If one were to look at the list of recruits set to visit this Saturday against LSU, it is an increasingly impressive list. Five-star prospects like DJ Pickett, Jaime Ffrench, and Na'eem Offord are set to come to town to watch the Gators in The Swamp.
One hallmark of the Billy Napier Era is that he has been able to get top-rated to come to The Swamp to visit, but getting them to stay has been a near-impossible task.
And until Florida starts to rack up wins, that cycle is going to continue to repeat itself.
Florida Football: Foot In The Door
If one followed recruiting last season, one remembers Jeremiah Smith's saga. The former five-star wide receiver who is now tearing it up at Ohio State seemed like he was in Gainesville every other week.
At the time, as Florida was trying to make the flip, we said something in August of 2023 that may have played out a little too accurately:
"Smith has said that he wants to see the Gators' season play out, and that is believable. If Florida goes 4-8 or doesn't feature wide receivers, then it's understandable why one would not want to come to Gainesville."
Well, Florida went 5-7 and featured one wide receiver (Ricky Pearsall), and Smith didn't come to Florida.
Coming into this season, recruit after recruit kept telling insiders that they wanted to see how the 2024 season for Florida played out before making a declarative decision.
Spoiler alert: It hasn't gone well.
So, while some want to pin Napier's lackluster class of 2025 on toxic fans or the uncertainty of his job status prior to last week, the reality is that top-level players aren't going to flock to Gainesville until there is a proof of concept on the field.
NIL money helps too, and Florida is more competitive than some may realize in this space, but the Gators have to pick up wins if they want to convert these guys.
DJ Pickett is an LSU commit. If the Tigers blow the doors off the Gators in a similar fashion as the Hurricanes did, which Pickett was also in town for, what incentive does he have to switch?
The same goes for Jaime Ffrench, a Texas commit who just watched the Longhorns embarrass the Gators on national TV with the infamous Scott Stricklin quote overlaid while it was 42-0.
Step one is getting these guys to come to town, and as long as they keep taking your call, you keep calling.
But step two of getting these guys to stay won't change until Napier gives them a reason to stay with tangible wins on the field.
Saturday is a great chance to do just that.