Good Morning Gators: Florida passes 'midterm exam'; UF lands commitment
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With spring camp complete, the Florida football team now enters the fourth phase of its year-round plan: the Discretionary Period.
After 14 practices, first-year coach Billy Napier tested his players on the new schemes they’ve learned with Thursday’s Orange & Blue Game.
“I think this is a little bit of a midterm exam, in my opinion,” Napier said after the spring game. “We worked our way through Phase 1, Phase 2 and Phase 3 and now we get to regroup and access where we’re at. Our players will get ready to move into what we call ‘reload period,’ or ‘discretionary period.’
“We’ll have exit meetings. We’ll talk about strengths and weaknesses, things to work on, and there will be a very specific plan for our team to improve. I’m very pleased to what I’ve observed up to this point, but we’re certainly not content with what we have done. Going forward here is about improvement.”
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If the spring game was a midterm exam, what grade would Napier give his team?
“Yeah, that’s a hypothetical,” Napier quipped. “The good thing is we don’t actually have to give a grade. So, I think it’s more of an assessment.”
In other Florida football news
- In a Gators Online exclusive, Florida quarterback Anthony Richardson addresses his traffic citation and vows to represent UF the right way.
- Richardson also discussed his plans to host a football camp for local kids and continue giving back to the community that raised him.
- Give Me Five: Five observations, five key plays, five key quotes, five notable stats and five standout Gators from the Orange & Blue Game.
- Louisiana running back transfer Montrell Johnson is on a mission to prove he belongs on the big stage of SEC football.
- First-year coach Billy Napier brough back a spring game halftime tradition that Steve Spurrier started with the Gators.
- Abolverdi’s Answers: What we learned about the top storylines for Florida.
- Top Plays: Watch the best moments from the Gators’ Orange & Blue Game.
UF recruiting roundup
- WR Tyree Patterson finds no reason to wait and commits to the Gators’ 2023 class after attending the Orange & Blue Game.
- FILM ROOM: Dissecting the skill set of new Florida commit Tyree Patterson, who had over 1,000 yards receiving last season.
- Four-star WR Hykeem Williams also made a return trip for the Gators’ spring game: “They have a good spot on my list now.”
- Top-100 defensive lineman Derrick LeBlanc, who plans to make his decision on July 23, visited Florida again last Thursday.
- Tomarrion Parker’s return trip to Gainesville has UF in the top three for him. He’s ranked a top-100 EDGE in the On3 Consensus.
- Top-100 wide receiver Aidan Mizell recaps his visit to Florida for the spring game and reveals his plans to release a top five soon.
- Five-star offensive lineman Francis Mauigoa is highly considering the Gators for official visit after checking out the spring game.
- Four-star offensive lineman Payton Kirkland is not the only one in his family being prioritized by the UF coaching staff.
- Florida pulled out all the stops for All-American offensive tackle Lucas Simmons, including the hashtag #HejaGators.
Gators sports roundup
- New Florida men’s basketball coach Todd Golden reveals the return of a senior guard for 2022-23 season.
- UF guard Kowacie Reeves, who entered the transfer portal, has reportedly made a decision on his future.
- Florida gymnastics took second in Saturday’s NCAA Final, with Trinity Thomas winning four events.
- The UF men’s tennis team won its 15th-straight match to go undefeated at home and in SEC play during the regular season.
- Florida shattered the NCAA record in the Men’s 4×400 Relay with a time of 2:58.53 on Saturday.
Let’s keep talking
Want to keep the conversation going? Head over to our Florida message board, Swamp Talk. Gators Online is running a spring camp promo. Sign up here and join the discussion for just $10, which will cover the next four months.
Gators Twitter updates
- Billy Napier sends out his bat signal following Patterson’s commitment:
- The UF men’s tennis team celebrates its SEC regular season championship:
- Trinity Thomas scored a perfect 10 on every floor routine during the 2022 postseason:
![A touchdown is celebrated with fireworks in the first half at Steve Spurrier Field at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville, FL on Saturday, September 17, 2022. [Cyndi Chambers/Gainesville Sun] Ncaa Football Florida Gators Vs Usf Bulls](https://on3static.com/cdn-cgi/image/height=215,width=393,quality=90,fit=cover,gravity=0.5x0.5/uploads/dev/assets/cms/2023/08/27214921/Untitled-design-4-4.png)
![Florida Gators wide receiver Eugene Wilson III (3) hauls in a pass while taking balls from a throwing machine during University of Florida Gators’ Spring football practice at Sanders Practice Fields in Gainesville, FL on Thursday, March 28, 2024. [Doug Engle/Gainesville Sun]](https://on3static.com/cdn-cgi/image/height=215,width=393,quality=90,fit=cover,gravity=0.5x0.5/uploads/dev/assets/cms/2024/08/01212103/Untitled-design-80.png)
