Fans are very, very mad about the loss to Arkansas. You could tell in the postgame presser that Billy Napier knows he really stepped in it with this one, just like he did last year against Vandy. The gut punch of a loss kind of reminded me of Ron Zook’s loss to Mississippi State in 2004 that cost him his job, but I couldn’t remember any previous others for the ol’ Zooker. Turns out, at least when you look at where everyone ended up, that MSU loss in ’04 was the only truly terrible loss he took. Napier’s now had one a year.
I do agree with the folks who warned about the Hogs not being as bad as their record indicated. They’re not. It’s just that, as I heard from a guest on a Gator-focused podcast last week previewing the game, the offense really did appear to give up on Dan Enos. He’s not a likable guy to begin with, and he was calling what he liked to call and not what fit the players best. The attack that only put up three points on Mississippi State wasn’t the real Razorbacks. Keeping Enos on was like trying to drag an anchor behind a speedboat, so no wonder things got better without him.
But, no one wants to hear that. Few wanted to hear it before the game, and certainly no one does now. Florida has a lot of problems, and that’s undeniable.
However for all the problems that are squarely on Napier, not every last issue is on him.
Take the lacking quarterback pipeline. UF is completely and utterly dependent on Graham Mertz staying healthy. They certainly wouldn’t have five wins right now had he gone down in preseason camp. What happened to the position to get in such dire shape? Let’s count them:
- Jack Miller has been injured often, and at least partially as a result, he hasn’t panned out. It’s Napier’s fault inasmuch as he pulled Miller from the portal, but coaches are going to miss on a player here or there.
- Jalen Kitna looked promising on the field in the second half of last year, but he then got himself arrested and kicked off the team.
- Napier couldn’t land a good high school QB prospect for the 2022 class because basically all of them were already committed, so he settled on a long-term project in Max Brown.
- The amateur-hour operation of the Gator Collective offered and then had to reneg on an absurd NIL contract for Jaden Rashada, poisoning the entire school for the recruit, but Napier still somehow convinced to sign afterwards. Rashada ended up asking out of his letter of intent and going to Arizona State, but the whole episode shows how good a salesman Napier is.
- UF had 4-star prospect Marcus Stokes committed for the 2023 class as well, but it dropped him after a social media video showed him uttering a racial slur while singing along to a rap song. He ended up at D-II West Florida, where he’s a reserve this season.
- There were scattered reports that UF was seeking a second portal quarterback this year, most often saying that potential arrival was Tulane’s Michael Pratt. Anything to that effect obviously fell through, but some effort was there.
That’s… a lot. Or consider the offensive line, which has underwhelmed this season.
Dan Mullen left behind six (6) linemen who have to date played at a passable SEC level. Three hit the portal after 2022 (Michael Tarquin, Ethan White, Joshua Braun), two start this year when healthy (Kinglsey Eguakun, Austin Barber), and one is on an NFL practice squad (Richard Gouraige). We’ll see how 2021 signee Jake Slaughter develops as he’s gotten his first substantial game action this year. He might make it seven.
So, that’s not nearly enough to field a good line for very long given the transfers. It was such a bad situation that — and this is pure speculation on my part — Napier kept the commitment of the modestly rated Mullen commit David Conner just to help keep numbers up. Conner transferred to Colorado after spring practice this year and can’t make the field despite the horror show that the Buffs’ line is this season.
O’Cyrus Torrence was a terrific transfer in 2022, but he was a one-year rental. Fellow ’22 transfer Kam Waites was always something of a project, but he was supposed to start contributing this year. Injuries have prevented him from doing much, however.
Then this year, the staff moved heaven and earth to get Kentucky transfer Kiyaunta Goodwin in the door at the last possible second to make spring practice. He was competing for the starting right tackle spot, and it sure would be nice to have another option with how much Damieon George has struggled.
Goodwin could’ve taken that spot to allow George to move inside. Instead, Goodwin canceled his transfer to UF and is sitting out the season to attend to his cancer-stricken mother. Then fellow transfer Micah Mazzccua missed a bunch of time this offseason because an injury from his time at Baylor was worse than previously known and required surgery.
Napier tried to plug some holes with guys who previously started on Playoff teams. I already covered George. LB Teradja Mitchell is lost in coverage and never fully recovered his speed after injury. Safety RJ Moten has been fine for special teams but hasn’t done much on defense. Hopefully that’s just because he transferred in so late and will do better next year after a full offseason of team activities.
The reality is sinking in here and elsewhere that there is no durable roster flip that can be done straight away. USC got itself a Heisman winner and a division title last year but is firing a coordinator this year. LSU is half a team. Colorado is sinking. Only Ole Miss has been able to run the transfer treadmill successfully for more than a season, but there’s no path to getting off of it. They have to find a high number of quality players every year now or else fall behind for years.
Napier is trying to build something more durable. Even as he’s had to portal dudes in to plug some holes for immediate help, he’s also made room for younger guys like Waites, Caleb Banks, and Deuce Spurlock to make sure class balance is maintained. And, as a bonus, Banks has been a good contributor already.
There are absolutely things Napier and staff could have done or could be doing to make the team better right now. But there are also still lingering problems from the Mullen era that defy quick fixes. I’ll give you one more. Thanks to injuries to Keon Zipperer and Jonathan Odom — two more things that aren’t Napier’s fault — the tight end spot is basically all about 2022 signees now. Why no portal help? Because, like with offensive linemen, good tight ends basically never show up in the portal. Try to name a good tight end transfer anywhere. You can’t do more than one or two because there aren’t many.
There is plenty of adversity on the field right now, but do keep in mind that Napier isn’t the cause of all of it and some just can’t be fixed in a year and a half.