The biggest component of new head coach [autotag]Billy Napier[/autotag]’s plan to rebuild Florida football is his fresh approach to recruiting, undertaken with diligence that makes former head coach [autotag]Dan Mullen[/autotag]’s regime pale in comparison. While there is still a long path back uphill to reach the summit once seen back in the glory days of [autotag]Urban Meyer[/autotag], the early returns appear to signal that the ship is turning around under the new leadership.
However, despite this progress, Napier and Co. are under intense pressure and scrutiny when it comes to assembling their debut recruiting class — much of which is quite unfair but par for the course in the ultra-competitive Southeastern Conference. The Athletic’s Ari Wasserman recently surveyed the top 10 storylines for the 2023 cycle heading into summer and had one major question for the Gators’ rebounding program.
Is Billy Napier going to sign a big-boy class?
If you tracked what Napier did at Florida upon his arrival, you saw a man who understands what it takes in the SEC. He revamped the recruiting department and immediately signed four-star safety [autotag]Kamari Wilson[/autotag] of Bradenton (Fla.) IMG, beating Georgia for his signature. Landing Wilson made a statement that Florida is going to win big-time recruiting battles.
Well, we’re six months into the 2023 cycle and Florida has only five commitments. Of those five commitments, only one is rated inside the top 300.
Florida needs a big finish, and it has plenty of open spots. The Gators are still involved with a ton of top-50 players: cornerback [autotag]Cormani McClain[/autotag] of Lakeland (Fla.) Lake Gibson, cornerback [autotag]AJ Harris[/autotag] of Phenix City (Ala.) Central, cornerback [autotag]Tony Mitchell[/autotag] of Alabaster (Ala.) Thompson, linebacker [autotag]Malik Bryant[/autotag] of Orlando (Fla.) Jones, running back [autotag]Cedric Baxter Jr[/autotag]. of Orlando (Fla.) Edgewater and safety [autotag]Joenel Aguero[/autotag] of Danvers (Mass.) St. John’s Prep.
Can Napier be the anti-Dan Mullen and close the deal on a top class?
Wasserman’s concerns are not at all unfair, particularly the fact that Florida has just five commits six months into Napier’s tenure. But it seems he is overlooking the difficulty involved in overhauling the program’s culture, not to mention the fact that it has been nearly a decade since the Gators’ last top-10 class.
The fact of the matter is that Napier needs to do everything he can to maximize the talent he brings in this time around but it is not even close to a make-or-break kind of deal. As CBS Sports’ Chip Patterson mentioned recently, Florida’s new crew is more likely to produce results later than sooner, so while the heat is on it is not imperative that he hit a grand slam from a long-term perspective.
Still, the Gator Nation is hungry for success after one of the most disappointing seasons (and really, the most disappointing decade) in recent memory. Scoring a few wins on the recruiting trail will earn the program a great deal of emotional capital with the fanbase, which is certainly something to consider.
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