Florida head football coach Billy Napier was once expected to be fired after the 2024 season. Not only were his bags packed, but his replacement was picked. Lane Kiffin was widely predicted to take Napier's job.
One vote of confidence from the university and five wins in the Gators' last seven games later, Napier might have more momentum than any other coach in the SEC. And Kiffin looks destined to continue getting close, but ending up with no cigar, at Ole Miss.
On Friday, Florida throttled Tulane 33-8 in the Gasparilla Bowl after pitching a shutout until the game's final minute. DJ Lagway went for 300 yards and a touchdown in a glimpse into what the future will look like in Gainesville, and the running game produced another 199 yards of offense.
Defensively, the Gators feasted on a Tulane offense missing starter Darian Mensah, who transferred to Duke. Ty Thompson was in over his head in Mensah's place, throwing three interceptions and 18 incompletions to just 11 completions.
It was a complete performance from Napier's team. And better yet, it represents progress. Eight wins are proof of concept, especially after UF figured it out with Lagway in the second half of the season.
Napier now has a successful season to hype up to recruits. The recruits were already lining up for their No. 11-ranked 2025 class, but now there's even more hope. And there's nothing more important for a college program to have in the NIL era than that.
With pay-to-play NIL quickly becoming the institutional norm, schools will now be emboldened to spend even gaudier totals on recruits. Florida already had the donor support to be a player in NIL, but now they have every incentive to go all-in right now.
2025 is a defining year for collegiate athletics with the NIL rule changes. Florida can make it a defining inflection point in Napier's tenure as the Gators look to transition from a bowl game-eligible team to a College Football Playoff contender.