Until Florida Football starts winning, perception is also reality in the eyes of many

Depending on the day, there is hope and optimism surrounding Florida Football heading into the 2024 season. The Gators have a better than advertised roster and if Florida can clean up some of the self inflicted wounds from 2023, there is reason to believe the Gators can surprise people in 2024.

But there is also a truth that Florida is not the respected giant it once was, and until wins start happening in Gainesville the lack of goodwill is going to continue.

Florida Football: Winning Matters

You may have heard once or twice or one hundred times that Billy Napier is 11-14 as head coach of the Gators. While there are moments over the last two years which could have easily flipped that narrative, no one nationally is interested in a ten page dissertation on just how close Napier has been to having a 10-2 season in 2022 and a 9-3 season in 2023. The only number that matters is 11 wins and 14 losses.

That perception of Florida is a big part of why it wasn't shocking to see the Gators with zero players in the top 100 for the upcoming EA Sports College Football 25. Purdue got a player in the top 100. Rutgers had one too. Hell, even Jacksonville State snuck a player into the top 100.

But after going 5-7 last year, not even Tre Wilson or Graham Mertz could get the nod as a top 100 player.

Now perhaps you don't care deeply about ratings in a video game and College Football 25 is merely semantics by biased developers who think Colorado is a top 25 team for 2024. But there is no denying that recruits are also paying hyper close attention to Napier's 11-14 record.

After Peyton Joseph decommitted from Florida and would up committing with FSU, he made an Instagram comment in reference to Florida that simply said "5-7." Auburn commit Malik Autry admitted earlier this week to Gators Online that while Florida has been in hot pursuit, he needs to see progress on the field before any flips happen. Current Gator commit Jeramiah McCloud essentially told Gators Online the same thing:.

They are simply saying the quiet part out loud. It's not an accident that of the top 12 players from the state of Florida in the class of 2025 according to the On3 Industry Rankings that only one of them is even favored to become a Gator (Vernell Brown III).

It's also not an accident that Florida only has nine commits and is ranked next to last in the SEC in recruiting for their class of 2025.

Do we expect that ranking to rise if some key targets choose the Gators? Yes.

But the reality for Florida is that outside of Vanderbilt they are tied for the fewest overall wins in the SEC over the past two season. And until that reality changes, the perception of Florida will continue to be low.