Florida’s transfer portal actions will matter more than any press conference

One of the very real flaws of the Billy Napier Era was Florida being asleep at the wheel as it related to the transfer portal. The Gators made this huge scene last offseason about how aggressive they were going to be in the portal, only to sit around twiddling their thumbs and gaslight everyone into how great the roster already was in Gainesville.

Napier is gone, and Jon Sumrall is here now, but there is a common link that bridges the gap between the two of them, and this year’s transfer portal will indicate whether Florida simply had a Billy Napier problem or something far deeper.

The transfer portal is a massive litmus test for Scott Stricklin

Florida has had 20+ players declare they are entering the transfer portal when it opens this Friday. By itself, this isn’t a massive cause for concern because it seems like almost every team around the country that has a new coaching staff has had 20+ players hit the portal.

Sumrall himself experienced this when he first arrived at Tulane and he had to rebuild the Green Wave from the ground up in the transfer portal. Sumrall has indicated he is aware of the need to hit the portal hard, and we doubt he will drag his feet or pretend the roster at Florida is fine as is.

But there is one pesky backdrop looming behind Sumrall that might be out of his control:

Scott Stricklin and the rest of the UAA.

Like it or not, Florida is going to have to spend real money to land some of the players that Sumrall is going to have his eye on. The problem is that while Florida isn’t “poor” within the NIL space, especially compared to a team like FSU, they aren’t exactly one of the big dogs in the market.

This is where the gaslighting tends to come into play. Stricklin wants Florida fans to believe it is just as competitive as anyone else in the NIL market, and any failures to land elite players are due to other reasons.

Florida representatives will highlight the money spent to retain key players, but there is always this convenient narrative that pops up whenever a player slips away: “Well, he just wanted more than Florida was willing to offer, and it is silly to pay a player that much money.”

Translation:

Florida can afford a nice meal at a place like Carrabba's, but they politely decline when offered a reservation at Fleming's.

Stricklin obviously can’t open his own pocketbook, but it is his job to raise the money to afford the players that Sumrall wants. If Florida is serious about football heading into the 2026 season, it will spend whatever is needed to give Sumrall a viable roster.

If Florida fails to restock the cupboard heading into 2026, it will be a Scott Stricklin problem as much as it is a Jon Sumrall problem.