Florida Football: National media has little faith in Billy Napier

The Florida Gators were not great last season in Billy Napier’s maiden voyage in Gainesville. After back-to-back 6-7 seasons, followed by a certain recruiting saga, the narrative nationally surrounding Florida football is not a good one.

But those that are brushing off Napier’s ability to turn the program around should do so at their own risk.

Florida Football: Gotta have faith

To some extent, you are what your record says you are. So when On3 put out a list ranking SEC coaches and Napier found himself near the bottom, one can’t get too upset.

Let’s follow the logic of this list for a second. Napier beat Shane Beamer and Jimbo Fisher on the field. Sam Pittman went 7-6 in 2022 with losses to Liberty and Missouri and was 22nd in recruiting.

For all the smoke around Hugh Freeze, he was only 39–25 during his stint at Ole Miss. And Tennessee was 7-6 in 2021 before ascending to the national scene this year, only to choke against the same South Carolina squad Florida massacred the week before.

The most common retort that seems to emerge is that Naper had Anthony Richardson and Florida football still went 6-7. So why is there a free pass around Mark Stoops who went 7-6 this year despite having a QB that could also go number one in the NFL draft?

Is the criteria recent results or is the criteria historical results?

Or is it just make up whatever data points we can to fit our narrative?

Because if that is the case then yes, Florida went 6-7 in 2022. But that was due to an inept defense and the man responsible for that defense is gone. Gator players are already feeling the vibe of the new DC Austin Armstrong.

See, those paying close attention to what Napier is building can tell you that 2024 is the breakout year. And unlike his predecessor, he is trying to build a solid foundation that will last once built.

For all the noise about a certain QB that spurned Florida football in recruiting, Florida was still 6th in blue chip prospects in their class of 2023.

6th in the nation, not just the SEC.

Recruiting for 2024 also has a lot of momentum behind it too and it’s why the following take from Barstool Sports makes zero sense.

The question posed is who is going to be on top five years from now. Miami is going to Miami no matter how many overpaid recruits they get, so that’s not even a challenge.

And as far as the Neighbors to the West, are we just going to ignore Mike Norvell’s first two seasons? Even with the historic season FSU had in 2022, they are still 18–16 under Norvell and 19th nationally in recruiting with ten fewer blue-chip prospects than Florida.

They are kings of the transfer portal. We know how that works out in the long run.

There are legitimate critiques to be had for Napier, and it’s possible we come back in two years and decide that he in fact is not the guy to lead the Gators.

But to completely dismiss Napier after 2022 and ignore the building blocks is naive.