Good Morning Gators: Scott Stricklin shares why he targeted Billy Napier
Florida Gators football is the No. 1 topic in Good Morning Gators every day — but we cover news, notes and analysis from across the Gators sports world. Join us each morning to get caught up on everything in the world of Florida football, UF recruiting, Gators basketball, Florida baseball and more.
Florida athletic Scott Stricklin traveled to SEC spring meetings this week with new three coaches in football (Billy Napier), men’s basketball (Todd Golden) and women’s basketball (Kelly Rae Finley).
Stricklin and Napier made an appearance on The Paul Finebaum Show to discuss the opening day of meetings and major items being addressed in Destin.
Stricklin also explained how Napier emerged as his No. 1 target during the coaching search and why he chose not to interview any other candidates.
“I spent three years on the (College Football Playoff) selection committee and Louisiana was a school that was ascendent under Billy. So those of us on the committee were paying attention to what their success looked like. He was someone that all of us in college football were aware of,” Stricklin said. “Obviously his past and where he had been at Clemson, Alabama and Arizona State, it’s a great story. How organized and disciplined (he is), the humility and intelligence — there’s a lot of intriguing pieces to him.
“So, whenever we got in a position where we were gonna do a search, he was really high on the list. To the point where it just seemed like it made a lot of sense and he would be a fit for what we need at the University of Florida. Billy was the only coach I actually spoke to.”
Following a 7-7 finish in his inaugural season, Napier led Louisiana to at least 10 wins in each of the next three years and twice claimed Sun Belt Coach of the Year honors. He finished with a 40-12 record at UL, including 2-1 in bowl games, culminating in 2021 with an outright Sun Belt championship, an unblemished conference record (8-0) and a 12-game winning streak, all firsts for the program.
Top 10
- 1New
CFP Top 25
First College Football Playoff rankings
- 2Hot
Ben Herbstreit
Kirk Herbstreit asks for prayers
- 3
CFP bracket
12-team bracket after first CFP Top 25
- 4Trending
Dabo denied vote
'They done voted me out of the state'
- 5
Couching Carousel
Intel on potential head coaching moves
As Stricklin did his homework at Napier’s run in Lafayette, he most impressed by the operation and structure of his program at a Group of Five level.
“He has a real vision for what he thinks it takes to be successful, especially at this level,” Stricklin said. “One of the impressive things he did in Lafayette was, he basically built a Power Five football program in the Sun Belt conference. By that, I mean the infrastructure he was able to put in place with the available resources. He was incredibly resourceful with how he did that.
“Coming to Gainesville and being back in the SEC, he was able to take the knowledge he had of the other places he had worked and implement that. It is incredibly detailed as far as the people he wants within the program, the roles they’re gonna have, the attention to organizational structure, how it all flows and works together.”
In other Florida football news
- The Gators officially announced the addition of Arizona State transfer receiver Ricky Pearsall to the 2022 roster on Thursday.
- Florida coach Billy Napier discusses having to navigate through the transfer portal and NIL during his first year on the job.
UF recruiting roundup
- The War Room: Gators Online’s Corey Bender breaks down where Florida stands with each of their priority targets on the defensive side of the ball.
- Gators Online’s Corey Bender also first reported on Thursday that top-100 QB Jaden Rashada has locked in his Gators official visit date.
- Another priority target for Florida, top-100 defensive tackle John Walker, has also scheduled his fifth and final official visit date with UF.
- The Gators kick off the month of June with a lengthy official visitors list this weekend, including a pair of top-100 recruits in town.
- Gators Online’s Corey Bender highlights the three most-important official visitors for Florida this weekend.
- UF made a strong first impression on top-ranked 2024 running back Stacy Gage, who visited on Wednesday.
Gators sports roundup
- UF softball defeated Oregon State 7-1 to open play Thursday at the Women’s College World Series.
- Pitcher Brandon Sproat will open the Gainesville Regional for the Gators as the Friday night starter.
- UF is hosting a most improbable regional after its worst start to a season under Kevin O’Sullivan.
- How to watch, stream, listen to the Gators vs. Central Michigan on Friday Night at Condron Ballpark.
- The Gators will get an NBA Championship in 2022 with a former player on both Finals teams.
Let’s keep talking
Want to keep the conversation going? Head over to our Florida message board, Swamp Talk. Sign up here and join the discussion.
Gators Twitter updates
- Ricky Pearsall cutting up with his new position coach Kerry Colbert.
- Gator Great Al Horford had quite the debut in the NBA Finals.
- Gators guard Kowacie Reeves meets Hall-of-Famer Ray Allen.
