Tag: katie turner

Florida head coach Billy Napier relying heavily on former Gators

Florida head coach Billy Napier has relied on former Gators early in his tenure as the program’s new head coach.

New Florida head coach [autotag]Billy Napier[/autotag] has built an army off the field, hiring nearly 50 plus people to attempt to get the program back to its glory days. However, he also relies on people who aren’t on his payroll to help him early in his tenure as the Gators’ new head coach. Napier has consistently leaned on former Florida coaches, administrators and players for advice and feedback.

“One of the most important things we do is ask questions and listen,” Napier said about reaching out to former Gators after Florida’s second spring scrimmage. “I really think history is the best indicator of the future, so when Florida was successful, what contributed to that? What were the factors that led to that success? I’m always looking for a way to improve, and I want to know the history of the place we’re at.”

For example, former Gators quarterback and 1996 Heisman Trophy winner [autotag]Danny Wuerffel[/autotag] has been a constant fixture at Napier’s practices this spring. The media has observed Napier and Wuerffel talking after several practices. He also invited Wuerffel to speak to the team earlier this spring.

Napier also named the team’s Man of the Month Award after him, which was first given to linebacker[autotag] Chief Borders[/autotag]. Florida said the award is given to a player who exemplifies the Gator Standard, demonstrating holistic excellence in leadership, character, service and academics.

Wuerffel said that he has been encouraged by what he has seen from Napier so far.

“The sheer number of quality people that are part of this program now, from all the coaches to the people doing all sorts of other aspects,” he said. “The GatorMade program, [autotag]Katie Turner[/autotag] and Bri (Wade) and what they’re doing with recruiting, it is really remarkable. I’ve been very grateful to have a little bit of bandwidth in my life and said, ‘Hey, if I can help with some things…’ So I’ve been around a little more, and I’m enjoying it.”

Wuerffel isn’t the only former Gator Napier has spoken to. He conversed with several former Florida players who came to work out at Florida’s Pro Day.

Napier is taking the right approach in his attempt to bring Florida back to the top of the college football world by keeping former Gators involved with the program and the process.

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Florida assistant AD Katie Turner is a home-run hire for Gators

Coach Billy Napier made a home-run hire when he pulled Katie Turner from the Georgia Bulldogs.

Florida assistant athletic director of recruiting strategy Katie Turner quickly won over the hearts of many Gators fans when she trolled former coach Dan Mullen for telling reporters on the Monday after the Georgia game that he won’t talk about recruiting because it’s not in season. She tweeted shortly after her hiring, “Gator Nation – I am SOOO excited to get to work!!! I promise, recruiting time is never out of season!!! Now, let’s have go have some fun.”

Her impact in recruiting has already been felt as prospects have raved about how much they enjoy her. The Athletic’s G. Allan Taylor wrote an excellent feature about her rise in college football and how Napier made a home-run hire when he convinced her to flip from the Bulldogs to the Gators.

Turner got her start in college football when she volunteered to become a recruiting hostess nine years ago at Alabama. There, she impressed Crimson Tide recruiting operations coordinator Candice Rosenkranz, as well as full-time staffers like Napier, Kirby Smart and offensive analyst Keary Colbert. She helped Alabama land four No. 1-ranked recruiting classes, according to the 247Sports composite.

By her senior season, Alabama coach Nick Saban asked Turner to render her own evaluations of players and family members she hosted. She then earned an internship with the Buffalo Bills working in community relations and business development after graduation.

Napier and Turner’s paths crossed again in 2017 when he made her the director of football on-campus recruiting at Louisana-Lafayette.

“You were the best recruiter at Alabama,” he told her. “You convinced parents that Alabama was the best choice for their son to play football. I need you to help bring that culture to Louisana.”

She aided Napier’s efforts in landing the top-ranked recruiting class in the Sun Belt in 2019 and 2020 after the previous three classes ranked fifth or lower.

In January of 2020, Smart came calling and hired her as the director of recruiting operations. Then when Napier was hired at Florida, he knew he had to try to pry Turner away from the Gators’ fiercest rival.

If things were equal, she may have stayed with Georgia who was on the verge of a national championship, but Napier and Florida offered her an assistant athletic director title with a salary nearing $200,000, according to The Athletic’s source.

Many former coaches who worked with Turner raved about her abilities, which makes her a home-run hire for Napier and the Gators.

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Here are Billy Napier’s five most important staff hires at Florida

Here’s a look at the key acquisitions for Billy Napier and his army of assistants.

Billy Napier has assembled most of his “army” and is ready to move on to the next phase of his plan, which is spring practice.

He has made so many hires that it seems difficult to keep up with them. And in doing so has reenergized a fan base that went through a pretty rough 13 months.

Of course, we are curious to see how all of this works when the Florida football team actually plays football games. Coaches and analysts and everyone else on the inflated staff will be judged on the wins and losses. It’s just the way it works.

Napier’s plan isn’t that complicated. Get better players, develop all players and put them in position to make winning plays.

It’s not rocket science.

But getting the right people on board to try to achieve a common goal is not always easy. Napier didn’t get everyone he went after, but he didn’t miss on many.

So, here are the five most important hires he has made as the head coach of the Florida Gators.

Sunday Hash: Wrapping up week of Florida football with Pat Dooley

Get your fill with Pat Dooley’s healthy serving of Sunday Hash.

It is always a strange dynamic when a new coach comes in and parts of the old coaching staff still have one more game to coach. Are they coming, are they going? At what point does your punch code stop working and the cell phone goes dead?

If anything, Florida should be well-versed in how to hire a coaching transition seeing that the Gators have handled a lot of them this decade.

So, there certainly has been some noise around the program and Pat Dooley takes a deep dive into some of that noise in his Sunday Hash:

Florida football hires UGA recruiting staffer

The Florida Gators have hired former Georgia football director of recruiting operations Katie Turner.

The Florida Gators have hired former Georgia football director of recruiting operations Katie Turner.

Turner will serve as Florida’s assistant athletic director of recruiting strategy after spending two seasons at the University of Georgia.

Billy Napier and Florida have gained a few recruiting wins over Georgia the past couple of days. The Gators most notably secured a commitment from five-star safety Kamari Wilson.

Katie Turner previous worked under Florida Gators head coach Billy Napier at Louisiana from 2018-2020. Matt Pendleton-USA TODAY Sports

Georgia still has a big-time recruiting edge over Florida for the class of 2022. Kirby Smart and Georgia have the No. 3 recruiting class in the country. Florida has the SEC’s worst class of 2022; it is rated No. 50 in the nation.

Billy Napier and Florida have 10 commitments and signees at the moment. The Gators will need to add several transfers to fill their roster deficiencies.

Florida has seen numerous players enter the transfer portal after Dan Mullen’s departure.

Turner is a beloved member of the Georgia recruiting staff and she will be missed. Much of her work is behind the scenes and goes unnoticed and unrecognized.

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Georgia football adds Katie Turner to recruiting staff

The Georgia Bulldogs added some firepower to an already red-hot team of recruiters.

The Georgia Bulldogs, owners of two number-one recruiting classes in the past three years, just added some firepower to an already red-hot team of recruiters.

Katie Turner arrives in Athens after having spent four years working under Billy Napier at Louisiana-Lafayette and previously at Alabama. The Buffalo, New York native has also worked for the Buffalo Bills.

No role has been specified yet, but her position for the Ragin’ Cajuns was Director of On-Campus Recruiting.

The Dawgs currently have an opening at Director of Player Personnel following the departure of Marshall Malchow to Texas A&M.

FootballScoop.com reports only that Turner will have a “senior recruiting role” on the Bulldogs’ staff.

Welcome to Athens, Katie. GATA.