Tag: Christian Williams

Billy Napier lands first recruiting commitment as Florida’s head coach

UF landed its first commitment under Billy Napier, flipping offensive lineman Christian Williams from Louisiana.

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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Gators’ recent recruiting losses aren’t as crippling as they seem

Sure things seem kinda dicey with all of the players decommitting, but there’s a long game being played here.

Taking the reins of the Gators’ football team away from Dan Mullen and handing them instead to Billy Napier meant an understandable flood of decommitments followed closely behind. After all, the top talents in the recruiting class don’t want to jeopardize a possible future in the sport by throwing themselves into an uncertain situation in the Swamp. Furthermore, the lower-rated recruits had bought into Mullen’s culture and system, one very different from what Napier intends to install.

It’s not all doom and gloom, though. By all accounts, Napier is a fully competent recruiter. He’s already reeled in his first player, flipping interior offensive lineman Christian Williams from his Louisiana commitment. Of course, he already had a relationship with Williams, who isn’t seen as a priority recruit by any means. However, it’s a good start for a program who struggled to pull in any offensive line depth under John Hevesy.

Looking at the broader scope of the college landscape, Napier almost certainly won’t be stuck with the leftovers as he tries to patch up Mullen’s shoddy work on the recruiting trail. The large number of coaching changes across Power 5 programs will open plenty of opportunities for him to capitalize.

Among other notable schools that underwent a coaching change are Notre Dame, LSU, USC, Oregon, Miami, and Oklahoma and others. That’s a long list! The whiplash felt by prospects who were recruited by Mullen’s staff and now have to adapt to the idea of playing for Napier isn’t unique. Recruiting is a personality-based business and similar ripples will spread throughout college football.

If an industry outsider like yours truly can identify this potential gold mine of talent, then Napier and his staff have undoubtedly taken notice as well. In fact, it seems like they may already be dipping their toe in those waters. The team recently put in offers on Cameron Williams, a three-star offensive lineman who decommitted from Oregon, and Tre Citizen, a four-star running back who decommitted from LSU.

Even more encouraging, they appear to be a finalist for four-star safety Devin Moore following his decommitment from Notre Dame. The Gators dispatched safeties coach Patrick Toney to make an in-home visit and brought Moore in for an official campus visit. Now, the team is on they Verdejo of pulling in their first major recruit under Napier’s headship.

It’s also not as if Napier is starting from scratch. Having been the head coach of the Ragin’ Cajuns as recently as two weeks ago, there was never a lapse in his recruiting efforts. Now, he’s poised to seal the deal on the relationships he’s already built with certain recruits using the lure of playing the SEC.

The Gators have already started down that path, as well. Within the past week, the Gators have offered on wide receiver Caleb Douglas, tight end Danny Lewis, and defensive lineman Kelvin Dinkins. All three also hold offers from the Ragin’ Cajuns, extended while Napier was the head man in Louisiana.

There is a world in which the Gators are unable to put Humpty Dumpty back together again. Frankly, the paths that lead to failure are far more diverse and plentiful than the ones leading to success. Napier himself warned that the instant gratification on the recruiting trail likely isn’t in the cards for Gators fans.

However, there’s no need to panic yet. Napier doesn’t have a lot of time to make things right, but the clock hasn’t struck midnight yet. Opportunities to profit on others’ recruiting losses exist. They just have to be seized quickly and confidently.

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