By Franz Beard
A few thoughts to jump start your Thursday morning:
IT’S THE QUALITY THAT COUNTS, NOT THE QUANTITY
Recruiting services make their money handing out stars to high school and junior college recruits and then ranking recruiting classes on signing day. It’s a numbers game and the winner is the school that accumulates the most highly-rated players.
If we go strictly by numbers, then Billy Napier’s early signing day class is an abject failure since only nine kids decided to be Gators. Of the top four classes (ranked by Rivals), No. 1 Alabama signed 24, No. 2 Texas A&M and No. 3 Georgia each signed 26, and No. 4 Texas signed 27. Florida’s class pales by numeric comparison.
Now if we go by quality and throw in the degree of difficulty of a transition class that was already doomed to crash and burn even before Dan Mullen was fired, then it’s absolutely astounding what Napier did. Not only did he bring in a pair of 5-stars in safety Kamari Wilson (6-0, 201, Fort Pierce, FL/Bradenton, FL IMG Academy) and linebacker Shemar James (6-2, 210, Mobile, AL Liberty), but he beat Georgia (for Wilson) and Alabama (for James) in the process. He also beat out Notre Dame for 4-star corner Devin Moore (6-3, 190, Naples, FL).
Before I go further, consider the fact that next year or the year after Florida’s secondary could be former 5-star corner Nick Marshall, Moore, former 5-star safety Corey Collier Jr. and Wilson. I can’t recall the last time the Gators had that kind of talent in the secondary and we’re not even considering the fact that Kamar Wilcoxson, Avery Helm, Rashad Torrence, Ethan Pouncey, Donovan McMillon, Jordan Young and Dakota Mitchell are all former 4-star recruits. There should be no more complaining about talent in the secondary.
But back to Napier and the early signing day. It’s impressive that he didn’t panic and take a bunch of lower ranked kids just to fill out the numbers. Listening to him talk at his press conference, it was clear that he’s not concerned about having enough good players on the roster next year. He’s going to bring in quality kids. Florida may wind up with only 15 or 16 high school kids or junior college kids.
The rest? They will come from the portal and there will be no shortage of talent there. If transfers are a disease, then we have a college football pandemic on our hands. Quarterback Emory Jones tweeted out that he has entered the portal while Napier was answering questions about his recruiting class. Earlier in the day Khris Bogle announced he’s off to Michigan State. Lloyd Summerall III, Gerald Mincey, Mohamoud Diabate, Jacob Copeland and Dante Zanders are also in the portal. They probably won’t be the only ones and it wouldn’t be a shocker if some of them elect to stay once the coaching staff has been filled out.
Just understand this: Napier wants players who want to be Gators. He’s not going to beg anyone who doesn’t want to be a Gator to stay. He has a comprehensive process for picking the players he wants to have on his team and it goes beyond obvious things like height, weight, length and speed.
Let this comment from his Wednesday press conference sink in.
“You go back to the analogy of growing up watching my dad as a high school coach, right,” Napier said Wednesday. “He didn't get to decide who was on his team. He just had to coach the players in the community. I think it's part of the competition to me is you get to build your roster. You get to hand select the individual players that you want to be a part of your team, not only from a talent perspective but I think all these intangibles that really separate the good player from the great player, and I think that all these young men fit what we're looking for.”
He's very picky. I like that.
KEARY COLBERT HIRED AS WIDE RECEIVERS COACH
Keary Colbert, a former Southern Cal wide receiver who was a second round NFL Draft pick, is Florida’s new wide receivers coach. He played at Southern Cal for Pete Carroll, worked as a Southern Cal grad assistant under Lane Kiffin, spent two seasons at Alabama (2014-15) as an analyst for Nick Saban and was on the Southern Cal coaching staff for six years, serving as an analyst, tight ends coach and wide receivers coach from 2019-21. He worked with Napier at Alabama in 2014-15.
During his playing career at USC, Colbert caught 207 passes for 2,964 yards and 19 touchdowns.
Still to be hired: Offensive line, tight ends, defensive line, inside linebackers, outside linebackers.
THE QUARTERBACK SITUATION
Unless Emory Jones changes his mind between now and next Thursday, Florida will be down to three scholarship quarterbacks following the Gators’ Gasparilla Bowl game with UCF in Tampa – Anthony Richardson, Carlos Del Rio-Wilson and Jalen Kitna. Of the three, Richardson has incredible potential but he’s been hurt ever since his senior year in high school and has had (or will have) knee surgery to fix a meniscus tear that has never healed properly. Richardson is also the only one who has taken collegiate snaps.
Based on what Napier did with his offense at Louisiana, it would seem that both Richardson and Del Rio-Wilson are good fits in that they are both mobile quarterbacks and certainly a lot larger than 3-year starter Levi Lewis, listed at 5-10 and 185. Lewis threw for 8,933 yards and 73 touchdowns while rushing for 1,014 and 14 more TDs, leading the Rajin Cajuns to a 33-6 record since 2019.
Kitna is a pure pocket passer whose mobility we aren’t at all certain of. It would seem he could be the odd man out and perhaps a candidate for the transfer portal. Of course, that could be said about Del Rio-Wilson, too. Neither Kitna nor Del Rio-Wilson were recruited to Florida by Napier and since they’re freshmen they may view this as the ideal time to leave.
All eyes have been on Incarnate Word QB Cameron Ward, but with the addition of Keary Colbert as Napier’s new wide receivers coach, could that bring Kedon Slovis into play as a transfer? He has two full years of eligibility remaining and has thrown for 7,576 yards and 58 touchdowns.
Two other transfer portal QBs who could find their way into Florida’s evaluation process: Ohio State transfer Jack Miller, a former 4-star recruit who has four years of eligibility remaining; and former Tennessee QB Harrison Bailey, a former 4-star recruit who has four years of eligibility.
OVER, UNDER, AROUND AND THROUGH THE SEC
Alabama: The Crimson Tide finished with the No. 1 class at Rivals headed by 5-star quarterback Ty Simpson (6-2, 197, Martin, TN Westview), the No. 3-ranked pro-style QB … Alabama also got a commitment from LSU transfer corner Elias Ricks, who was a Freshman All-America in 2020.
Arkansas: The Razorbacks earned the No. 13 ranking. The Hogs flipped wide receiver Isaiah Satenga (5-11, 165, Fayetteville, AR), a former Oregon commitment … Safety Jay Catalon, who missed the last six games of 2021 after undergoing surgery, announced he will return for 2022 ... Linebacker JT Towers and safety Jermaine Hamilton-Jordan have entered the transfer portal.
Auburn: Auburn’s No. 16-ranked class included 3-star pro-style QB Holden Geriner (6-3, 215, Savannah, GA Benedictine) … Wide receiver Elijah Canion is transferring to Purdue.
Georgia: Georgia’s No. 3 ranked class tore out Florida State’s heart by signing the son of all-time FSU great linebacker Marvin Jones. Marvin Jones Jr. (6-4, 242, Plantation, FL American Heritage) is a 5-star edge rusher. The QB in Georgia’s class is 4-star Gunner Stockton (6-1, 195, Tiger, GA Rabun County), the No. 2-ranked dual threat QB.
Kentucky: The Wildcats landed the 10th-ranked class in the country which included 4-star offensive tackle Kiyaunta Goodwin (6-8, 305, Charlestown, IN), who chose the Wildcats over Michigan State.
LSU: LSU’s 13-man recruiting class was ranked 27th by Rivals, headed up by 5-star Walker Howard (6-0, 186, Lafayette, LA St. Thomas More), the No. 2-ranked pro-style QB in the nation.
Mississippi State: Mississippi State’s recruiting class was ranked 14th nationally and it included monstrous 4-star juco offensive tackle Percy Lewis (6-7, 350, Perkinston, MS Mississippi Gulf Coast CC), the No. 3 ranked juco offensive lineman in the country. The Bulldogs signed QB Braedyn Locke (6-0, 190, Rockwall, TX), the No. 16 pro-style QB in the country.
Missouri: The top recruit in Missouri’s 18th-ranked class was 5-star Luther Burden (6-2, 205, East St. Louis, MO), the nation’s No. 1-ranked wide receiver. The Tigers also signed 4-star pro-style quarterback Sam Horn (6-3, 180, Suwanee, GA Collins Hill), ranked No. 5 at his position.
Ole Miss: The Rebels signed 17 players to rank No. 31. The best of the signees are linebacker Jaron Willis (6-2, 215, Leesburg, GA Lee County) and defensive tackle Zxavian Harris (6-6, 338, Madison, MS Germantown) … Linebacker MoMo Sango is transferring to Louisville … Entering the transfer portal are corner David Beckum and defensive linemen Quentin Bivens and Sincere David.
South Carolina: On a day in which the Gamecocks signed the 21st-ranked class, quarterback Jason Brown, who was the star of the upset win over Florida, announced he has entered the transfer portal. The Gamecocks signed 4-star quarterback Braden Davis (6-6, 190, Middletown, DE), whose dad played football at Tennessee … Former 4-star wide receiver Keveon Mullins is in the transfer portal.
Tennessee: The Vols finished 11th in the recruiting class rankings, led by 4-star pro-style QB Tayven Jackson (6-5, 196, Greenwood, In Center Grove).
Texas A&M: The Aggies finished with the No. 2 ranked class headed up by 5-star QB Conner Weigman, 6-2, 200, Cypress, TX Bridgeland), the No.1-ranked dual threat QB in the 2022 recruiting class, and 5-star wide receiver Evan Stewart (6-1, 175, Frisco, TX Liberty).
Vanderbilt: The only 4-star recruit in Vanderbilt’s 33rd-ranked class was 4-star quarterback AJ Swann (6-2, 204, Canton, GA Cherokee).
SEC BASKETBALL
Wednesday’s game: Ole Miss (7-3) 62, Middle Tennessee State (8-3) 52
Friday’s game: Furman (7-4) at Mississippi State (7-3)
Saturday’s games: South Florida (4-4) at FLORIDA (7-3); No. 18 Tennessee (8-2) at Memphis (6-4); Austin Peay (4-5) at Vanderbilt (5-4); Utah (7-3) at Missouri (5-5); No. 15 Ohio State (8-2) at No. 21 Kentucky (7-2); Dayton (7-4) at Ole Miss (7-3); No. 19 LSU (9-0) at Louisiana Tech (8-2); George Mason (5-5) at Georgia (4-5); Hofstra (6-5) at No. 24 Arkansas (9-1); Texas A&M (7-2) at Oregon State (1-9); South Carolina (8-2) at Clemson (7-4); Jacksonville State (5-5) at No. 6 Alabama (8-2); No. 13 Auburn (9-1) at Saint Louis (8-3)
ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT: Urban Meyer has been fired as the head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars. It has been a rough 11 months for Meyer, who not only had difficulty adjusting to the pro game but inherited the least talented roster in the league when he took the job. I’m not the least bit surprised that Meyer didn’t last long in Jacksonville, although I have to admit I thought he would get frustrated with the NFL and resign after one season rather than get fired. As a collegiate coach, Meyer won three national championships and compiled a 187-32 record, which is one of the best marks in collegiate football history. As a college coach, Meyer rarely lost. As coach of the Jaguars, he lost all the time, which is why I thought he would have an early exit from the NFL. I’ve never known a coach who took losing as badly as Meyer. It’s what drove him to win in the college game and something he couldn’t control in the NFL since he took over the worst team in the league. He needs to take a year or two away from coaching, but I’m not sure he can stay away. I do know this. He’s not going to coach in the NFL ever again.
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