendleton/Gainesville Sun]Ncaa Football Florida Gators Vs South Carolina Gamecocks")
When Jaden Rashada committed to the University of Miami over the Florida Gators, it was a major blow to Florida football at the time. Billy Napier and crew hadn’t picked steam on the recruiting trail, and it looked like the Gators weren’t going to provide enough NIL money to play ball with top recruits.
To some extent, that’s still true and Florida has still struggled to land five-star prospects even when having the inside track. But Rashada’s flip from Miami to Florida proves that while money still matters in the world of recruiting, it isn’t the sole factor.
Florida Football: Take my talents to South Beach
The Wall Street Journal came out with an article highlighting Rashada’s flip from Miami to Florida football. The article starts by pointing out a lot of things Gator fans already knew about Rashada’s initial commitment to Miami and how billionaire John Ruiz is trying to singly-handily make Miami a thing again.
Problem is, Miami isn’t a thing again. It’s a mid-tier ACC program that can’t beat Middle Tennessee State or Duke. Rashada picked up on this and saw through the smoke and mirrors to realize that once the smoke cleared, Miami was playing in a half-empty stadium while getting blown out by FSU.
The article even points out that it is highly likely that Rashada is leaving significant money on the table by joining Florida football. Don’t get it twisted, the Gator Collective is making sure players are getting paid. Compared to some of the big dogs, however, players could make more elsewhere.
This should give Gator fans hope moving forward with several recruits. One could argue that without NIL money, Billy Napier would already have a top-five recruiting class for 2023. And the fact that players are leaving money on the table to still come to Florida speaks volumes to the culture building that Napier is doing.
And as we have said before, Napier is getting guys to commit to Florida football that want to be in Gainsville for reasons beyond just money. When times do get tough, Napier is going to be able to better retain guys compared to the Monopoly money being paid down in South Beach.
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