Gators HC Billy Napier Emphasizes Patience In 'Talent-Acquisition Business'

The Florida Gators have struggled on the recruiting trail as of late. New head coach Billy Napier looks to win in a "talent acquisition business" with patience for his transition class.

Photo: Scott Stricklin and Billy Napier; Credit: Alex Shepherd 

The expectation for Florida football is to win championships, an ongoing effort that has seen three head coaches come and go since 2010.

In the first two regimes, talent was overshadowed by poor on-field coaching. In the third, it was the opposite. Now, Florida hopes the fourth time’s the charm for doing both at a high level.

First, Gators head coach Billy Napier will have to reconcile the oft-criticized recruiting blunders by the previous staff's in an attempt to stack the Florida roster with an abundance of game-changing athletes. The same thing UF's biggest competitors, Nick Saban and Kirby Smart, have done at their respective schools.

On Sunday, when he was introduced as the next head coach of the Florida Gators, Napier spoke candidly about his desire to treat the recruiting process with utmost importance.

"We want to be the other team that the other team dreads to play," Napier said. “We're going to have a very specific plan in recruiting and evaluating and that will start with a major emphasis in this state. This is a talent-acquisition business. We're going to work tirelessly in this area."

Despite turning down numerous offers to leave the University of Louisiana at Lafayette in recent years, Napier's decision to hold out on the perfect opportunity can pay dividends on the recruiting landscape.

When he says that he believes the history behind the school and timing is right for Florida, it’s easy to see that he means it.

“This is one of the few places in the country -- you're talking about a championship culture,” Napier said Sunday. “If we can't sign 25 good players at the University of Florida, then you're going to be looking for a new coach. We've got a lot to sell here.”

Serving as music to Florida fans' ears, Napier's expectations for recruiting are equipped by the administration's commitment.

He expressed his gratitude to Athletic Director Scott Stricklin and the UF athletic department for making the necessary changes he outlined during the negotiation process to a wide range of areas.

"I think that the administration's willingness to invest in our vision and this organization that we're going to create if you combine that with the resources that they're providing to hire an exceptional staff, I think that the new facility is going to give us an advantage that maybe we haven't had before here," Napier said.

I can imagine that conversation went something like, "scared money don't make money, Mr. Stricklin."

"Their willingness to create those resources and put the finances that need to be in place to do that. Can't compliment them enough for that.

“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 [perspective]. We've got a great vision for the organization that we're going to create here.”

Step one in that vision will be acquiring high-level prospects for the 2022 transition class in the next 60 days. It's a complex process that he said will likely result in losing out on those who choose to sign early on Dec. 15 due to the lack of a relationship that can be built over a 10-day span.

However, Napier understands the task at hand and is focused on letting patience prevail in obtaining a serviceable foundation of talent, both out of high school and via the transfer portal.

"You can expect us to be very conservative, very patient, trying to position ourselves for post-signing day to evaluate all the players that are left over, all the players in the transfer portal," he said. "We're going to go through a very thorough evaluation process."

Comparing his December arrival in Gainesville as a player getting into the game with three minutes left in the fourth quarter, Napier doesn't want to rush into any rash decisions just because the clock is ticking.

"I think the last thing we need to do here is make some mistakes."

Instead, he is content with targeting who's left available following Early Signing Day, allowing himself and those remaining on his priority prospect board to build beyond surface-level relationships that he feels are imperative for both sides.

"I think that for me, I think it's important in recruiting that both sides understand each other and have had time to build relationships, to have conversations, to know who is going to coach you, to fully understand what the plan is," he said.

"I think it's an injustice to them, and it's an injustice to us to all of a sudden just hurry up and elope right here at the last second."

While it may seem underwhelming to Florida fans initially, his attention to detail and desire to build lasting relationships is a promising sign for the future of Gators football and recruiting.

By making it an emphasis to connect with recruits, Napier has the opportunity to make splashes on the trail that have been absent from UF's resumé since it held the third-ranked class in 2013.

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