By Franz Beard
A few thoughts to jump start your Friday morning:
“Patience, Grasshopper” – Master Po to young Caine from “Kung Fu” TV series
Okay, so you’ve been waiting patiently – or at least as patient as you think is necessary – for Billy Napier to come up with the big scores on the recruiting trail. You wonder out loud why it is that the Gators are making everybody’s short list but somehow, someway the 5-stars are getting away. You wonder why is it that Texas can land Arch Manning while Florida loses Jaden Rashada to Miami. And on and on and on.
I tend to leave recruiting to people who devote the time, energy and resources to offer informed and up to date opinions. I follow recruiting, not quite as closely as I once did, but I follow it just the same and here is what I have concluded about Napier and the Gators:
1. From day one Billy Napier said he was going to recruit players who meet a certain standard. He expects kids to be committed to getting a college degree; willing to work hard at every aspect of life whether that’s in the classroom, the weight room, in their personal lives and on the playing field. Not every kid, he said, is going to meet that standard. Those that can have a chance to be Gators. Those that can’t can go somewhere else.
2. Napier has a comprehensive plan. Call it “the process” if you wish, but whatever you call it, it is a plan that involves building a complete and competitive roster. We’ve seen how rosters get a bit upside down in the past 10-12 years. Will Muschamp was lights out recruiting defensive players and it showed with the product on the field. Muschamp’s offenses lagged way behind because he didn’t put enough emphasis on building a complete roster that is competitive at every single position. Dan Mullen thought you could recruit at Florida the way he recruited at Mississippi State. At MSU he was constantly scouring for diamond in the rough types that only needed a chance to show they could play in the SEC. Playing in the SEC is one thing. Playing well enough to win the SEC is another. And having enough quality players on both sides of the ball to get it done was something he never seemed to grasp. Now, along comes Napier, determined to get the roster balanced out with enough quality players at every position.
3. Everybody in the SEC has 22 players. With 22 quality players there is no margin for error. The teams that break even or perhaps go 7-5 or 8-4 typically have 44 very good players, which means there is margin for error, but very little. The teams that compete for and win championships in the SEC have a minimum of 60 players ready to go at all times so there is a true next man up mentality. The third teamers believe they should be getting second team reps and the second teamers believe they should be first teamers. The first teamers are constantly pushed by the guys below. Napier has 44 players. He needs 16-22 more before the Gators are going to be in the championship hunt consistently.
4. The current recruiting class is picking up momentum slowly but surely. In getting quarterback Marcus Stokes (6-2, 190, Ponte Vedra Beach, FL Nease) to flip from Penn State Thursday then adding running back Treyaun Webb (6-1, 205, Jacksonville, FL Trinity Christian), Napier added two quality 4-star recruits to a 2023 class that is still small in number (11 players) but starting to fill out. There is a good chance the Gators will add a few more pieces to the puzzle this summer, but if he puts an exciting, winning product on the field in the fall, momentum will definitely tilt strongly in Florida’s favor. A top 10 class will be a good building block for the future. I think the Gators could make the top eight but if they surprise everyone on the field, it’s possible they could inch up a bit further in the rankings.
5. If you’ve ever been to Rome then you know what an absolutely remarkable city it is. To have survived through the ages as it has with so much of its history preserved is an absolute miracle. The Rome of today, which is a marvelous showcase of past and present, is proof in that old saying Rome wasn’t built in a day. Just as Rome wasn’t built in a day, neither will Billy Napier’s reconstruction effort of the Florida football program. It begins with a foundation of outstanding players who fit the mould of what Napier knows and understands will work in terms of building a championship roster. It is not going to happen overnight, but everything about Napier’s history tells us it will happen.
6. Let’s not forget the transfer portal. Napier didn’t go as heavy into the transfer portal as even he thought he might, but again it comes down to one basic concept that he discussed after one of the practices in the spring: Don’t bring in players for the sake of simply bringing in players. Bring in players that you know are going to help immediately at a position of need as in right guard O’Cyrus Torrence, running back Montrell Johnson, corner Jalen Kimber and wide receiver Ricky Pearsall.
6. Patience, Grasshopper.
RHP HURSTON WALDREP COMMITS TO UF
Not only was it a great day on the football recruiting trail for Billy Napier, it was quite a day for UF baseball coach Kevin O’Sullivan, who probably landed his Friday night starter Thursday in third team All-American righty Hurston Waldrep from Southern Miss. As a sophomore at Southern Miss, Waldrep went 6-2 with a 3.20 ERA. He struck out an impressive 140 batters in 90 innings while walking only 33, an impressive 4.24-1 strikeout to walk ratio. As a freshman at Southern Miss, the Thomasville, Georgia product was 1-0 (3.31 ERA) with three saves while working exclusively out of the bullpen. In 106-1/3 career innings, Waldrep has allowed only 84 hits while striking out 156 batters.
Waldrep is currently on the roster of the US National Collegiate team along with current UF outfielder and All-American Wyatt Langford.
Waldrep is the third transfer O’Sullivan has brought in, joining outfielder Colby Thomas (.325, 17 HR, 45 RBI in 42 games at Mercer) and second baseman Dale Thomas (.284, 13 HR, 49 RBI at Coastal Carolina). Dale Thomas, by the way, is hitting .327 with two homers and 18 RBI in 17 games for Winter Park this summer in the wood bat Florida Collegiate Summer League.
SEC FOOTBALL/BASEBALL/BASKETBALL
Auburn: Former Kansas first baseman Cooper McMurray, who hit nine home runs last season, is transferring to Auburn.
Georgia: Assistant strength and conditioning coach Maurice Sims is leaving Georgia to become the director of strength and conditioning for Deion Sanders at Jackson State.
Kentucky: On Kentucky Sports Radio Thursday, head coach Mark Stoops said, “I’m playing against players I know were given money, that the school and NCAA knows were given money and we’re still playing against them. Under the table, not even above the table like it is now.” After making that statement, Stoops made a plea for NIL money to level the playing field: “We need people to understand it is legal and it is okay … Yes, we are behind and yes, we need money, and to set aside pre-marketing dollars for the future of the football program and all of our sports.” … Left fielder Kendal Ewell, who hit 14 homers with 51 RBI at Eastern Kentucky, is transferring to UK. Also transferring in is second baseman Patrick Herrera (.336, 2 HR, 18 RBI) from Northwestern.
Ole Miss: The No. 1 high school basketball player in the state of Arkansas, Rashaud Marshall (6-9, 215, Blytheville, AR) has committed to play for the Rebels, picking Ole Miss over Kansas, Mississippi State and Texas A&M among others.
South Carolina: Former Gamecock wide receiver Eric Shaw is transferring to Troy. Shaw was a 4-star recruit out of high school. He played in eight games in two seasons at South Carolina without catching a single pass … Outfielder Caleb Denny (.331, 11 HR, 57 RBI) is transferring to South Carolina from Oral Roberts.
Tennessee: Athletic director Danny White plans to increase the entire UT budget from $170 million to $200 million within four years. White said that every sports program at UT will be expected to win an SEC title at least every five years.
ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT: Those zany commissioners from the Pac-12 (George Kliavkoff) and ACC (Jim Phillips) are discussing a scheduling alliance between their two conferences, allegedly with ESPN. Under this agreement, the two leagues would get a media rights deal with ESPN and they would schedule marquee games with each other. With Southern Cal and UCLA leaving for the Big Ten, that would leave 10 schools in the Pac-12 while the ACC has 14 plus a 5-game scheduling agreement with Notre Dame.
Let’s start with the notion of marquee games. Clemson-Stanford, Miami-Washington or Florida State-Oregon will not move the TV needle a silly millimeter. Nor will any combination of games you can think of. Notre Dame’s agreement is to play ACC teams but that needle doesn’t move much unless it’s Clemson or Miami.
And there is also that teensy little matter of Phil Knight pledging to do whatever it takes financially to move Oregon into the Pac-12 along with Washington. Both of them are on hold right now as the Big Ten – and everyone else for all that matters – awaits Notre Dame to make up its mind. Whether or not Notre Dame decides to go with the Big Ten (the ACC and the SEC are also options, more on that in a moment), the Big Ten has a logistics problem on its hands with Southern Cal and UCLA. Adding Oregon and Washington won’t solve that problem, but those two plus California and Stanford would certainly help.
As much as the 10 remaining Pac-12 schools say they are committed to preserving the league, you can bet the farm and everything else you own on Oregon, Washington and Oregon leaving for the Big Ten if and when the call comes and for Arizona, Arizona State, Utah and Colorado to leave for the Big 12 the moment there is a media deal in place, which may happen sooner and not later.
As for Notre Dame, the commitment to remain independent is as strong as ever, especially if a streaming rights or network contract can be had that would assure a $50 million or so yearly payout and if the College Football Playoff expands to 12 teams with six at-large teams guaranteed along with the top six conference champs.
Notre Dame is a member of the ACC in everything but football. If the Irish were to commit to joining the ACC in football as well, it would give ESPN reason to renegotiate its media contract. It wouldn’t mean as much money as the SEC or Big Ten will be raking in, but it would be an improvement for every ACC school and it would give the Irish an easier path to the College Football Playoff than they will have if they go to the Big Ten or SEC. The SEC is an option although it’s beginning to seem like the top three options for Notre Dame are (1) independence, (2) Big Ten and (3) ACC.
A few thoughts to jump start your Friday morning:
“Patience, Grasshopper” – Master Po to young Caine from “Kung Fu” TV series
Okay, so you’ve been waiting patiently – or at least as patient as you think is necessary – for Billy Napier to come up with the big scores on the recruiting trail. You wonder out loud why it is that the Gators are making everybody’s short list but somehow, someway the 5-stars are getting away. You wonder why is it that Texas can land Arch Manning while Florida loses Jaden Rashada to Miami. And on and on and on.
I tend to leave recruiting to people who devote the time, energy and resources to offer informed and up to date opinions. I follow recruiting, not quite as closely as I once did, but I follow it just the same and here is what I have concluded about Napier and the Gators:
1. From day one Billy Napier said he was going to recruit players who meet a certain standard. He expects kids to be committed to getting a college degree; willing to work hard at every aspect of life whether that’s in the classroom, the weight room, in their personal lives and on the playing field. Not every kid, he said, is going to meet that standard. Those that can have a chance to be Gators. Those that can’t can go somewhere else.
2. Napier has a comprehensive plan. Call it “the process” if you wish, but whatever you call it, it is a plan that involves building a complete and competitive roster. We’ve seen how rosters get a bit upside down in the past 10-12 years. Will Muschamp was lights out recruiting defensive players and it showed with the product on the field. Muschamp’s offenses lagged way behind because he didn’t put enough emphasis on building a complete roster that is competitive at every single position. Dan Mullen thought you could recruit at Florida the way he recruited at Mississippi State. At MSU he was constantly scouring for diamond in the rough types that only needed a chance to show they could play in the SEC. Playing in the SEC is one thing. Playing well enough to win the SEC is another. And having enough quality players on both sides of the ball to get it done was something he never seemed to grasp. Now, along comes Napier, determined to get the roster balanced out with enough quality players at every position.
3. Everybody in the SEC has 22 players. With 22 quality players there is no margin for error. The teams that break even or perhaps go 7-5 or 8-4 typically have 44 very good players, which means there is margin for error, but very little. The teams that compete for and win championships in the SEC have a minimum of 60 players ready to go at all times so there is a true next man up mentality. The third teamers believe they should be getting second team reps and the second teamers believe they should be first teamers. The first teamers are constantly pushed by the guys below. Napier has 44 players. He needs 16-22 more before the Gators are going to be in the championship hunt consistently.
4. The current recruiting class is picking up momentum slowly but surely. In getting quarterback Marcus Stokes (6-2, 190, Ponte Vedra Beach, FL Nease) to flip from Penn State Thursday then adding running back Treyaun Webb (6-1, 205, Jacksonville, FL Trinity Christian), Napier added two quality 4-star recruits to a 2023 class that is still small in number (11 players) but starting to fill out. There is a good chance the Gators will add a few more pieces to the puzzle this summer, but if he puts an exciting, winning product on the field in the fall, momentum will definitely tilt strongly in Florida’s favor. A top 10 class will be a good building block for the future. I think the Gators could make the top eight but if they surprise everyone on the field, it’s possible they could inch up a bit further in the rankings.
5. If you’ve ever been to Rome then you know what an absolutely remarkable city it is. To have survived through the ages as it has with so much of its history preserved is an absolute miracle. The Rome of today, which is a marvelous showcase of past and present, is proof in that old saying Rome wasn’t built in a day. Just as Rome wasn’t built in a day, neither will Billy Napier’s reconstruction effort of the Florida football program. It begins with a foundation of outstanding players who fit the mould of what Napier knows and understands will work in terms of building a championship roster. It is not going to happen overnight, but everything about Napier’s history tells us it will happen.
6. Let’s not forget the transfer portal. Napier didn’t go as heavy into the transfer portal as even he thought he might, but again it comes down to one basic concept that he discussed after one of the practices in the spring: Don’t bring in players for the sake of simply bringing in players. Bring in players that you know are going to help immediately at a position of need as in right guard O’Cyrus Torrence, running back Montrell Johnson, corner Jalen Kimber and wide receiver Ricky Pearsall.
6. Patience, Grasshopper.
RHP HURSTON WALDREP COMMITS TO UF
Not only was it a great day on the football recruiting trail for Billy Napier, it was quite a day for UF baseball coach Kevin O’Sullivan, who probably landed his Friday night starter Thursday in third team All-American righty Hurston Waldrep from Southern Miss. As a sophomore at Southern Miss, Waldrep went 6-2 with a 3.20 ERA. He struck out an impressive 140 batters in 90 innings while walking only 33, an impressive 4.24-1 strikeout to walk ratio. As a freshman at Southern Miss, the Thomasville, Georgia product was 1-0 (3.31 ERA) with three saves while working exclusively out of the bullpen. In 106-1/3 career innings, Waldrep has allowed only 84 hits while striking out 156 batters.
Waldrep is currently on the roster of the US National Collegiate team along with current UF outfielder and All-American Wyatt Langford.
Waldrep is the third transfer O’Sullivan has brought in, joining outfielder Colby Thomas (.325, 17 HR, 45 RBI in 42 games at Mercer) and second baseman Dale Thomas (.284, 13 HR, 49 RBI at Coastal Carolina). Dale Thomas, by the way, is hitting .327 with two homers and 18 RBI in 17 games for Winter Park this summer in the wood bat Florida Collegiate Summer League.
SEC FOOTBALL/BASEBALL/BASKETBALL
Auburn: Former Kansas first baseman Cooper McMurray, who hit nine home runs last season, is transferring to Auburn.
Georgia: Assistant strength and conditioning coach Maurice Sims is leaving Georgia to become the director of strength and conditioning for Deion Sanders at Jackson State.
Kentucky: On Kentucky Sports Radio Thursday, head coach Mark Stoops said, “I’m playing against players I know were given money, that the school and NCAA knows were given money and we’re still playing against them. Under the table, not even above the table like it is now.” After making that statement, Stoops made a plea for NIL money to level the playing field: “We need people to understand it is legal and it is okay … Yes, we are behind and yes, we need money, and to set aside pre-marketing dollars for the future of the football program and all of our sports.” … Left fielder Kendal Ewell, who hit 14 homers with 51 RBI at Eastern Kentucky, is transferring to UK. Also transferring in is second baseman Patrick Herrera (.336, 2 HR, 18 RBI) from Northwestern.
Ole Miss: The No. 1 high school basketball player in the state of Arkansas, Rashaud Marshall (6-9, 215, Blytheville, AR) has committed to play for the Rebels, picking Ole Miss over Kansas, Mississippi State and Texas A&M among others.
South Carolina: Former Gamecock wide receiver Eric Shaw is transferring to Troy. Shaw was a 4-star recruit out of high school. He played in eight games in two seasons at South Carolina without catching a single pass … Outfielder Caleb Denny (.331, 11 HR, 57 RBI) is transferring to South Carolina from Oral Roberts.
Tennessee: Athletic director Danny White plans to increase the entire UT budget from $170 million to $200 million within four years. White said that every sports program at UT will be expected to win an SEC title at least every five years.
ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT: Those zany commissioners from the Pac-12 (George Kliavkoff) and ACC (Jim Phillips) are discussing a scheduling alliance between their two conferences, allegedly with ESPN. Under this agreement, the two leagues would get a media rights deal with ESPN and they would schedule marquee games with each other. With Southern Cal and UCLA leaving for the Big Ten, that would leave 10 schools in the Pac-12 while the ACC has 14 plus a 5-game scheduling agreement with Notre Dame.
Let’s start with the notion of marquee games. Clemson-Stanford, Miami-Washington or Florida State-Oregon will not move the TV needle a silly millimeter. Nor will any combination of games you can think of. Notre Dame’s agreement is to play ACC teams but that needle doesn’t move much unless it’s Clemson or Miami.
And there is also that teensy little matter of Phil Knight pledging to do whatever it takes financially to move Oregon into the Pac-12 along with Washington. Both of them are on hold right now as the Big Ten – and everyone else for all that matters – awaits Notre Dame to make up its mind. Whether or not Notre Dame decides to go with the Big Ten (the ACC and the SEC are also options, more on that in a moment), the Big Ten has a logistics problem on its hands with Southern Cal and UCLA. Adding Oregon and Washington won’t solve that problem, but those two plus California and Stanford would certainly help.
As much as the 10 remaining Pac-12 schools say they are committed to preserving the league, you can bet the farm and everything else you own on Oregon, Washington and Oregon leaving for the Big Ten if and when the call comes and for Arizona, Arizona State, Utah and Colorado to leave for the Big 12 the moment there is a media deal in place, which may happen sooner and not later.
As for Notre Dame, the commitment to remain independent is as strong as ever, especially if a streaming rights or network contract can be had that would assure a $50 million or so yearly payout and if the College Football Playoff expands to 12 teams with six at-large teams guaranteed along with the top six conference champs.
Notre Dame is a member of the ACC in everything but football. If the Irish were to commit to joining the ACC in football as well, it would give ESPN reason to renegotiate its media contract. It wouldn’t mean as much money as the SEC or Big Ten will be raking in, but it would be an improvement for every ACC school and it would give the Irish an easier path to the College Football Playoff than they will have if they go to the Big Ten or SEC. The SEC is an option although it’s beginning to seem like the top three options for Notre Dame are (1) independence, (2) Big Ten and (3) ACC.
