Billy Napier reveals Florida has reached agreements with 98% of roster

Billy Napier had some telling comments about the status of his Florida roster ahead of the spring transfer portal. He talked about agreements with the players, hinting at their NIL deals or situations going into the 2025 season.

Going into the fall, almost the entire roster is set. But Napier acknowledged there could be other pieces to be added in the portal, should they find a need.

But the roster, as it stands, is nearly 100% complete. Heck, Napier made it sound like an NFL roster as far as “agreements” were concerned.

“We’ve reached agreements with 98% of the team, so I think we’re just one or two players away from being done,” Napier said. “So as far as the player retention part, we’ll evaluate what becomes available every day. Going forward, maybe there’s a situation that can make our team better, and we definitely will be aggressive if we feel that way.”

One reporter said: “reached agreements,” as if to question Napier’s terminology. More than likely, he was just fascinated by the term used by the Florida head coach.

“Welcome,” Napier said. Looks like the Florida coach welcomed him into the new world of college athletics that is consistently evolving.

Sure, Napier is confident in the current group and said there could be additions to the roster. But don’t count ESPN’s Paul Finebaum among those that believe Napier and the Gators can take a big step forward towards the College Football Playoff.

“There are two issues. One is the quarterback, DJ Lagway, and the second is the schedule,” Finebaum said on SportsCenter. “Lagway is great. He’s expected to be one of the best players in the country, but this spring, he has participated in droves, but he hasn’t thrown. He has a shoulder injury, and they’re being very careful. The family decided to let it rest, let it rehab, instead of going in and doing surgery, and there are a lot of nervous nellies in Gainesville about what he’s going to look like when the summer and fall camp begins.” 

Florida has not made the College Football Playoff since the CFP’s inception. There have been years where they were in contention, but have yet to participate.

The 12-team playoff is a beneficiary to more teams and Florida could be in that group in 2025. Heck, the schedule sets up for high quality wins to build a resume. But that could also mean three or more losses for the Gators, keeping them on the outside looking in.