Billy Napier: ‘If you're on the fence, maybe this is not the right place for you’
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — It’s time for Florida coach Billy Napier and his staff to circle the wagons. In the last five days, three commits have flipped to SEC schools and the Gators lost their second player to the transfer portal.
More attrition will be coming. With the portal opening Dec. 4 and signing day on Dec. 20, UF is expected to have double-digit transfers in the coming weeks and there’s still the possibly of another decommitment or two.
Napier was asked this week at what point does he start re-recruiting his own players to prevent them from transferring.
“I probably would say, if you’re on the fence, maybe this is not the right place for you,” Napier said. “It would be different if I didn’t have confidence in the experience of the scholar-athlete here. The player experience here, I think, is second to none.”
Reserve offensive lineman Jordan Herman announced his plans to enter the portal on Sunday, joining defensive back Jadarrius Perkins as the second outgoing transfer from the 2023 team.
The Gators had 23 departures during the winter portal period last year and lost three more players in the spring, while adding 14 transfers to the 2023 roster including 10 in the first window.
With the advent of the portal and the NCAA’s one-time transfer rule providing players immediate eligibility, Napier anticipates having a dozen departures every year.
“There’s going to be attrition now, just so we all understand. That’s a product of the environment that we’ve created at this level,” Napier said.
“So, you used to anticipate a half dozen guys a year, and now you probably anticipate twice as many. Some of which you anticipate happening, some maybe you don’t anticipate happening.”
The Gators are also dealing with attrition in their 2024 class since Saturday, losing three four-star defenders and top-200 overall recruits in the On3 Industry rankings. The latest was defensive lineman Nasir Johnson flipping to in-state Georgia on Wednesday, along cornerback Wardell Mack switching his pledge to Texas and EDGE Jamonta Waller committing to Auburn.
Johnson (Dublin, Ga.), Mack (Marrero, La.) and Waller (Picayune, Ms.) are all out-of-state prospects who decided to play closer to home. Florida is fighting to keep four-star defensive lineman Amaris Williams (Clinton, N.C.) and four-star tight Amir Jackson (Portal, Ga.) in the class, while two in-state commits are still taking visits in five-star DL LJ McCray (Daytona Beach) and top-100 linebacker Adarius Hayes (Largo).
As Napier and his staff members try to keep their recruiting class and roster intact over the next month, he’s confident in the program he’s building and the product that UF has to offer.
“I feel good about the player experience here,” Napier said. “When you start talking about the degree, the alumni network, the experiences that are available through GatorMade from a life skills player development standpoint, the resources that we have to offer from a facility standpoint, infrastructure standpoint, location, game day, it’s a tough place to beat. I think there’s an element to that, but I also think that life is pretty good at UF right now.”
