![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]](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,x_0,y_0,w_4936,h_2776/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/ImagnImages/mmsport/213/01jj1x1zt937ne9qwxzx.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]")
Florida Football has had some short-lived events in the Billy Napier Era that feel like blips on the radar in retrospect. And yet, despite their length, they still lasted longer than the TikTok ban over the weekend, which lasted shorter than 24 hours.
The following are five notable events for Florida that still managed to last longer than the TikTok ban.
Jaden Rashada's time with the Gators
We don't have to rehash his entire saga and his efforts to sue Napier after his NIL deal fell apart, but Rashada committed to the Gators on November 10, 2022. By January 20, 2023, he was released from his scholarship and wound up at Arizona State.
He's currently back in the transfer portal and has yet to find a new home.
Craig Fitzgerald is the strength coach
On December 30, 2023, Craig Fitzgerald was named the strength coach for Florida as he took over for a demoted Mark Hocke. He liked Fitzgerald and felt he was a good addition to the program.
But on Super Bowl Sunday in 2024, it was announced that Fitzgerald would be joining forces with Bill O'Brien at Boston College.
Billy Napier's goodwill from the fans in 2023
Following Florida's win over South Carolina in 2023, the Gators were 5-2, had a top-five recruiting class, and landed the commitment of five-star EDGE LJ McCray. It felt like if given time Napi,er's plan was coming together and the losses to Utah and Kentucky to open the season were just bumps along the way.
Florida was then thrashed by Georgia, but the game that really started to cause even the most adamant of Napier supporters to question if he was the guy was the loss to Arkansas. Not only did Florida get run over by KJ Jefferson, the Gators had no clue how to get their field goal unit out on time.
Deshawn Purdie's time as Florida's backup QB
One of the more recent and ongoing sagas for the Gators, Deshawn Purdie, committed to Florida from UNC Charlotte, and virtually everyone assumed he would be the backup QB for 2025.
Well, everyone but Purdie, who reportedly thought he had a shot at starting ahead of DJ Lagway. Purdie promptly left Florida and has since signed with Wake Forest.
Kamryn Waites is the starting RT
One of the moments that was emblematic of the slow start Florida had to their 2024 season was the decision to start Kamryn Waites at right tackle for the season opener against Miami. Waites wasn't on most people's radar during the offseason to be a starter, but his name started to surface the week of the game as a starter.
It did not go well, and it was the only game Waites started until the Gasparilla Bowl, when he started at right guard.