Steve Spurrier calls out Florida recruiting, takes shot at NIL funding around SEC

Steve Spurrier knows what it takes to win a national championship at Florida, doing so in 1996. However, he called out the Gators’ recent recruiting — and the NIL situation around the SEC — as Billy Napier takes over the program.

Speaking on the Gators Online Podcast on Thursday, Spurrier addressed whether or not he’s spoken with Napier. He said he hasn’t, but then offered his thoughts on the current recruiting landscape both at Florida and within the SEC. That’s when he took a shot at how NIL is impacting things, notably with three programs at the forefront of the conversation.

“I haven’t had any long conversations with [Napier],” Spurrier said. “He knows what he’s doing. He has his plan in place and he’s going to run with it and time will tell.

“I think we’re a little bit behind, probably talent-wise, of Alabama, Georgia, Texas A&M. Those three guys seem to have most of the money to spend in that NIL stuff. We’ve got to catch up there and catch up in recruiting, and I think once we do that, Billy and his staff can put us at the top.”

Florida brought in the No. 20 recruiting class in the nation this year, according to the On3 Consensus Team Rankings. That happened even with a coaching change, bringing in Napier to replace the fired Dan Mullen. In the same interview, Spurrier took a shot at Mullen when assessing the Gators’ effort in spring practice

Spurrier’s comments also came one day after Alabama coach Nick Saban criticized NIL’s impact on recruiting right now. The Crimson Tide coach didn’t hold back in an interview with the Associated Press’ Ralph D. Russo.

“I don’t think what we’re doing right now is a sustainable model,” Saban told Russo. “The concept of name, image and likeness was for players to be able to use their name, image and likeness to create opportunities for themselves. That’s what it was. So last year on our team, our guys probably made as much or more than anybody in the country.

“But that creates a situation where you can basically buy players. You can do it in recruiting. I mean, if that’s what we want college football to be, I don’t know. And you can also get players to get in the transfer portal to see if they can get more someplace else than they can get at your place.”