Gators Not Done With Transfer Portal, Napier Says There’s “More to Come”
Photo: Billy Napier; Credit: Zach Goodall
For the Florida Gators, crafting the perfect roster will be a major part of its process during the first year under head coach Billy Napier. This will come particularly through recruiting, but also through the NCAA Transfer Portal, something the first-year SEC head coach plans to take advantage of.
Already, Florida has seen a few players join the club via the portal, including quarterback Jack Miller, offensive lineman Kamryn Waites and running back Montrell Johnson. All three were made official recently, with Johnson being the latest, announced officially yesterday.
Still, Napier said during his press conference on Friday that there are more to come, and the evaluation period he and his coaches were able to have during Florida's Bowl Game week was crucial.
"I think we were fortunate in that we were able to kind of be around and observe bowl practice, right? We put the players to an evaluation workout," Napier indicated.
"We made profile tapes of every player that was returning on the team. I think we're able to wrap our head around about the current team, where we're at positions of concern, from a depth perspective, where is there a gap in depth."
Florida is headed into a season of the unknown as far as the current roster is concerned. They've already had multiple players transfer out of the program, including wide receiver Jacob Copeland, pass rusher Khris Bogle and linebacker Mohamoud Diabate.
As far as depth is concerned, running backs Malik Davis and Dameon Pierce have both elected to enter the 2022 NFL Draft, creating a need at RB. That's where Johnson comes in handy, and there will be other positions Napier and his staff elect to make additions to over the next week as a result of the attrition.
"Now, there's more to come," he said. "I think you could see us add a number of players over the next 10 days or so, maybe a little less than that, eight to 10 days. So, we're still in the process of kind of working on that part of our team."
The Gators, of course, are also in the midst of a major recruiting push. With the dead period now over, it's time for the program to make sure it lands some of the best recruits in the country to join in on Napier's first recruiting class for the 2022 cycle. That's where the path takes the program over the next few weeks, Napier says.
"You got from a recruiting perspective here, you have a window to get them in now. Okay, and then you got kind of a sprint until February Signing Day," Napier said.
"And then you have another opportunity to add some players kind of, prior to summer school start, right. So, three windows of time here to add players, and certainly, we're working hard in all three of those areas."
The NCAA Transfer Portal has been one of the ways Florida has often used to fill out their roster, even under former HC Dan Mullen. With Napier's first year a bit behind the eight ball as far as building a roster, it can be a unique tool to use in order to make the most of what the program has going on.
Don't be surprised to see a few more additions made over the next few days, especially in key positions of need.
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