Billy Napier addresses the state of UF recruiting and his 2023 bump class
Following an eventful week on the trail, Florida coach Billy Napier addressed the state of UF recruiting Monday before landing his fourth commitment in nine days.
During his interview with Hays Carlyon of 1010XL, Napier was asked if he’s pleased with the progress and strides that have been made during his first full recruiting cycle.
“Yeah, I really am. Especially given that we’re a new staff, and I do think recruiting is a little bit fast forward,” Napier said. “But no staff in America has worked harder than this group in the last six months. I mean, you got a new dynamic, a new place, a new group of people, new recruiting areas, a lot of relationships to build and connect. I often say the first year, you’re kind of giving a year of your life away. And a lot of that has to with making up ground recruiting, right?”
The Gators entered this month with five verbal commitments in their 2023 class but have caught fire over the past week, landing four pledges since June 19 and three straight On300 recruits with the additions of Isaiah Nixon, Gavin Hill and Sharif Denson.
Napier’s bump class is now ranked No. 17 nationally with nine members and positioned to keep rising after hosting 34 total official visitors in June. Florida has missed on some of its out-of-state targets like Jaden Rashada, A.J. Harris and Tony Mitchell, but remain in contention for multiple Sunshine State standouts such as Cormani McClain, Derrick LeBlanc, Malik Bryant, Aidan Mizell, John Walker and Eugene Wilson III.
“We’re in great position with some of the best players in the entire country and we’re going up against some of the best programs in the country. And so, I think that’s a good sign,” Napier said. “Recruiting’s a little bit like baseball, right? You gotta be willing to swing. You gotta be willing to throw punches and keep fighting. It tests your mental toughness, it tests your resiliency. A lot of the things that you teach your players as a competitor, you can apply to yourself and the staff in recruiting.”
Napier hit some home runs in his transition class, landing top-100 prospects Shemar James and Kamari Wilson on early signing day and finishing with a top-20 ranking. After playing catch up to start the 2023 cycle, he and his staff are beginning to make headway this month and will keep swinging for the fences.
“I’m telling you what, the future is bright,” Napier said. “And we’ve got an unbelievable product to sell here. The history, the tradition, we’re a top-five university that has an incredible alumni network, our location and proximity to players. Gainesville, Florida is a special place, and I do believe that game day in The Swamp is one of the most impactful things that we have to sell. We’ve got a new facility on the way and our administration is committed to our infrastructure.
“And we’ve got the pieces. We gotta figure out this NIL puzzle and we’re in the process of working hard at that. But I’m convinced more now than ever that we’ve got what it takes to do it here. And again, I go back to the analogy and the comparison to the players. It’s about being diligent, it’s about following through, taking action, doing the little things right each day to position ourselves to finish strong in recruiting. Got a lot of confidence in the people that we have here to get that done.”
