Florida Gators Assistant Coach Profiles: Who is Billy Gonzales?
Photo: Billy Gonzales; Credit: Alex Shepherd
Billy Napier's arrival in Gainesville last season marked a drastic program overhaul from top to bottom.
Gearing his early focus toward compiling an "army" of sorts for his staff, Napier filled several niche positions in an attempt to elicit smooth operation at all levels, on and off the field.
"We're going to hire an army of people here," Napier said on Dec. 5, 2021. "We're going to create an infrastructure not only in the personnel department but also from an on-campus recruiting, creative media, name, image and likeness. We've got a great vision for the organization that we're going to create here."
It resulted in a 48-person support staff paired with the on-field coaches.
Over one year later, change — as expected in the profession — swept through the ranks of his army. Several off-field positions remain vacant deep into the offseason.
And, most notably, defensive coordinator/safeties coach Patrick Toney, wide receivers coach Keary Colbert and tight ends coach William Peagler moved onto new endeavors, trying their hand at the professional level as NFL teams came calling.
Those on-field spots required filling.
Last offseason, All Gators looked at the background, recruiting history, quotes and more of the following returning coaches: Jabbar Juluke, Rob Sale, Darnell Stapleton, Sean Spencer, Mike Peterson, Jay Bateman, Corey Raymond and Mark Hocke.
Now, after the aforementioned personnel movement, we update the series by getting to know the three new faces set to grace the Gators' sideline in 2023.
After examining defensive coordinator Austin Armstrong on Saturday, AG turns its attention to wide receivers coach Billy Gonzales.
Background information
Back to the future with Billy Gonzales.
For the third time in his storied assistant coaching career, the unpredictable road of the coaching profession led Gonzales to Gainesville.
Following the departure of wide receivers coach Keary Colbert to the NFL — taking the same position with the Denver Broncos — after just one season, Napier cast a wide net in his search for a replacement. Gonzales, 51, quickly emerged as a candidate for the opening and was announced as the new, and old, face to guide the wideouts group moving forward on March 23.
Breaking into the profession in 1994 with a Division-III coaching position at MacMurray, Gonzales quickly earned promotion into Division-I as a graduate assistant in 1995 at Kent State, instructing the Golden Flashes' running backs and wide receivers through 2001.
Then, he began a well-documented partnership with head coach Urban Meyer, following him from Bowling Green (2001-02) to Utah 2003-04) before his first appearance at Florida came in 2005. Gonzales aided the Gators to new heights as an integral asset in the program's two national championship victories in 2006 and 2008.
Wide receiver Percy Harvin notably emerged from Gonzales' group to lead an explosive offensive attack alongside Heisman-winning quarterback Tim Tebow.
Stints at LSU (pass-game coordinator and WRs) and Illinois (co-offensive coordinator and WRs) followed before former Gators championship-winning offensive coordinator Dan Mullen, turned head coach, hired him at Mississippi State (2013-17) in a similar capacity.
Remaining with Mullen when he was hired as UF's head coach in 2018, Gonzales helped realize impressive offensive success that rivaled only the mid-1990s championship teams led by Steve Spurrier at Florida until Mullen's dismissal following a week 12 loss to Missouri in 2021.
Gonzales put his thumbprint on Kadarius Toney, Van Jefferson, Freddie Swain, Tyrie Cleveland, Josh Hammond, Trevon Grimes and Kyle Pitts, each of which earned opportunities in the NFL.
The Thornton, Colo. native returns to the Sunshine State's flagship University after a one-season hiatus, which he spent in Boca Raton (Fla.) under Willie Taggart at FAU.
Napier and Co. hope Gonzales' re-alignment with the Gators program will bring equally profitable returns as it did during his first two stints.
After compiling an impressively dynamic recruiting class in the 2023 cycle filled with Andy Jean, Aidan Mizell and Eugene Wilson III, not to mention the addition of slot receiver Ricky Pearsall last offseason, during Gonzales' absence, the Gators boast several high-ceiling pieces for him to mold into high-caliber pass-catching weapons.
Gonzales joined the fold officially on day five of spring practice this offseason.
Recruiting History
Gonzales has witnessed ups and downs as a recruiter throughout his career.
Question marks, as a result, often arise when discussing his resume in the area, sometimes to the point of overshadowing his undeniable excellence as a developer.
His prized pull dates back to the 2006 class, when the nation's top-rated athlete and No. 2 overall player Percy Harvin chose the Gators over a bevy of blue blood programs. Harvin's storied history at Florida goes without saying.
Since then, Gonzales has reeled in several top talents, including Chris Dunkley (2010), Jacob Copeland (2018) and Xzavier Henderson (2020), among several other average-to-above-average skills at his position. However, none panned out at Florida as each finished their collegiate careers elsewhere (USF, Maryland and Cincinnati).
Toward the end of his second term at Florida, Gonzales' approach grew stale as he failed to deviate from the long-limbed, X-receiver-type players on the trail. The lack of variety became an evident hurdle, particularly in the slot following Kadarius Toney's exit post-2020.
Volume was also a concern, as the transfer portal became Florida's means of stacking talent at the spot due to underwhelming hauls from the prep level.
Outside of the wideout position, however, Gonzales has proven beneficial as a South Florida recruiter, aiding the Gators to bring high-level defenders Kaiir Elam, Jon Bostic and Derek Wingo to Gainesville for their respective collegiate careers. It's provided the hope for improvement and consistency Florida faithful yearn for from him.
Gonzales will look to meet those standards as he operates under increased oversight and an extensive evaluation process implemented by Napier for all assistants.
How's it going?
Gonzales has hit the ground running in the talent acquisition department under new leadership, targeting various body types and skill sets to fill holes in a unit in dire need of depth and firepower.
Carrollwood Day (Tampa, Fla.) talent Izaiah Williams pledged himself to the Gators in early May, providing a potential kickstart to the spot's recruitment efforts.
Accordingly, UF is trending for several wideout options inside and outside of the state of Florida heading into a crucial summer period, highlighted by a busy three-weekend stretch of official visitors in June.
The program presumably rests in an unspoken top two alongside Clemson for one of the most talented prospects on their board at the moment in TJ Moore, has made considerable headway in the recruitment of Mississippi-based slot wideout Mario Craver and is slotted in at No. 1 in Louisiana native Michael Turner's recruitment — he shared with All Gators at the time of their offer.
Not mentioned are the pair of Chaminade-Madonna Prep talents Jeremiah Smith (Ohio State commit) and Joshisa Trader. Both members of the elite tandem have individually expressed interest in the Florida program this offseason, although securing either of their services is viewed as an uphill battle.
However, even without Smith and Trader, adding the former trio of prospects — each of which can occupy a different position within the room — to Williams, Gonzales can reconcile the spot's depth for the future while posting his highest-graded recruiting campaign in over a decade.
Quotable
"Always respected Billy G. I was a former receiver coach, had a ton of respect for Billy G as a young coach. You know, I thought his guys always really played well. Very fundamentally sound, played well without the ball. Did a good job evaluating in recruiting and then did a good job with any talent in this room. So, Billy G has been an absolute professional since the day he arrived. He's a good man. He's got character, I think he cares about the players, and he's certainly an expert at what he does. So, and he works in recruiting. So it's been a great fit. And there's a lot that we can learn from him and his experience here. He's been here and been a part of some really successful teams and knows this place well." — Billy Napier on Gonzales.
"Oh yeah, that's good. Been going against him since he's been here, you know what I'm saying. [We're] getting after it like it's a Saturday night during the day. It's about competing. It's making each other better." — Gators cornerback coach Corey Raymond on Gonzales.
Stay tuned to All Gators for continuous coverage of Florida Gators football, basketball and recruiting. Follow along on social media at @AllGatorsOnFN on Twitter and All Gators on FanNation-Sports Illustrated on Facebook.
Get your Gators football, basketball and other sporting events tickets from SI Tickets here.
