Anonymous SEC coach rips Florida's struggles on recruiting trail

At the end of Dan Mullen’s tenure as the Florida head coach, much was made about the team’s issues with recruiting. Those concerns weren’t overblown and played a part in costing Mullen his job. These are also problems that Billy Napier inherited when he took the job.

As one anonymous SEC coach told Athlon magazine, Florida still has recruiting issues and those are obvious when you look at the Gators’ roster in 2023. That’s going to make it difficult to have success on the field in 2023.

“This season is going to test a lot of people’s patience,” the coach said. “[Billy] Napier was never going to be Steve Spurrier, and he inherited probably the least talented overall roster in 20-some-odd years at Florida. There’s a reason they ran off [Dan] Mullen, and it wasn’t about his record. The lack of winning on those top guys [in recruiting] is starting to show up on the field.”

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“It could really be trial by fire for [defensive coordinator] Austin Armstrong with that schedule because this is such a far cry from the level of defensive talent they had with [Will] Muschamp.”

Those issues with recruiting over the past few years are obvious when you look at the roster. In 2022, Florida had the 10th-ranked recruiting class in the SEC, according to the On3 Industry Rankings. In 2021, Florida was fifth and in 2020 the Gators were sixth.

Billy Napier has worked to turn that around, but it’s never easy to do. With the early signing period, it’s difficult to put a class together in a coach’s first season. That’s part of why the 2022 ranking was so low for Florida. The 2023 cycle saw a bounce back up to fifth. Now, in the incomplete 2024 class, Florida is making massive strides under Napier.

As of the end of June, Florida has the second-best class in the SEC with 17 commitments. That includes 12 four-star recruits.

Why Florida must improve quickly under Billy Napier

College football analyst Paul Finebaum knows that Billy Napier has a long-term plan at Florida. However, he also thinks it’s critical that Florida improves quickly under Napier.

“I think the mistake people are making is when they get excited about his recruiting; compared to which school? Florida is recruiting better than it has been, but it’s still trailing Georgia. It’s still trailing other schools in the SEC,” Finebaum said.

“It’s like a NASCAR race. I mean, yeah, you can still be in the top five or six or seven. But when you’re going around turn four, you better jump ahead of somebody. And that’s really ultimately what Florida is facing right now. I don’t think anyone is counting Billy Napier out, but next year we’ll be extremely important for him. I know that sounds like an understatement, but it’s the truth. Patience only goes so far with the Florida fanbase. I don’t care how long it’s been since they’ve last been relevant.”