Florida Gators will host more transfers in coming weeks, per Billy Napier
The Florida Gators landed their first official visitor from the transfer portal this spring in former Michigan safety RJ Moten, and there’s more where that came from.
UF coach Billy Napier, speaking to reporters Wednesday prior to his speech in Sarasota, Florida, said he and his staff will be hosting more transfers in the coming weeks.
“Obviously we could use a player or two at certain positions and we’re pursuing some guys,” Napier told On3’s Keith Niebhur. “We have players that we anticipate visiting over the next couple of weekends. We’ve got some challenges this weekend. There’s an opportunity.
“Graduation going on. There’s some logistics that come with that from hotel availability, restaurant availability. So, I think we planned around that. But we have a couple scholarships left. We’re gonna pursue players. Any player that we think can make our team better, we’re gonna do that.”
With the commitment from Moten, the Gators have now landed 11 players from the portal in their 2023 class after signing 10 transfers for mid-year enrollment in January. The transfer portal opened again on April 15 and closed Sunday.
Former San Diego State offensive lineman Josh Simmons was scheduled to officially visit the Gators from May 5-7, but that trip is now off after his pledge to Ohio State last weekend.
Napier also indicated that he and his staff tried to bring in additional transfers for official visits in April but couldn’t get them on campus. He said sometimes academic issues derail plans.
Napier added that hosting transfers while the portal is open can be challenging due to player exit meetings after spring camp and the high school evaluation period starting April 15.
“I think ultimately we had visits on the books (in April). There’s been some opportunities there. We just weren’t able to get it done, quite simply,” Napier said. “I would say that we had intentions of hosting a few guys. I just don’t necessarily know that that happened, if that makes sense. I do think that, how many guys took OVs during that window of time? You know, that would be an interesting study there. I don’t know that it was that many, truth be known.
“But I do think that last weekend, this weekend, weekends going forward (will be OVs). Ultimately, there’s a lot going on relative to coaches having exit meetings with your players, and then also your coaches are going on the road. So, there’s a lot going on. I don’t necessarily know that the visit strategy (was) when the visit occurred or any of that. But I do think that there’s an element to how you operate within that 15-day window.”
