Good Morning Gators: Billy Napier dismisses Paul Finebaum's comments
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 you missed in the world of Florida football, UF recruiting, Gators basketball, Florida baseball and more.
It’s officially talking season with Billy Napier kicking off his spring speaking tour, but the Florida coach isn’t subscribing to some of the commentary surrounding his team.
ESPN analyst Paul Finebaum appeared Monday on “McElroy and Cubelic in the Morning” and warned Florida fans that, while he likes Napier, his first season could be a rough go due to depth and talent issues.
“I think fans better beware that this is not going to be a great team,” Finebaum said. “I never in my life thought saying that getting to a decent bowl game would be considered a success at Florida. That’s blasphemous. But I think that’s about it because they’ve got a difficult schedule. You really can’t find a more treacherous beginning than they have. And I think they’ll be struggling. I think [Anthony] Richardson, assuming that he works everything out off the field, is a really good player. But I don’t think they have a lot around them that’s sustainable, and what I mean by that is depth.
“I like [Napier]. I think he’s really smart. You can call him ‘Nick Saban 3.0,’ whatever you want to call him. But that program has needed an overhaul for a long time, and now that the facilities are about to open — facilities that are 5-10 years overdue — I think, recruiting-wise, they’re going to start making some headway. But it won’t be on the field this year.”
Napier was asked about Finebaum’s comments during his speech Tuesday night in Tampa. While Napier has been upfront about the deficiencies on his roster, he’s confident in the players he does have.
“I could care less about what Paul Finebaum says. We’ve got a group of great individuals here,” said Napier, who feels good about his starting lineup on offense and defense. “We have some positions where we gotta hope they stay healthy. We need to be aggressive in the transfer portal. We got a good group of ones.”
In other Florida football news
- Prior to his Tuesday speech in Tampa, Napier shared his spring game takeaways and discussed Anthony Richardson’s speeding ticket.
- Carlos Del Rio-Wilson is the latest Florida quarterback to enter the NCAA transfer portal, joining former starter Emory Jones.
- Taking stock of the Gators’ quarterback room following Richardson’s progression and the departures of Del Rio-Wilson and Jones.
UF recruiting roundup
- The latest UF recruiting intel from Gators Online’s Corey Bender, breaking down five receivers most likely to join Florida’s 2023 class.
- Keldric Faulk, a top-100 EDGE in the On3 Consensus, has locked in an official visit with the Gators for this summer.
- Four-star receiver Andy Jean receives a rave review from Napier and will visit UF a third time in the coming weeks.
Gators sports roundup
- The Gators baseball team beat Stetson 10-8 on Tuesday night before this weekend’s showdown with No. 1 Tennessee.
Let’s keep talking
Want to keep the conversation going? Head over to our Florida message board, Swamp Talk. Gators Online is running a spring camp promo. Sign up here and join the discussion for just $10, which will cover the next four months.
Gators Twitter updates
- More highlights from Napier’s speech in Tampa:
- Carlos Del Rio-Wilson comments on transferring:
