Florida Football: Jaden Rashada quandary highlights need for instant result

It’s a sign of the times for Florida football when everyone is on high alert and feels like the sky is falling after a seemingly minor hiccup regarding the enrollment of incoming QB Jaden Rashada. But given the lack of faith Gator fans have in the administration in Gainesville, Rashada’s delay is just another setback for a fanbase that is tired of having setbacks and wants to win now.

Florida Football: Show me the money

Once upon a time, a player enrolling early at a university was a luxury. Most players didn’t sign their letters of intent until February and didn’t enroll until the summer. Early signing day has shifted the landscape as most players are now verbally committing in the summer before their high school senior season with plans to arrive on campus in January.

This is the case for Florida football in 2023 as the majority of the 20 that signed their LOI in December made plans to show up in Gainesville this week.

Jaden Rashada was among that group, but it was reported yesterday that he had yet to move in on campus.

Details are still unclear, but rumblings are that Rashada is still trying to hash out the details of his NIL deal.

In a pre-social media era, this delay wouldn’t cause the mass panic Florida football fans to seem to be feeling. In our instant echo chamber, combined with an entire Florida Gators athletic department that feels like it’s not achieving its full potential under Scott Stricklin, we are on high alert over the enrollment status of a player that would still be in high school in a previous era.

Unfortunately, there will be no outcome from this situation that will appease Florida football fans. If this is a NIL hang-up and the details get hashed out and Rashada is on campus within the next week, fans will complain that Rashada is only in it for the money. This may have some truth to it, but it is also unfair to Rashada. He simply trying to secure his piece of the pie from a system that has exploited student-athletes for decades.

If Rashada bails from his LOI, the Gator Collective is going to have some serious questions to answer, and one could argue that Stricklin’s fate is tied to Rashada arriving on campus. Billy Napier is already trying to piece together a competitive squad for 2023, but in reality, he is building a squad meant to win in 2024. If Rashada falls through it is a major piece of the 2024 puzzle missing and if the Gators are still in the 6-6 range by then, both Napier and Stricklin will be gone.

Trying to follow the back-and-forth at times is exhausting, but it is the reality of modern-day college football. In time, the free-range NIL world isn’t sustainable, and the NCAA will need to move to a more structured system to get athletes paid.

Until then, Florida football needs to figure out its methodology before it gets completely left behind.