What an SEC coach said anonymously about 2023 Florida Gators
Athlon Sports has released its 2023 college football preseason magazine, previewing all 133 FBS teams. The publication predicts the Florida Gators to take a step back this fall.
In its preview of UF second-year coach Billy Napier and his team, the magazine included a “Scouting the Gators” section with a comment from an SEC assistant coach, who spoke anonymously about Florida.
“This season is going to test a lot of people’s patience,” the coach said. “[Head coach Billy] Napier was never going to be Steve Spurrier, and he inherited probably the least talented overall roster in 20-some-odd years at Florida. There’s a reason they ran off [Dan] Mullen, and it wasn’t about his record. The lack of winning on those top guys [in recruiting] is starting to show up on the field. … It could really be trial by fire for [defensive coordinator] Austin Armstrong with that schedule because this is such a far cry from the level of defensive talent they had with [Will] Muschamp. … They have some depth at running back, and you can see where Napier wants to build along that plan and schedule he had at Louisiana, but are people going to be patient enough for that? The bottom line is that this roster doesn’t look like it’s from the state of Florida, and you can’t fix that in two offseasons when you play in the SEC.”
The Gators are predicted to miss a bowl game and finish fifth in the SEC East with a 5-7 record (3-5 SEC). Athlon Sports has Florida ranked No. 49 in its preseason rankings and eight of the 12 teams on UF’s schedule are ranked ahead of them by Athlon Sports’ and Missouri is No. 50.
Athlon Sports listed six Gators as preseason All-SEC picks, but all were named to the third team. Click here to check out the magazine’s full preview on the 2023 Florida football team.
Lindy’s Sports higher on Gators
Lindy’s Sports has also published its 2023 college football preview and the magazine is higher on the Gators than Athlon Sports.
Florida is ranked No. 32 in Lindy’s preseason rankings and picked fourth in the East behind Georgia, Tennessee and South Carolina.
Lindy’s overview on UF: “After losing quarterback Anthony Richardson, Florida’s offense appears to have taken a step back, a narrative that can quickly be dispelled if Mertz takes significant steps to improve over the summer in areas like pocket feel and pass precision. The Gator defense looks much improved, though, and could allow the team to be successful in lower-scoring games.”
Click here to check out Lindy’s full preview on the 2023 Florida football team.
