Ten offseason warning signs Florida Football was always going to be terrible in 2024

Heading into the 2024 season, there was reason to believe things could be better for Florida Football. The roster seemed better on paper, and even though the Gators were faced with a difficult schedule, one could be convinced that Florida had the talent to go 8-4.

Spoiler alert, the Gators won't go 8-4 in 2024. At the rate they are going, they are going to be lucky to go 4-8.

Now, we here at Hail Florida Hail wrote our fair share of positive pieces heading into the season, but we did have our fair share of doubts over whether or not things were actually going to be fixed by Billy Napier and crew.

So join us on a trip down memory lane as we highlight warning signs we wrote about for the past ten months that help explain why the Gators are so bad in 2024.

November:

When the season ended in 2023, one of the themes fans were hoping for was that with better talent, the Gators could get over the hump from some of the games they couldn't close out.

But as we highlighted, talent alone wasn't why Florida was 5-7 in 2023.

"But the reason Florida went 0-4 in November wasn't because of inferior talent. Talent isn't why Florida had no idea when to run on the field to attempt a game-winning field goal. Talent isn't why the Gators allowed LSU QB Jayden Daniels to become the first player ever in the history of FBS college football to pass for 350 yards and run for another 200 yards in a single game. Talent isn't why a backup linebacker was matched up with Missouri wide receiver Luther Burden on 4th and 17.

And the concerning part for Florida football fans is that every time Napier is pressed on why two players wearing the same number were on the field for a punt return, why Florida would only send ten players out for punt returns, why Florida wasn't running a "sticks" defense on 4th down, and why Florida kept taking backbreaking personal fouls against FSU, he tries to deflect reporters and bury his head in the sand.

Billy Napier is going to be the head coach of the Florida Gators in 2024. He will have a more talented roster to work with in 2024.

But the question that is going to linger all offseason is whether or not better talent is going to fix what ailed Florida all November. Because if it doesn't, it might be time to start thinking about Napier's obituary."

December:

Florida's offensive line was a mess in 2023 and the hope was that Florida could hit the transfer portal to grab some key guys to fill the trenches.

As we pointed out, it is difficult to rebuild the offensive line through the portal.

"But finding top-tier offensive linemen isn't as simple.

The above-mentioned George was from Alabama, was considered a top 30 lineman in the portal last year, and turned out to be a liability more times than not. Mazzccua was considered a top 20 get among linemen.

So, while a couple of notable linemen have already hit the portal this offseason that Napier will have his eye on, the number of quality linemen that will be available will be scant."

As it played out, Florida grabbed Brandon Crenshaw-Dickson and Devon Manuel out of the portal. Manuel has been stuck behind Austin Barber and Crenshaw-Dickson was beat out by Kamryn Waites for the opener against Miami.