![Florida Gators quarterback DJ Lagway (2) and Florida Gators head coach Billy Napier watch during spring football practice at Heavener Football Complex at the University of Florida in Gainesville, FL on Thursday, March 6, 2025. [Matt Pendleton/Gainesville Sun]](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,x_0,y_0,w_4448,h_2502/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/ImagnImages/mmsport/213/01jv568vjcvmgsp9gvnf.jpg "Florida Gators quarterback DJ Lagway (2) and Florida Gators head coach Billy Napier watch during spring football practice at Heavener Football Complex at the University of Florida in Gainesville, FL on Thursday, March 6, 2025. [Matt Pendleton/Gainesville Sun]")
The hype train has been building for Florida Football as it seems every national personality coming out with a preseason ranking has the Gators in the top 15 heading into 2025.
There are plenty of reasons to believe that Florida should be a playoff contender, but there are also things that have to improve in order to achieve its ten-win ceiling.
While we can look at things like points per game, passing yards, and other standard stats, these are three slightly more hidden stats the Gators must improve upon in 2025.
Florida Football must get the play in faster
One of the continued annoyances in the Billy Napier Era is Florida's tendency to come out of a timeout and/or change of possession, not get the playcall in, and be forced to take a timeout to prevent a delay of game.
The lack of haste in getting the playcall somewhat explains why the Gators have also struggled to get organized during end-of-half/end-of-game situations.
Last year, Florida took an average of 27.2 seconds between plays. That was 87th in the country.
Tre Wilson's ADOT Must Improve
ADOT is Average Depth of Target, essentially how far down the field a receiver is when he is targeted.
We know DJ Lagway has a big arm, and last year Elijhah Badger was an average of 17.3 yards down the field when targeted. The was the 12th highest ADOT in the country.
He's gone, and the Gators are hoping for a big step up from Tre Wilson, returning from season-ending hip surgery.
The question for Wilson is whether he will actually run routes downfield in 2025 or if he is still going to be the same gadget player we saw in 2023 and 2024.
Even before he got surgery and ended his season, Wilson had an ADOT of 6.0 yards. Of wide receivers with at least 25 targets, Wilson had the 13th shortest ADOT in the country in 2024.
We know he is explosive and some videos floating around from his offseason workouts highlight that, but to unlock his full potential he needs to get down the field more in 2025.
Big Penalties
Florida penalized a standard amount in 2024. The Gators averaged 5.8 penalties per game, 69th in the country.
But it's not like Florida was just getting basic offside or false start penalties. When the Gators were flagged, it was usually for big yardage.
On average, Florida was penalized for 8.9 yards per flag thrown against them. That was 82nd in the country.