5. Florida Gators
Key additions: WR J.Michael Sturdivant, CB Micheal Caraway Jr., DT Brendan BettKey departures: WR Chimere Dike, DT Cam Jackson, CB Jason Marshall Jr.
Top incoming recruits: WR Vernell Brown III, WR Dallas Wilson, ILB Ty Jackson
Biggest coaching move: Florida's defensive staff received a mini shakeup with Austin Armstrong joining Houston in the same role. Coach Billy Napier brought in Vinnie Sunseri, a rising young assistant with NFL and college experience, to replace Armstrong and work alongside veteran Ron Roberts. Deron Wilson also comes over from Arkansas to coach defensive backs.
What went wrong: The Gators salvaged their 2024 season and saved Napier's job in the back half of the 2024 season, then dove into as quiet of an offseason of roster turnover as an SEC program could seemingly ever ask for in 2025. Quarterback DJ Lagway's limited participation in spring camp (shoulder) ahead of his first full season as a starter was not ideal, nor was losing the collection of talent that included Dike and leading tacklers Trikweze Bridges and Shemar James to the NFL. But the Gators held onto the deep base of young talent that fueled last fall's late-season resurgence and return seemingly well-equipped to contend with one of the nation's toughest schedules in 2025.
What went right: Florida has a quarterback in Lagway and a lead running back in Freshman All-SEC Jadan Baugh. But the Gators had work to do replacing Dike and 2024 receiving yards leader Elijhah Badger. Sturdivant arrives from UCLA as an experienced option, while ESPN 300 freshmen Brown, Wilson and Naeshaun Montgomery round out a young, talented wide receiver group around Eugene Wilson III, who returns after undergoing season-ending hip surgery last fall. The late addition of cornerback recruit J'Vari Flowers, No. 73 in the 2025 ESPN 300, marked an impressive final flourish for the Gators' 10th-ranked signing class.
Connelly's take: Florida has top-20 returning production levels, which can mean something pretty great when you finish the season as strong as the Gators did. The portal movement was light, which could turn out to be either a great sign (they already had what they needed) or a foreboding one (they overestimated what they had). We'll see.
Who won the offseason? We look at every Power 4 team
Nail the transfer portal? Miss a big recruit? Find a top coordinator job? All are part of a college team's offseason.
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