Florida Football: Billy Napier’s battleship cracks with Trevor Etienne’s exit

Back in October, the future seemed bright for Florida football. The Gators were 5-2, LJ McCray had announced his commitment to Florida, and it felt like if Billy Napier could keep the ship afloat through November, things would be alright in the long run.

But much like the Titanic, Napier’s ship has quickly gone from a peaceful and blissful journey to one needing a minor miracle to avoid sinking.

Florida Football: The winds have shifted

We have often written that we could look past the 2023 season because Napier’s model is one of talent acquisition. In time, the Gators would load up the roster similarly to Alabama or Georgia, and the long-term outlook was fine.

But when the final whistle blew in Gainesville on November 25th against FSU and the Gators had doomed themselves to their fifth straight defeat to finish the season 5-7, we highlighted the fact that better talent alone wasn’t going to save Florida football in 2024.

One could argue that three plays were the difference between a 5-7 season and an 8-4 one, but what ailed Florida in some of its biggest moments this season wasn’t talent; it was unpreparedness.

And of deeper concern, what talent Napier has isn’t staying.

Chris McClellan made headlines last offseason when he highlighted the culture Napier was trying to bring in to hold Dan Mullen players accountable in a way that hadn’t been before.

McClellan is now in the transfer portal.

Princely Umanmielen was named first-team All-SEC and was granted the jersey #1 this season by Napier.

Umanmielen is now in the transfer portal.

Kamari Wilson was Napier’s handpicked prospect out of IMG, the place that Mullen was never able to penetrate.

Wilson is now in the transfer portal.

Will Norman was considered a top 100 player by Rivals.

Norman is now in the transfer portal.

We could go on and on, but it is difficult to build a talent pipeline if that pipeline has a crack in it that constantly causes talent to leak out.

This makes the transfer portal announcement of Trevor Etienne a massive red flag to the vision Napier is selling.

I think I’ve seen this film before

In a vacuum, one could look at the transfers of any one player and come up with a narrative as to why it isn’t the end of the world for Florida football.

It is impossible to do so with Etienne.

Even if one wants to buy into the narrative that running backs are the most replaceable position on an offense, Etienne’s decision to hit the transfer portal is emblematic of a deeper problem Napier is facing.

Etienne, a mid-tier three-star prospect out of high school, was plucked by Napier to come to Gainesville. In two seasons, Etienne morphed into an up-and-coming star who could crack 1,500 yards if he was the sole running back in an offense.

He was 54th this season nationally in yards per rushing attempt in games against FBS teams.

And yet, after two seasons with the Gators, despite the fact he would still be a featured player, Etienne looked around at what Napier was building and said, “I’m going to look elsewhere.”

According to insiders, it wasn’t even NIL money that chased Etienne away. It was the desire to win.

If the star running back who spends every day inside the program doesn’t think the Florida Gators will win in 2024, what faith should we as fans have?

If the star running back who spends every day inside the program doesn’t think the Florida Gators will win in 2024, what faith should high school prospects who have yet to sign on the dotted line have?

E7.

Hit.

Billy Napier’s battleship is sinking, and if he isn’t careful, it will be sunk by November 2024.

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