Tag: Gators Online

Jack Pyburn’s excessive demands rejected by Florida football, per report

Taking a look at Gators edge defender Jack Pyburn’s surprising demands that drove him to the transfer portal.

Florida football edge defender Jack Pyburn’s decision to enter the transfer portal confused fans all across college football — especially the Gator Nation.

Why would one of the primary pillars of the Gators’ defense want to leave a team that’s clearly creating an identity on the defensive side of the ball and is on the rise?

Well, according to reports by Zach Abolverdi of Gators Online, Pyburn demanded a $45,000 monthly stipend, a guaranteed starting position as an outside linebacker, an assurance of playing on third downs and increased snaps in the rotation.

The Gators declined these requests by Pyburn which resulted in his entry into the transfer portal.

These demands, particularly the hefty financial request and the guaranteed playing time, are not typical in college athletics, where competition and performance are supposed to dictate playing time and roles.

This situation raises several crucial questions about the future of college sports. Are we entering an era where player demands become increasingly bold and universities are forced to weigh the potential benefits of acquiescing against the risks of unmanageable precedents?

Pyburn’s case could signal a shift in player empowerment, influenced by the recent changes in NIL rights, which allow players to earn from endorsements.

While some may argue that Pyburn’s demands are a natural evolution in a landscape where athletes are looking to maximize their opportunities, others see this as a slippery slope that could undermine the foundational value of collegiate sports.

Guaranteeing playing time and significant financial compensation regardless of on-field performance could threaten the competitive integrity and the educational mission of college athletics.

For the Florida football program, while losing a player of Pyburn’s caliber is a setback, it also reinforces the team’s commitment to a competitive and merit-based approach to player management.

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Napier praises player leadership following win over Texas A&M

Billy Napier is finally seeing the kind of football he wants from his team, and he was quick to praise his player following a Florida win over Texas A&M.

Those watching the Florida-Texas A&M game on Saturday may have noticed that the Gators seemed to play with a certain confidence or attitude that hasn’t been there for most of the season.

First-year Florida coach Billy Napier noticed it and praised his team for the effort they gave following a 41-24 win over the Aggies. For Napier, this is the moment he’s been waiting for all year, and he’s not afraid to say so.

“I think that this game of football, we spend countless hours on scheme, countless hours training, lifting weights, running working on fundamentals, working on situational football, but there’s a human element to this game,” Napier said, according to Gators Online. “And that’s a battle that we’ve been living with this group of players, and I really can’t compliment the leadership on our staff and the leadership amongst our players enough relative to, the character, right, the accountability, the brotherhood. Playing the game with a special team dynamic, a certain morale, just out of respect for the game and the way it should be played, and I think we saw some of that today.”

It wasn’t all roses and sunshine for the Gators on Saturday, though. Florida allowed Texas A&M to score on four of its first five drives and trailed by four points at the half. Napier didn’t need to say much during the half to inspire the team. The leaders of the team had already identified what needed to change, and the coaching staff went to work on making corrections for the second half.

UF held Texas A&M scoreless over the next 30 minutes of in-game action.

“I think could have easily got frustrated with our defensive performance in the first half, but man, in that locker room, you would never know,” he said “It’s really a group that stuck together, they knew exactly what the issues were. The ownership in each position group, being vocal, about the things that they could do better, and I think the staff did a terrific job making adjustments, just really proud of the overall response here.”

For the first time in the Billy Napier era, it seemed like real progress was being made. Napier dismissed JACK linebacker [autotag]Brenton Cox Jr[/autotag]. from the team earlier this week, signaling a zero-tolerance policy for whatever undisclosed off-the-field issues led to the decision. That’s not to say Cox did anything horribly wrong, but whatever happened seems to be attitude related.

It’s important for everyone to be on the same page, and that was made evident in Saturday’s win.

“There’s a certain part of this game we’ve been working hard on and I think it showed up today, and the execution was there,” he said. “Really proud of the defense to shut that group out in the second half, to play complementary football. I’m pretty sure we didn’t turn the ball over. Three weeks in a row that we haven’t turned the ball over. We’ve gotten takeaways, we’re starting to play football the way it’s intended to be played in just the energy and the approach. So, just extremely proud of the players and of the staff.”

The hope is that Florida can ride this wave and continue to play Napier’s brand of football down the stretch. The Gators need just one more win to secure an extra few weeks of practice, and winning out would put the team in a position to land in a decent bowl game.

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Florida still battling for this 5-star Notre Dame decommit

Florida might not get an official visit from Keon Keeley if he can’t make it for the LSU game, but his family says it’s still a three-team race, per reports.

After five-star edge rusher [autotag]Keon Keeley[/autotag] decommitted from Notre Dame, Florida quickly emerged as one of three contenders for his services along with Alabama and Ohio State.

Keeley grew up a fan of the Gators and has visited twice since Billy Napier arrived to lead the program. UF played host to him during the weekend of the Kentucky game, but it wasn’t the official visits the family hoped for. Corey Bender of Gators Online spoke with Keeley’s mother, Janické, and she said that UF is limiting official visits to the Oct. 15 game against LSU or December. They still “went through it all” on the unofficial visit, in case Keeley can’t get back for an official.

He’s been to Columbus a few times this season and Alabama is getting an official visit in a few weeks. The Crimson Tide lead the On3 recruiting prediction machine with 52.4% odds to land Keeley and the Buckeyes are in second at 25.4%. Florida is third with 20.3%, but the race is far from over.

“We will figure it out,” Keeley’s mother said. “As of now, it can be any of the three teams.”

It could be tough for Keeley to get back on campus this year with a busy high school schedule. He’s seen most of what there is to see, but there are perks that come with the official visit tag.

If Florida gets him back on campus for the LSU game, the Gators could be a dark horse worth betting on in ther recruitment of Keon Keeley. But If Sept. 10 ends up being his last trip to the Swamp, this will quickly turn into a two-horse race.

The On3 consensus ranks Keeley at No. 11 overall and No. 1 among edge rushers in the class of 2023.

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Florida lands recruiting prediction from On3 for this 4-star CB

How good are Florida’s chances to land this in-state, legacy, four-star cornerback? Good enough for the experts to submit official predictions for the Orange and Blue.

As the 2023 recruiting cycle continues, Florida’s chances of landing top-end recruits become clearer and clearer by the day. The folks at On3’s Gators Online are confident enough at this point that Florida will land four-star [autotag]Sharif Denson[/autotag] that they have submitted a prediction to the On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine (RPM).

Corey Bender said that the pick was submitted with 60% confidence, and the RPM gives the Gators an 87.6% chance to sign the legacy recruit from Bartram Trail in Jacksonville, Florida. Both his parents graduated from UF and the Gators offered him during his freshman year. That was under [autotag]Dan Mullen[/autotag]’s staff, but Napier and Co. have kept the relationship going strong.

Denson named Florida one of his top five schools on May 9 as well as Florida State, Ohio State, South Carolina and Texas A&M. He’s set to return to Gainesville for the third time this year on June 24 and has been to College Station (TAMU) as many times too.

Official visits aren’t scheduled just yet, but they may come over the summer and one would expect his top five to get them.

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While being a legacy recruit does help things, Florida’s new coaching staff is the better draw for Denson and one of the main reasons experts feel he’ll commit to UF.

“Coach Toney and [autotag]Corey Raymond[/autotag] are top-tier coaches and will develop me to be an NFL DB. Also, Florida has been my dream school growing up,” Denson said.

The On3 Consensus ranks Denson as the No. 182 overall recruit in the class of 2023 and the No. 19 cornerback in the cycle. Florida also holds a crystal ball prediction from Swamp247 from back in January.

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Billy Napier could’t care less about Paul Finebaum’s 2022 prediction

Billy Napier isn’t taking too much stock in Paul Finebaum’s criticisms of the Gators.

ESPN analyst Paul Finebaum is a fan of [autotag]Billy Napier[/autotag], but he thinks the Gators will struggle in a transition year. Finebaum attempted to temper the expectations of Florida fans on Monday as he appeared on “McElroy and Cubelic in the Morning.”

“I think fans better beware that this is not going to be a great team,” Finebaum said. “I never in my life thought saying that getting to a decent bowl game would be considered a success at Florida. That’s blasphemous. But I think that’s about it because they’ve got a difficult schedule. You really can’t find a more treacherous beginning than they have. And I think they’ll be struggling.

His quote made the rounds and eventually got to Napier, who recently began his spring speech schedule. As many may expect, Florida’s new head coach defended his team and dismissed the claim as another hot take from the media, according to a Gators Online report.

“I could (not) care less about what Paul Finebaum says. We’ve got a group of great individuals here,” said Napier. “We have some positions where we gotta hope they stay healthy. We need to be aggressive in the transfer portal. We got a good group of ones.”

The depth issue is a discussion that’s picked up in recent weeks after a one-sided spring game shed more light on the problem at hand. Napier has talked about being active in the transfer portal since the second week of spring practices, and a slew of talented players should become available with summer rapidly approaching.

Still, Finebaum’s point of Napier’s full impact not be evident on the field in 2022 seems realistic. Transfers can only fill so many voids and it’s very hard for freshmen to break through in the SEC. It’s a criticism Gator Nation is likely to hear over the summer, but a win over Utah to kick off the season would change the narrative very quickly.

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4-star Louisiana OT plans visit to Florida after picking up offer

Billy Napier has been recruiting four-star offensive tackle Tyree Adams since he was the head coach at Louisana.

Four-star offensive tackle [autotag]Tyree Adams[/autotag] has known Florida head coach [autotag]Billy Napier[/autotag] and running backs coach [autotag]Jabbar Juluke[/autotag] since they were coaching the Ragin’ Cajuns in Lafayette, Louisiana.

Napier offered the St. Augustine recruit a scholarship to play at ULL and he still wants him on his team after moving to the SEC. Adams picked up an offer from the Gators on Tuesday and has quickly planned a visit to the Swamp on Tuesday, April 5, according to Gators Online.

“When they left, they still continued to keep an eye on me. They wanted to evaluate me a little bit more to see if the SEC was right for me, and then eventually I put in the work. I did what I had to do and they pulled the trigger.”

In addition to Florida, Adams plans to stop by LSU and Texas A&M in the coming weeks. He holds offers from Florida State, Ole Miss and Mississippi State as well, so there’s plenty of competition for the No. 15 offensive tackle in the country, according to On3’s individual recruiting rankings.

LSU has a history of keeping Lousiana kids in the state, but Napier has been able to use his regionals ties to keep pace with the Tigers fairly often. [autotag]Trevor Etienne[/autotag] was the big name out of the state to sign with Florida last season and Florida was on the table for [autotag]Trevonte’ Citizen[/autotag].

Adams already has chemistry with the Florida coaches, and he says they’re sitting high on his list before he even gets to see the campus in person.

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Gators earn a pair of crystal ball predictions for this top 100 DL

The Gators are poised to land this in-state top-100 defensive lineman.

Four-star defensive lineman Derrick LeBlanc will return to Gainesville on Thursday for his second visit of the month to the Swamp, according to 247Sports. LeBlanc’s interest in Florida was very high coming off his March 5 visit, and coming back so quickly has experts convinced that he’ll wind up a Gator eventually.

247Sports’ Steve Wiltfong and On3’s Corey Bender submitted crystal ball predictions to their respective services for LeBlanc in favor of Florida on Wednesday. LeBlanc told Wiltfong that Florida was in the lead and that he “loved them the most” with a July 23 commitment date set.

With over 30 offers on the table, UF’s proximity to Kissimmee plays a large role in LeBlanc’s recruitment. He was able to see most of the team’s home games last fall, and short notice trips like Thursday’s visit are easy to put together.

UCF and Miami are the other in-state schools in the mix. The Knights will host LeBlanc on Saturday as they look to cut into Florida’s apparent lead. Ohio State and Penn State are the two main out-of-state options LeBlanc is considering.

A consensus top-100 recruit, LeBlanc’s recruitment could take a turn at any moment if the right school decides to put him at the top of their board. But the Gators are the team to beat right now, and crystal balls don’t come this early all that often.

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Florida in the lead for this Alabama safety after making offer

Billy Napier’s staff goes way back with three-star safety Miguel Mitchell and that has Florida on top in his recruitment.

Three-star safety Miguel Mitchell finally got his offer from Billy Napier to play at the University of Florida Wednesday and was over the moon after receiving the news.

Napier has been in contact with Mitchell since he was the coach at Louisiana and has been holding off on offering the Oxford (Alabama) recruit to keep the competition away, according to On3. An offer from USC came in on Monday and Napier didn’t hesitate to get the Gators officially in the game. There’s still plenty of recruiting left to do before a decision is made, but Mitchell says UF is in the lead right now.

“It’s top of my board right now,” Mitchell said. “I’ve been waiting on this.”

Vanderbilt earned Mitchell’s pledge in June, but things changed over the season and he backed off that commitment in November. He also holds offers from West Virginia, Northwestern, Wake Forest, Memphis and Western Kentucky.

Mitchell is the No. 65 athlete on the 247Sports Composite, but the Gators are looking at him to play safety. Co-defensive coordinator Patrick Toney has been Mitchell’s main contact at both Lousiana and Florida. This seems like Florida’s recruit to lose given the relationship carried over with much of Napier’s staff.

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Report: Florida’s top receiver to play in Gasparilla Bowl despite transfer portal

Florida should have its top receiver against UCF despite him being in the transfer portal.

Florida’s leading receiver Jacob Copeland entered the transfer portal earlier in the month, but he’s warming up on the field ahead of the Gasparilla Bowl, according to On3’s Nick de la Torre.

Copeland entered the portal on December 9 and already has a crystal ball projection to Maryland under his name, but he’ll have one more chance to impress any potential suitors. Copeland led the Gators this season with 39 receptions, 607 receiving yards and four receiving touchdowns. He said that his “last game as a Gator” was coming soon in his social media announcement, but it looked like the team would be without him against UCF.

Emory Jones will be playing his last game as a Gator before entering the transfer portal as well, so the two could pair up and leave on a high note. It’s unlikely either will end up staying with the program, but it’s still a possibility.

Copeland’s best game this year came at Raymond James Stadium against USF in Week 2. He brought in five passes for 175 yards and two touchdowns. A repeat performance against UCF would be a dream scenario.

In bowl games, Copeland has just two career receptions for 23 yards. He didn’t play against Oklahoma last season in the Cotton Bowl due to multiple positive COVID tests. He was limited to just two catches for six yards against Alabama in the SEC Championship, though.

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