Five 2025 New Years Resolutions for Florida Gators Football

The Florida Gators had a nice finish to the 2024 season, and there a few avenues they can take to an even better 2025

Here are some New Years resolutions for a better Gators football team in 2024 / Doug Engle / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Florida Gators Football ended the 2024 season on a high note. They overcame a rough first half that saw Napier on the brink of losing his job to finish 8-5 and win their first bowl game since 2019. 

Expectations are only going up for the Gators heading into 2025. Here are some New Year’s resolutions that’ll ensure they get to the next level. 

Hire an Offensive Coordinator 

The first two are going to be obvious resolutions, but we’re all thinking of them. Head coach Billy Napier needs that offensive coordinator. Even if Russ Callaway gets some playcalling duties next season, Napier would benefit, at least from an optics standpoint, if he brought in a co-offensive coordinator. 

The Gators have the talent. That wide receiver core has so much promise, and the running game has already proven it can get the job done. Finding a system that truly maximizes these players would make the Gators lethal. 

Finish at Least 9-3 in the Regular Season

Finishing 7-5 given the circumstances was impressive for the Gators. But they were very close to upsetting Tennessee and Georgia and getting a couple extra wins. 

While 9-3 might still sound low for some, hear this out. Obviously, better than that is ideal. But had the Gators beaten these two rivals, who finished in the top 10 and made the College Football Playoff, they have a good shot to be an at-large bit. They would have been in the SEC Championship Game against Texas, as they would have then had the second-best conference record. 

They might have missed out on the playoff by suffering a fourth loss in the title game, but it shows you how close they were to catapulting themselves into the conversation. With a healthy DJ Lagway in a neutral site duel, maybe a rematch goes differently and they lock down an automatic bid. 

In the modern, 12-team playoff era, those two more regular-season wins could be all they need. They certainly have the upcoming schedule to make that record work for them. 

A Fourth Gators Heisman Winner?

The hype for quarterback DJ Lagway is real. The only way for him to outdo the hype from next season is to enter the Heisman chatter. 

Vegas already likes his odds quite a bit. Entering the Gasparilla Bowl, he had the fifth-best Heisman odds for 2025. So that means he’s already viewed as being in striking distance of being a finalist - just needs to move up one spot. 

Based on where he already stands, he just needs to take that step forward. The deep ball is there, and he without a doubt has the weapons now. He just needs to iron a few things out. 

He leads the Gators to a strong year with the schedule they have and the voters won’t be able to ignore him. 

Run the Baugh to 1,000 Yards

Jadan Baugh quickly rose to prominence in the Gators rushing attack once he started to get more snaps in the middle of the season. With Montrell Johnson Jr. heading to the draft, Baugh is the top running back now. 

The goal for his sophomore year is to get him to 1,000 rushing yards. He finished with 673 rushing yards in 2023. If you stretch his pace from the Kentucky game onward across the 13-game slate, he has 965 yards. He’s much closer to reaching that 1,000-yard plateau than you realize. 

In the right system - taking us back to the first resolution - the Gators should have no trouble utilizing multiple running backs and having a guy reach a big milestone. 

Build on that Defensive Showing to End the Season 

The defense highlighted last season’s turnaround. They were finally turning the ball over, picking up nine in the final three games. The defense sacked the opposing quarterback and absurd 19 times in that same stretch. 

Let’s not forget the defense also sacked Georgia quarterback Carson Beck twice and picked him off three times. They nearly did it a fourth. 

It’s been a long time since they’ve looked this good on defense, even if the opponent is still moving the ball down the field. They did the most important thing and that is keeping them off the board. 

Build. Upon. That. 

I know in the modern day that quarterback is everything. But there's an old saying that can still ring true, and that's defense wins championships.