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Hey, Florida fans!
Only 19 more days until the first Gators game of the season!
And if that’s not exciting enough, we have a flurry of commitments to discuss as fall camp continues.
🤩 Big recruiting week leaves Gator Nation starstruck
Excitement surrounds Gator Nation following five commitments from five players in the past week.
The string of pledges began on Wednesday when local product Jaden Robinson committed to Florida, flipping from South Carolina. The four-star (according to both the 247 Sports Composite and the On3 Consensus) from Columbia High School in Lake City is Florida’s first linebacker commit in its 2023 recruiting class. In this episode of Gators Breakdown, host David Waters breaks down the commitment.
On Saturday, Florida got another commit from an elite player. Four-star defensive lineman Kelby Collins from Gardendale, Alabama, pledged to the Gators over the Crimson Tide. David, in another episode of the podcast, discusses the big announcement.
The Gators then hit big on the recruiting trail for the second time on Saturday, as four-star defensive lineman Will Norman pledged to Florida. Norman attends IMG Academy, making him the third player from the football powerhouse in Bradenton who has committed to Florida under Napier.
And Napier and the Gators still weren’t done for the weekend. Florida continued to fill out its 2023 defensive line class with a commitment Sunday from four-star Kamran James. The defensive lineman is from Olympia High School in Orlando.
Then Napier and Florida got their first commit in the 2024 recruiting class with a pledge Sunday from elite linebacker Myles Graham, a four-star from Woodward Academy in Atlanta.
“The Gators aren’t going away on the recruiting trail,” coach Billy Napier said.
David, in the latest Gators Breakdown episode, weights in on Sunday’s two commits.
Florida’s 2023 recruiting class now has 20 verbal commitments. The latest commits have propelled the Gators up into the top 10 in the 2023 recruiting team rankings, with both the 247 Sports Composite and the On3 Consensus listing them 10th.
😭 Tears of joy that Florida’s football facility is finally open
Florida has been nowhere to be found in the college football facilities arms race, but that changes now that the standalone football facility is finally open.
The doors opened Sunday at the James W. “Bill” Heavener Football Training Center, continuing an exciting weekend for Gator Nation.
Florida Gators senior writer Scott Carter wrote about the excitement of the players as they got to explore the $85 million, 142,000-square-foot building.
“Yesterday was a big deal. A big step relative to us to Florida Gator football,” Napier said Monday of moving into the new facility. “No question, it’s going to affect recruiting. I think more importantly to me, it’s going to affect the quality of experience for the current player.”
The Florida Gators Football Twitter account tweeted out both photos and video of the reveal. You can also take a look at the inside of the facility yourself by viewing this video and these photos.
🍂 Napier shares fall camp updates
Napier held a news conference Monday, saying this is a big week for the Gators on the practice field.
“Practice 10 to 15 is going to be very competitive on our football team,” he said.
Napier said that the team moved out of the hotel on Sunday and that he’s looking to see if the players can maintain their discipline as they go back to their normal housing.
As of Sunday, Napier said, they had a 10-day window until they turn the page to preparation for their first opponent of the 2022 season in Utah.
“I think between now and then, we’ve got our iron out the wrinkles and we got to uncover any issues that will affect our preparation for the game,” he said.
Napier also discussed the scrimmage on Saturday.
“Really good work. I’ve taught both sides of the ball. We’ve taken steps forward. The film is much cleaner maybe than spring practice. I think, fundamentally, we’re a lot further along. I do think the communication is improving. We still have quite a few plays where maybe we were, you know, nine or 10 out of 11 from an execution standpoint, and you know, it affects the play, obviously. But overall good energy. I thought the intangibles were there,” he said.
“But overall a lot to learn. And I think the big thing is we had a very physical scrimmage, but we were able to stay healthy and make progress.”
Overall, Napier said, he believes the team is heading in the right direction.
🏈 Pearsall day-to-day
The Gators received an injury scare earlier last with junior wide receiver Ricky Pearsall.
Jacob Rudner, with Swamp247, reported that the transfer from Arizona State is considered day-to-day after suffering a foot injury during practice Tuesday.
According to Gator Sports, Pearsall was among players in non-contact jerseys at Thursday’s practice and was wearing a walking boot on his lower left leg after reportedly suffering a bone bruise on his foot.
In this Gators Breakdown episode, David provides an update on Pearsall and other storylines surrounding fall camp.
🐊 Gators focusing on improving tackling, penalties
If the Gators are to improve from last season, two factors will come into play: tackling and penalties.
In a Gators Breakdown episode, David reacts to what Napier, senior linebacker Amari Burney, sophomore linebacker Derek Wingo and redshirt junior tight end Dante Zanders had to say last week about improving in those areas.
Also, hear from running back Nay’Quan Wright on bouncing back from a late-season injury.
😕 Florida among notable preseason AP poll leftouts
The Associated Press preseason college football poll was released Monday, and like the USA Today coaches’ poll, the Gators were not ranked among the top 25 teams.
Florida did receive votes, but only got 14 points.
Meanwhile, Alabama was voted No. 1, receiving 54 first-place votes for a total of 1,566 points.
Ohio State is No. 2 with six first-place votes (1,506 points) from the media panel, and defending national champion Georgia is third with three first-place votes (1,455 points).
FULL STORY: No. 1 Alabama tops preseason AP Top 25; Ohio St, ‘Dawgs next
The Utes, who the Gators will host in the Swamp to start their season, are ranked seventh.
Florida State is also not ranked, marking the first time both the Gators and the Seminoles have been unranked to start the season since 1974.
Another notable team left out of the rankings was LSU, led by new coach Brian Kelly. The Bayou Bengals will start the season unranked for the first time 2000, Nick Saban’s first of five seasons as coach of the Tigers.
But despite Florida and LSU being left out, the Southeastern Conference has six teams ranked. Three of those teams are in the top six — the fourth straight season that’s happened.
Click here to see the entire poll.
✉️ Send us your Gators thoughts & questions
David and I want to hear from you. Do you have any thoughts or questions about the Gators football program? Agree or disagree with something we’ve said? Let us know here, and we’ll share our responses to your questions.
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