Florida Football: Five New Year's Resolutions the Gators should consider

Florida Football New Year's Resolutions: Urgency in the transfer portal

Sometimes optics can lie, and sometimes optics can be reality. When it comes to the transfer portal, the optics are that Napier and the crew are taking their time and moving at a snail's pace to fill holes on the squad. 12 of the 16 schools that will be in the SEC in 2024 picked up a transfer commit before the Gators had one.

Even with the four commits the Gators have now, that's still tied for 13th in the SEC, ahead of only Texas, Alabama, and LSU. And before you go "See Ben, if they aren't in the portal the Gators don't need to be either," right that's because those three school don't have as many holes to fill as Florida.

Of the top 50 transfers that entered the portal according to 247 Sports, only eight of them are still available. And if one wants to argue that Napier is being methodical and is picking the right guys, that's fine but how did that work out last season?

Graham Mertz wound up being a solid pick up, Cam Jackson was one of Florida's better players on defense, Caleb Banks was respectable along the defense line and Micah Mazzccua was okay but not elite along the offensive line.

Beyond that, Florida did not have much to show for from the portal. And with Mazzccua already leaving after one season, it somewhat pokes a hole in the argument that Napier is taking his time so he can get guys that are bought in.