Since being formally announced as Florida’s next head coach on Dec. 5, Billy Napier has had to try and dig UF’s 2022 recruiting class out of a hole that keeps getting deeper. The team has lost five commits in that time frame, including its quarterback commit in Nick Evers, who flipped to Oklahoma, and top-150 receiver Jayden Gibson.
However, after some tough losses, Napier has finally landed his first commit as Florida’s head coach, ad it came from a player he’s very familiar with. The Gators landed the pledge of three-star interior offensive lineman Christian Williams on Friday, who was previously committed to Napier’s former team, Louisiana.
Williams, a product of Fort Bend Marshall High School in Missouri City, Texas, only had one Division I offer from the Ragin’ Cajuns before the Gators stepped in. For a high school senior, he’s already huge at 6-foot-4-inches and 320 pounds, though he’s unranked nationally and only the nation’s No. 77 interior lineman, per the 247Sports Composite.
Williams told 247Sports’ Steve Wiltfong that his relationship with Napier was one of the main factors that guided him to follow the coach.
“I love the way Coach Napier and his staff makes you feel at home,” Williams said. “When I went to UL for my camp in the summer the same people who made me feel so comfortable are the same ones going to Florida with Napier so it’s kinda adding on more and more positives to my move. And as far as Coach Napier’s success, you can see he’s focused on winning he has that mentality, that thought process, that ‘it’ factor. I can’t wait to start under such a coach with the platform that we have.”
He also said that joining a big-time college football program in the SEC like Florida was an opportunity he couldn’t pass up.
“My favorite things right now is a new scenery, I’m happy and excited to get down to Florida and start my journey there, a school that was a dream to go to for me and my peers and to finally be able to bring that back home to show my family and friends it’s honestly a blessing.
“Another thing I love about it is the atmosphere, it’s the SEC. I watched a lot of the college games this year and the people at the games, the bright lights, I can’t wait to compete in front of those people and show them that stars isn’t all I have to offer, I’m ready to work and improve my game.”
Florida will hope Williams isn’t the last recruit Napier can land. As things currently stand, only seven players remain in the 2022 class, which ranks No. 78 nationally and last among SEC teams.
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