Florida Gators Assistant Coach Profiles: Who is William Peagler?

Florida Gators head coach Billy Napier is building an army, but that lies not only within his robust support staff, but with his assistant coaches as well.

Photo: William Peagler; Credit: Zach Goodall 

When Florida Gators head coach Billy Napier was introduced as the team's next head coach, he promised the Gator Nation an "army" when describing his incoming coaching staff.

The staff would consist of assistants who have gotten recognition around the college football world as some of the best in the game.

"We're going to hire an army of people here," Napier said on Dec. 5 last year. "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're going to create -- we've got a great vision for the organization that we're going to create here."

Napier, of course, was referring not only to the assistant coaches that he would eventually lock-in but also to the enormous support staff - comprised of 48 individuals that were eventually brought on to help build out the staff.

With that said, over the next couple of weeks, we at AllGators will be releasing profiles to get to know each assistant coach, including their background, recruiting history, quotes and more.

Up next is tight ends coach William Peagler, yet another young, up-and-coming coach in the collegiate ranks.

Background info:

Peagler, 37, began his coaching career at Clemson as a student assistant for the Tigers from 2006-09, it was there he would have his first run-in with Napier. He would move on to coach at his first major collegiate gig with Valdosta State as the team's TEs coach (2010) before moving on to Louisianna as an offensive quality control assistant and graduate assistant (2011-13).

From there, Peagler would jump back and fourth between college and the prep level, coaching for a year at Coffeyville Community College as the team's run game coordinator/recruiting coordinator (2014) and at Olive Branch High School as the team's offensive coordinator/OL coach (2015). 

His collegiate coaching career would take off from there as Peagler was hired as an offensive quality control assistant at Minnesota (2016) before he spent a year in Athens as Georgia's OL graduate assistant coach.

Peagler would then meet Napier for a second time in 2018, coaching at UL as the team's Director of Player Personnel/Quality Control Coordinator (2018) before moving on to Colorado as the program's offensive director of quality control (2019) and finally as a running backs coach for Michigan State over the past two years (2020-21).

Peagler is credited with aiding the development of former Spartans running back Kenneth Walker III, who transferred to Michigan State in 2021 and rushed for 1,686 yards and 18 touchdowns before the Seattle Seahawks selected him in the second round of the 2022 NFL Draft.

Needless to say, in just a short time Peagler has had an extensive coaching history, one that he likely hopes to continue for the long haul at Florida.

Recruiting history:

Though Peagler has played a role in a lot of different places, he doesn't have too much experience on the trail, at least as a primary or secondary recruiter. Still, Peagler has a background in securing targets, including Michigan State defensive lineman Alex VanSumeren, a highly-touted player from the state of Michigan.

Peagler also secured a 2021 commitment from Michigan State athlete Dilon Tatum, prior to leaving the program.

Still, Peagler made quick work after his hiring this year by Napier, securing a commitment from athlete Arlis Boardingham as the primary recruiter for the expected TE convert. He also was the primary recruiter for TE Hayden Hansen, who is also expected to join Florida's program in the fall.

How it's going:

Aside from landing a couple of tight ends already for Florida, Peagler was instrumental in helping Gators TE Dante Zanders convert back to the tight end position this spring. Zanders looks to be one of the team's top TEs this year.

Quotable:

Stay tuned to AllGators for continuous coverage of Florida Gators football, basketball and recruiting. Follow along on social media at @SI_AllGators on Twitter and Florida Gators on Sports Illustrated on Facebook.