Billy Napier reveals his recruiting plan for Florida ahead of Early Signing Day

New Florida head coach Billy Napier laid out a surprising plan for his recruitment efforts as the Early Signing Period looms. Instead of trying to win the game “with three games left in the fourth quarter,” as Napier described it, his small staff is taking a patient approach.

“It’s like getting into the game with three minutes left in the fourth quarter,” Napier said. “The last thing we need to do is make some mistakes. I would not be surprised if we don’t sign many at all. It’s important for both sides to fully understand what the plan is, for us to get t know each other. It’s an injustice to elope at the last second.”

Although the Gators’ 2022 recruiting class currently ranks ninth in the SEC with 11 commits, Napier knows he’ll have opportunities to make up ground after the December signing period.

“We put a lot of time, effort, and thought into that,” Napier said, regarding his recruiting plan. “We’re going to be patient. Everybody wants pedal to the metal but I think recruiting is the most important thing that we do, the staff and the players. You can expect us to be conservative and patient. We’ll position ourselves for post-signing day to evaluate all the players that are leftover and all the players in the transfer portal. Once we have the entire staff in place, we’ll plan to position ourselves for some great weekends in January and in February.”

Although a large majority of high school prospects will sign in the early window, all of the coaching change tumult across the NCAA has some recruits holding off. Also, the NCAA transfer portal is booming, as expected considering the new one-time, penalty-free transfer rule.

Napier adds another piece to Gators staff

On Monday afternoon, Louisiana strength and conditioning coach Mark Hocke announced on Twitter he is following Billy Napier to Gainesville.

Hocke spent three years in Lafayette, running the strength and conditioning program while also serving as an associate head coach. He has made previous stops at Alabama, Georgia, Florida State and Texas A&M.

“UL, thank you for welcoming our family four years ago,” he wrote. “To the players and everyone in the building, I love you. Please know you have a brother for life in me. The best is yet to come, see you at the top.”

Napier is already brining two former Louisiana-Lafayette assistants — Patrick Toney and Jabbar Juluke — to his coaching staff. Toney was the defensive coordinator and outside linebackers coach, while Juluke was the assistant head coach and running backs coach.

Toney will fill a defensive coordinator or co-defensive coordinator on Napier’s first staff, while Juluke will fill an offensive assistant role with the Gators.