Tag: Patrick Toney

The Athletic ponders each SEC team’s biggest spring practice question

The Athletic has published the biggest question for each SEC team ahead of spring practices.

For most college football teams, the spring semester is typically reserved for introspection and self-scouting. Every team’s deficiencies are different, and the off-season allows for early enrollees to join the team and begin to transition from high school to the college game. The Athletic has taken a look at all fourteen SEC programs and determined the biggest question that each team has going into the spring.

For the Orange and Blue, the list of things to improve upon seems to be just as long as it was last year ahead of [autotag]Billy Napier[/autotag]’s first season in charge. Since the end of the 2022 season, the Gators have had a lot of player turnover. This was to be expected as building the roster in Napeir’s image was bound to take a few seasons, at least.

Here is what The Athletic’s G. Allan Taylor had to say about what the Gators’ biggest question is this spring:

Can the defense find answers to solve a brutal three-year stretch?

In the final two seasons under coordinator [autotag]Todd Grantham[/autotag] and one under [autotag]Patrick Toney[/autotag], the Gators’ defense has ranked eighth or worse in the SEC in points and yardage allowed. Last season it plummeted to dead last in third-down stops. The response was importing two defensive line transfers and three more at linebacker. Watch to see how [autotag]Cam’Ron Jackson[/autotag] (Memphis) and [autotag]Teradja Mitchell[/autotag] (Ohio State) acclimate, along with the pecking order Toney establishes for three new starters at the safety spots.

You, the reader, would be forgiven if your immediate guess was the quarterback room. To be honest, that was my first thought before reading Taylor’s assessment of the defense. While the quarterback room has undergone a lot of change recently, Napier has said that they will be looking to add another player to the room, joining the competition between Wisconsin transfer [autotag]Graham Mertz[/autotag] and Las Vegas Bowl starter [autotag]Jack Miller III[/autotag] — the latter also a former Buckeyes transfer.

Defensively, the situation is not as clear. Toney was publicly questioned at times last season for the reasons Taylor outlined, but it’s not really fair to judge Toney for mistakes made by individual players, especially when Toney didn’t bring in most of the guys on the field last season.

The upcoming Orange and Blue spring game will be played on Thursday, April 13. We’ll have to wait until then to get our first look at how the new additions to the team have adjusted to Napier’s expectations.

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4-star DB planning Florida visit after securing offer

Florida is looking to get four-star safety Ka’Davion Dotson on campus in the spring after extending him an offer before the dead period.

One of the recruits from the class of 2024 Florida offered before the start of the dead period was four-star Duncanville (Texas) safety [autotag]Ka’Davion Dotson[/autotag].

After picking up the offer from UF in January, Dotson is eager to get on campus in Gainesville and check things out, according to 247Sports.

“I am looking forward to getting there (Florida) after the dead period,” Dotson said to 247Sports. “They are one of the first schools I want to try and get out to when things open back up. I am going to link up with my dude, coach Joe Hamilton to get me their schedule so I can lock in a date.”

Hamilton helps recruit Texas area talent and has helped outside linebacker coach [autotag]Mike Peterson[/autotag] and co-defensive coordinator [autotag]Patrick Toney[/autotag] court Dotson. Getting him on campus to meet the staff in person is the next step now that Dotson has an offer under his belt.

A March visit is likely, but Florida will have to fit into his schedule with plans to stop by Arkansas and LSU in place. A Sunshine State loop that hits Florida, Florida State and Miami could be in store.

At one time, Dotson had things narrowed down to a top 10. Several offers have come in since then, so the new plan is to cut things down to a top 15 in the near future. Once he narrows things down, he’ll figure out which schools he wants to spend his five official visits on over the summer and commit before his senior year begins.

A spring visit should go a long way in securing Florida’s chance of being one of the five programs Dotson returns to over the summer. Right now, LSU is the heavy favorite on the On3 recruiting prediction matching with 88.7% odds to land him.

Dotson is ranked No. 160 overall on the On3 consensus and is No. 13 among safeties in the class. He figures to play the STAR position at Florida if that’s where he ends up, but he could play a true safety spot as well.

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Florida offered this Orlando 4-star safety on a Junior Day visit

One of the recruits that visited and received an offer on Florida’s final Junior Day before the dead period was four-star safety Brandon Jacob.

The Florida Gators offered four-star safety [autotag]Brandon Jacob[/autotag] during the final Junior Day of the January recruiting period, according to 247Sports.

Jacob isn’t a stranger to the program, having been to a few games in the past, but this was his first real tour of what the school had to offer. As most unofficial visits to Florida over the last month or so have gone, Jacob got to spend a lot of time with players and coaches while inspecting the facilities, and things ended with a meeting in [autotag]Billy Napier[/autotag]’s offer where an offer was extended.

He got to sit in on meetings and talk with players from his area, such as freshmen defensive backs [autotag]Ja’Keem Jackson[/autotag] and [autotag]Jordan Castell[/autotag]. The coaches that spent the most time with him were safeties coach [autotag]Patrick Toney[/autotag] and coach [autotag]Larry Williams[/autotag].

Napier offered Jacob personally, which meant a great deal to him, and the Gators appear to be sitting in a good spot with him as the spring approaches.

“I can say Florida is going to be a top school for me,” Jacob said. “Out of all my offers, even though they just now offered me, I feel like it’s huge and a big impact.”

Colorado, Maryland and Florida State are some of the other schools that are recruiting Jacob well. The heat should be turned up in March once visits are permitted again. Jacob doesn’t have any dates locked in yet, but he has some ideas of where he wants to stop by.

“I want to see Florida, Miami, Florida State, and Maryland in March,” he said. “I want to visit Colorado too, that is a goal of mine for the spring. Take some official visits in the summer and then commit maybe like August hopefully.”

The 247Sports composite ranks Jacob No. 291 overall in the class of 2024 and No. 24 among safeties. The On3 consensus is a bit more bearish on him at No. 305 nationally and No. 24 among those at his position.

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In-state safety leaves Florida visit with offer in hand

Florida is getting to know some of the top in-state names in the class of 2025 as the team continues to host recruits over the month of January.

Oak Leaf (Orange Park, Florida) safety [autotag]Hylton Stubbs[/autotag] left Florida’s Jan. 21 Junior Day with an offer in hand, according to a social media post he made after the unofficial visit.

Stubbs, a rising prospect in the class of 2025, has been to the Swamp before, but as the recruiting process gets more serious, so do his visits. Florida checks off a lot of boxes Stubbs. The academics are there, the facilities have been upgraded and the coaching staff is settled after a year in the Swamp.

“I love the new facility they have there,” Stubbs said to Swamp247. “When the coaches were talking they seem like they are all about their football players. Good communication and they were telling me how they are big on their players getting their education, and I think they said they have like a 92-percent graduation rate on the team. It’s just like they don’t set anyone up for failure. You are set up for greatness.”

During his visit, outside linebackers coach Mike Peterson, safeties coach and defensive coordinator [autotag]Patrick Toney[/autotag] and head coach [autotag]Billy Napier[/autotag] spent time with him, which helped Stubbs feel like a priority target. He called the visit offer a “dream come true,” but wouldn’t commit to naming any of his top schools just yet. Still, the Gators look like they are in pretty good shape with the sophomore.

Stubbs earned a four-star designation from On3 but has yet to receive a star rating from 247Sports, ESPN and Rivals. The On3 recruiting prediction machine favors Tennessee at 38.9% and Virginia Tech is a close second at 34.1%, but Florida could eat into the lead and make it a three-horse race after hosting him.

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Florida hosting this 4-star FSU safety commit on Saturday

The Gators are hosting a four-star defensive back that’s committed to FSU over the final weekend before the February dead period goes begins.

As the February dead period approaches, Florida is putting together its final list of visitors for the month of January. The most recent name to confirm his plans is four-star Blountstown (Florida) safety [autotag]Jordan Pride[/autotag], according to Swamp247.

Pride is a Florida State commit that spent a year at IMG Academy. He pledged his services to the Seminoles in July of last year, but that hasn’t stopped the Gators from pursuing him as a potential flip candidate. The Gators will host him for the third time since he committed to FSU on Saturday, Jan. 28,  as part of the final group of visitors in the contact period.

He was in town for the Friday Night Lights camp last year and returned to watch UF take down Utah in the season opener. A return to the Swamp four months later says that Pride isn’t ruling Florida out just yet.

Pride is a three-sport athlete that plays both basketball and baseball. He also competes in track and field events and is a two-way player (safety/wide receiver) on the gridiron.

The 247Sports composite ranks Pride as the No. 64 overall prospect and the No. 5 safety in the 2024 class. The site’s individual rankings are even more bullish at No. 41 overall and No. 3 among those at his position. Landing a flip from Pride would be massive for safeties coach and defensive coordinator [autotag]Patrick Toney[/autotag].

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Billy Napier describes trio of defensive backs as a ‘very versatile group’

Gators fans could see some improvements in the secondary next season thanks to Napier’s positional overhaul.

The Florida secondary will be undergoing an overhaul for the 2023 season. Defensive backs [autotag]Trey Dean III[/autotag], [autotag]Rashad Torrence II[/autotag], [autotag]Donovan McMillon[/autotag] and [autotag]Corey Collier Jr[/autotag]. have all left the program either due to graduation, declaring for the NFL draft or entering the transfer portal.

[autotag]Kamari Wilson[/autotag] and [autotag]Miguel Mitchell[/autotag] are the only returning safeties from the 2022 season. Because of the roster turnover, highly-touted recruits like [autotag]Ja’Keem Jackson[/autotag], [autotag]Dijon Johnson[/autotag] and [autotag]Sharif Denson[/autotag] will undoubtedly get playing time over the course of the season. But those aren’t the names that Napier singled out.

Head coach Billy Napier believes that [autotag]Jordan Castell[/autotag], [autotag]Bryce Thornton[/autotag], and [autotag]Aaron Gates[/autotag] are the early contenders to provide the position depth in 2023. In addition to being the team’s defensive coordinator, [autotag]Patrick Toney[/autotag] is also tasked with being the safeties coach, working with cornerbacks coach [autotag]Corey Raymond[/autotag] to craft the defensive backfield.

Napier praised Castell’s ability to cover receivers in man-to-man or zone coverage, Thornton’s football IQ, and Gates’ competitive nature, noting that he was the lone holdover from the previous staff to become a Florida Gator in 2023. Gates is coming off a torn ACL suffered in his final season of prep football, but the staff maintained their belief in him and brought him in.

Overall, the secondary looks to be at the dawn of a new era. For a long time, Florida fans were unsure about the talent level in the secondary. It seems like this group will be the ones to begin the process of restoring Florida to its “DBU” status, something that hasn’t been able to be said in a long time.

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Here’s how CBS Sports projects the Florida-Vanderbilt matchup

CBS Sports has released its SEC projections for the Week 12 matchups, with Florida vs Vanderbilt expected to go well for the Gators

CBS Sports released their weekly SEC game projections, with Barrett Sallee projecting a comfortable victory for the visiting Gators against the Vanderbilt Commodores.

Florida has been steadily improving on the field in [autotag]Billy Napier[/autotag]’s first year as head coach. The performances for the first half of the season showed the potential this team had. Their inconsistency, however, cost them multiple games.

Since the Georgia game, that has changed. Offensively, the Gators have dialed in on their rushing attack. Defensively, the pass rush has been revitalized after the dismissal of [autotag]Brenton Cox Jr[/autotag]., and [autotag]Patrick Toney[/autotag]’s unit has cut down on coverage mistakes, not allowing an offensive touchdown in six consecutive quarters.

Vanderbilt is having its best season since Derek Mason led the Commodores to a bowl game in 2018. Clark Lea has revitalized his alma mater and has Vandy at 4-6. Last week, they beat Kentucky to snap a 28-game SEC losing streak, dating back to 2019. They still have Florida and Tennessee on the schedule, both of which will be played at home.

CBS Sports’ Barrett Sallee had this to say when previewing Saturday’s matchup:

The Gators have won two straight and are coming off of a dominating win over South Carolina, while Vanderbilt notched the first conference win of the Clark Lea era — and the program’s first since 2019 — last weekend over Kentucky. That’s awesome for Lea and the Commodores, but they don’t have the kind of roster that can hang with Gators quarterback [autotag]Anthony Richardson[/autotag]. Coach Billy Napier will build an early lead, and then work on Richardson’s passing game in the second half and run away with it.

Pick: Florida

Sallee has a lot of confidence in Florida’s roster. Throughout the season, the Gators have been beaten because of a lack of depth and experience. With most of the season under the young players’ belts, that’s not the case anymore. The last two and a half games have shown that the Gators can hang with the best of them. The talent difference between Florida and Vanderbilt will be on full display Saturday.

This game will serve as the Gators’ final SEC game of the year. Kickoff is scheduled for noon EST and the game will be broadcast on the SEC Network.

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Florida leap in ESPN’s latest SP+ rankings after Week 11

The Gators make a significant improvement in the latest SP+ rankings from ESPN’s Bill Connelly, with Florida State still ranked above them

After their 38-6 win over South Carolina, the Florida Gators sit at No. 28 in ESPN’s latest SP+ rankings, per Bill Connelly. They came in at No. 37 last week.

Connelly developed the SP+ ranking system in 2008 and, in his own words, is “a tempo- and opponent-adjusted measure of college football efficiency” and “intended to be predictive and forward-facing.”

The offensive metric is much kinder to the Orange and Blue than the defensive metric. Offensively, the Gators are the 21st-best team in SP+, with a rating of 37.8. Defensively, Florida is the 69th-best team in SP+, with a rating of 27.7. Not so nice.

The stark difference in the rating properly explains the Orange and Blue’s season thus far. Offensively, the Gators are one of the best rushing teams in the nation. Their three-headed monster of [autotag]Montrell Johnson Jr[/autotag]., [autotag]Trevor Etienne[/autotag] and [autotag]Anthony Richardson[/autotag] rushes behind a talented offensive line led by [autotag]O’Cyrus Torrence[/autotag], a potential first-round draft pick in next year’s draft.

While Florida’s defensive ranking isn’t the best, it has seen drastic improvements since the start of the season. It seems the electric 3rd quarter against Georgia woke up [autotag]Patrick Toney[/autotag]’s side of the ball. They have not allowed a defensive score in six straight quarters, and their pass rush has significantly improved since the dismissal of [autotag]Brenton Cox Jr[/autotag]. from the team after the Georgia game.

Of the Gators’ two remaining opponents, only Florida State (No. 19) is ranked higher in SP+. Vanderbilt comes in at No. 88.

Before the Florida State game, the Gators have to get past Vanderbilt in their final SEC game of the year. That game will be played Saturday in Nashville, with kickoff scheduled for noon EST and the game will be broadcast on the SEC Network.

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This 5-star 2024 safety prospect to visit Florida during offseason

One of the top 2024 prospects tells 247Sports that he plans to visit Gainesville in the offseason after his junior season wraps up.

One of the best defensive backs in the 2024 class received an offer from the Florida Gators in late October. Now, five-star safety [autotag]Peyton Woodward[/autotag] has told 247Sports’ Blake Alderman that he will be making a trip to Gainesville in the offseason.

The prep prospect out of Bellflower (California) St. John Bosco told Alderman he was surprised when he received his offer. He has been in contact with defensive coordinator [autotag]Patrick Toney[/autotag] via social media, with Toney spearheading his recruitment for the Gators.

If Florida wants to land a “big fish” of the 2024 class, and from the other side of the country, they’re going to need to make a huge impression when Woodward makes his cross-country trip after his junior season wraps up. They’ll also need to fight off other top programs in the country, with the likes of Georgia, Ohio State, Oregon, Texas and USC being namedropped in Woodward’s conversation with Alderman.

According to the 247Sports composite, Woodward is considered to be the No. 2 safety and No. 28 overall player nationally — as well as the No. 3 overall player in his state — in the 2024 recruiting class.

One way to make an impression on Woodward from afar is to end the season in a positive way. That begins with the Gators’ Senior Day matchup against South Carolina on Saturday. Kickoff is scheduled for 4 p.m. EST and the game will be broadcast on the SEC Network.

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Gators hoping to land this 4-star DT on Halloween

Could the Gators bounce back on the recruiting trail tonight by landing this four-star defensive tackle?

Four-star defensive tackle [autotag]Kayden McDonald[/autotag] will decide his future this Halloween.

The North Gwinnett (Suwanee, Georgia) product plans to decide among Florida, Clemson, Michigan, Ohio State and Oklahoma on Monday night around 6 p.m. EDT, according to Gators Online.

The On3 Recruiting Prediction Machin favors the Tigers with a 56.4% odds to land him and the Buckeyes are the clear No. 2 with 34.0% odds. Florida’s chances dip down to 2.1%, but we’ve seen bigger recruiting surprises happen over the last week.

McDonald has been to Gainesville at least four times this year, most recently on Oct. 8 for the Missouri game. His official visit to the Swamp came over the summer during the month of June.

Defensive line coach Sean Spencer is the lead man in McDonald’s recruitment, but he’s mentioned [autotag]Billy Napier[/autotag] and [autotag]Patrick Toney[/autotag] as other key players.

“I love Florida,” McDonald said when releasing his top 5. “The academics, staff, it’s the SEC, and there are big games every Saturday in the Swamp. Coach Napier is building his team one player at a time. Coach Chaos coming from the NFL is a technician. We are real close. I’m comfortable with coach Chaos, coach Reid, coach Chaney, coach PT and pretty much all the staff.”

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McDonald would join a defensive line class that’s fairly stacked already. Florida has six four-star defensive linemen and edge rushers under verbal commitment, meaning McDonald would have plenty of competition at his spot.

The On3 Consensus ranks McDonald as the No. 299 overall recruit in the class of 2023 and No. 40 among defensive linemen. 247Sports has him a bit high on the site’s individual rankings at No. 229.

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