Florida football: Gators have a more talented roster than people realize

Florida football, as we’ve written multiple times so far this summer, isn’t looking to come out and win 10 games and compete for the SEC this year.

We’re in the second year of Billy Napier’s rebuild, and while there is a good bit of optimism around The Swamp, most fans are realistic and understand that it won’t all turn around this year.

But even despite the low expectations, the Gators have a lot more talent than most people realize.

247 Sports released the top schools in the country by order of blue-chip players, meaning 4 and 5-star recruits. The Gators are 11th in the country with a blue-chip rate of 64%. This is ahead of teams like Michigan, USC, and FSU.

Now could this be an endorsement for those who are anti-Napier? I mean he has all this talent, why isn’t he winning? And yes, you can look at it that way.

But last season, Billy was working with a defense that was one of the worst in the country, while his offense was a strong unit.

With new DC Austin Armstrong in to replace Patrick Toney, we can hope to see better results on that side of the ball.

What this also tells us is that maybe there’s some room for optimism in Gainesville. With all the eyes on UF’s quarterback room, which isn’t great, we lose some attention on the rest of the roster. There are a lot of talented guys on the defense that will be in a better situation this fall.

We’ll also get to see the talented running backs Napier has assembled work behind a very strong offensive line.

Now I’m not telling you all this to justify a ten-win season for the Gators. But if everything goes right, why can’t they win eight or nine?

Napier has been working to get not just the best guys, but the right guys to Gainesville. It seems like he’s doing both.

Keep up with Florida football at Hail Florida Hail.