Billy Napier analyzes Florida's in-state recruiting

Billy Napier’s first full recruiting cycle as head coach of the Florida Gators featured an emphasis on locking down in-state players. Florida is always one of the top producers of elite talent in high school football. This year, the Gators took full advantage. Napier inked 14 signatures out of Florida in a class of just 20 total players, making in-state recruits account for 70% of Florida’s entire high school recruiting haul this season. That’s how you lock down your home state on the recruiting trail right there.

Of course, landing local talent was a focus for Napier. But, frankly, he recruited the state of Florida hard because it has some of the best talent in the country. Which is why the UF job is such a great one, according to Napier.

“I think, if you look at the group, we definitely used an inside-out approach. We obviously branched out a little bit with the quarterback and obviously into Georgia and Alabama. But I think the majority of the players being Florida players, that’s one of the reasons why this is a great job.”

When your trip to see a high-four-star recruit is a short car ride rather than private jet travel, you can cut out a lot of wasted time on the recruiting trail. In Florida, there’s four-star prospects left right and center. But Napier wants to make sure everyone knows that the program is still willing and actively looking to take great talent from other states.

“Now, obviously there’s a lot of others out there we’d like to have too, but I do think this group reflects our philosophy if that makes sense, and certainly the history of championship teams at the University of Florida, and I think overall in general when you look at the numbers.”

Billy Napier established a base in Florida with the state’s biggest football power (sorry, FSU) in this recruiting cycle. Moves that should pay dividends on down the road under the Napier regime.