Help Wanted: Florida's spring game will be a transfer portal casting call for Billy Napier

Billy Napier is no dummy. 

Florida’s first-year head coach was handed the keys to an aging Ferrari, so Napier demanded the Gators give him a fresh set of tires and a brand new engine when he was hired last December. The former Louisiana-Lafayette coach inherited a program that’s been spinning its wheels ever since Urban Meyer “retired,” so to regularly compete for SEC Championships, Napier needed financial support, and he got it, hiring “an army” of support staffers to address inefficiencies across the board within UF’s program. 

During his first few months on the job, Napier unveiled his explicit plan to get Florida back to the mountain top. His blueprint for success is pretty simple. 

Recruit. Recruit. Recruit. 

“This is a talent acquisition business,” Napier said when he was hired. 

Well, time for a shopping spree Gator Nation. #PortalSZN is coming to Gainesville soon. 

At the start, Napier took a 30,000-foot approach to his program, but this spring, Florida’s new head coach has zoomed in on the obvious within his team: He might’ve beefed up UF’s support staff, recruiting budget and facilities, but now he needs actual bodies on the roster. 

So what’s become evident to Billy Napier throughout the spring will become visible to Gator fans Thursday evening during the Orange & Blue Game: Florida’s roster, as currently constructed, is in no position to compete for the SEC East. The Gators have glaring needs at tight end, safety, inside linebacker, defensive tackle and receiver. 

“Every team’s got its problems, so you do your best with it,” Napier said recently. “No complaining. Just make the best of your situation. There’s lots of answers to that problem.”

You don’t need to even know Occam’s razor to see Napier’s plan here. Florida’s new head coach is ready to build an orange and blue brick road straight to the transfer portal, hoping to land at least half a dozen impact players for 2022. Just last week, the Gators couldn’t even complete a full second spring scrimmage due to a lack of depth. They’ve moved defensive linemen to tight end and their receiver and defensive backrooms are gutted. 

Before spring practice, Florida grabbed several potential starters out of the portal, with former Cajuns offensive lineman O’Cyrus Torrence and tailback Montrell Johnson following Napier to Gainesville. Former Ohio State quarterback Jack Miller is also now on the roster, competing with Anthony Richardson for the starting job. 

But the Gators need more. A lot more.

“I think we live in a new era, right? There’s certainly a new way of operating in college football,” Billy Napier said. 

“You can anticipate us being very aggressive in the portal this spring. We need players.

“That window of time is coming. We anticipate doing a lot of business and we’re looking forward to it.”

Players must submit their name to the transfer portal by May 1, so that window is closing soon. The Gators already lost linebacker Mohamoud Dibate (Utah), pass rusher Khris Bogle (Michigan State), wideout Jacob Copeland (Maryland) and linebacker Ty’Ron Hopper (Missouri) to the portal. Then quarterback Emory Jones left the program days into spring game. More attrition is anticipated after Thursday’s scrimmage, too. 

But Napier expected all of this. It’s why he preached patience during the Early Signing Period, only to underpromise and overdeliver with a couple recruiting wins over Georgia and Alabama. He purposely saved a few spots in February, smartly recognizing that the best way for a new coach to avoid a Year 0 in modern college football isn’t to load up on a bunch of 17-and-18-year-old prospects that won’t help you much next season. 

Instead, you “acquire talent” by shopping in the new transfer portal. Brian Kelly came to the same conclusion at LSU. 

Currently, Florida’s exact scholarship situation is a bit unclear, as schools often utilize a bit of roster gymnastics in how it counts its numbers, but the Gators likely have room for at least 6-8 additions. Perhaps more if added attrition occurs. What’s clear is that the team Florida fans see tonight won’t be the group that takes the field against Utah in September. Personnel changes are coming. 

Dan Mullen wasn’t fired because he couldn’t coach. He was canned because he couldn’t recruit like Georgia, Alabama or LSU, and UF’s roster currently reflects that. Napier plans on flexing his recruiting prowess in the Class of 2023, which is why he changed UF’s spring game away from Easter weekend so Florida could have its own spotlight night. But tonight’s recruiting sales-job is as much about 2022 as it is the future. The scrimmage itself is a “Help Wanted” sign for players — in or thinking about entering — the portal. There’s a spot waiting for you in Gainesville. 

“I think the team as a whole lacks depth,” Napier said. 

“We need more players as a whole that do their job consistently and play winning football… We’re not going to turn down any good player. We have spots. We have room.”

The Florida Gators are open for business, and Billy Napier is ready to go shopping.