Report: Two ULL Assistants Expected to Join Florida Gators Staff
The dominos of head coach Billy Napier’s staff have started to fall.
On the day that Napier arrives in Gainesville, the whispers about the staffers that will make up his first staff at the Power Five level became a little bit louder.
According to footballscoop.com, Napier is intending to bring two ULL assistants with him to Florida, one from each side of the ball.
Those staffers appear to be Patrick Toney, defensive coordinator and outside linebackers coach, and Jabbar Juluke, assistant head coach and running backs coach.
Toney, who was with the Ragin’ Cajuns in all four years of Napier’s run as head coach in Lafayette, provides a face of familiarity for Napier in his quest to return Florida to a national powerhouse.
During the 2021 season, Toney’s unit ranked No. 29 in the NCAA in total defense and played a significant role in ULL ranking No. 3 in turnover margin. His defense forced 20 total turnovers.
The ball-hungry attack is a philosophy Napier will look to bring to Florida, bringing along Toney to help him do that.
Toney is expected to assume a similar role at UF.
On the other side of the ball, Juluke is set to be the right-hand man to what Napier tries to accomplish with the Gators on the offensive side of the ball.
Utilizing a power-rushing attack led by a trio of rushers at ULL, the running back position is vital to Napier’s system. As a result, he brings along a familiar face to oversee the Gators' running backs, entrusting Juluke with the staple of his offense.
Juluke has a firm recruiting base in Louisiana, credited for landing players like Grant Delpit, Clyde Edwards-Helaire and Saahdiq Charles during his time at LSU. That tie in the Bayou could pay dividends for the Gators' chances to land high-caliber players like Trevor Etienne and Quency Wiggins from the Boot in the 2022 transition class.
He also played a major role in current Tampa Bay Buccaneers' ball carrier and former No. 4 overall pick Leonard Fournette's final season as the Tigers running backs coach.
The exact role Juluke will assume at UF is undetermined at this time, but his track record suggests that he will have a hand in aiding the development of Florida's running back room.
There are still plenty of spots to be filled on Napier’s staff in the coming days. However, Napier has begun to lay a foundation by bringing Toney and Juluke with him.
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