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Post by wahhappen on May 16, 2024 13:54:04 GMT -5
And he was No.32 in the 2022 rankings. I can't see real good, is that a positive or negative trend? It's a good thing we loaded up on talent the past couple of years.
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Post by wahhappen on May 16, 2024 10:03:32 GMT -5
Yeah I didn't realize that his stock had fallen so far that he would have to walk-on. Clearly the kid doesn't interview well. I also didn't realize he was rated n the bottom 3% of qualifying DBs by PFF. Strange times. If he was in the bottom 3% in 2023 after being touted as the #1 CB prospect, I am sure we can find a way to develop him to within 1% - 2% of the bottom in 2024.
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Post by wahhappen on May 15, 2024 20:55:52 GMT -5
The system is starting to run on all cylinders now baby, for better or worse, we got him............ ESPN LINKThat’s right. It is all going to plan. We purposefully missed on him last year knowing he would have a poor attitude and fall from grace for us to get him on the cheap. Classic money ball move - most likely due to our NFL GM that was just added. It all fits together like magic once it gets rolling. So much unfinished business will be taken care of for years to come.
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Post by wahhappen on May 15, 2024 12:55:47 GMT -5
Shit like this makes me more hopeless than getting beat by Arkansas because we don't know how to stop the clock. Calm down. We got a new off-field analyst for the kicker to fix this i.e. the system is now built. Did I mention he came from the NFL and we now run NFL style practices? We didn't used to do that, and now we do. #culture(losing)
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Post by wahhappen on May 15, 2024 12:05:54 GMT -5
hailfloridahail.com/posts/florida-football-billy-napier-is-exploring-a-tempting-gamble-with-cormani-mcclain-01hxp9bp7nhbLots of gems in here. My personal favorite: "It's also fascinating when Napier has spent the last two years meticulously crafting the locker room, taking a snail's pace approach in the transfer portal because he wants to make sure guys are the right fit, to turn around and explore bringing on a player who seemingly goes against what he has tried to build." It is "fascinating" to watch the sunshine pumpers continue to pretend this is all part of some master plan. Evidently only productive players who are good enough to have better options playing for a real coach and program (sad but true, right now CWT obviously doesn't meet that criterion and with the damage that Gator Nation has allowed the DDD to do neither does the program) need to be weeded out as CWT "meticulously crafts the locker room." Of the many bad looks that our current regime, program, media, and significant portion of the fanbase put out into the universe the whole "that guy has a bad attitude" thing may be the worst. It makes us a joke in the eyes of NFL people (when Princely goes in the first round next year multiple teams will have debunked the "he takes plays off" myth), burns bridges with high school coaches, gives ammunition to rival coaches for negative recruiting, and alienates just about everybody in the blue chip community which is close-knit and/or incestuous depending on your take. No successful staff/coach does that, they go out of their way to do the opposite. That's why Proctor is heading back to Bama to start at LT for 2 years before becoming a first round draft pick. It's why Deion despite McClain having a clear attitude and performance problem was accountable and said "I hope he finds someone who can help him bring out his potential because he's a talented kid. I'm sorry I wasn't that coach and we weren't that staff." People forget, but Princely gave an interview where he was complimentary of Napier and how much he cares about his players when he first left. Fast forward a couple months where Gator Nation has been saying he took plays off and didn't work and crickets from the coaching staff as far as refuting those rumors. Considering there's millions of dollars on the line can you really blame the kid for speaking what is probably the truth about how he wasn't coached on the complexities of coverage? I certainly don't. Like everything else, I've heard a lot of talk about how accountable and big picture thinking Napier is. I have seen the exact opposite. This was the one that jumped out at me also. It's cute how the media still goes through this charade of how Napier's shit recruiting has anything to do with his stylistic preference. I am sure he and his staff (in some of the things they are doing in house) sit around a media wall with a whiteboard and meticulously weed out which 5 star recruits they really want and which ones they will be casting back out into the open sea as leftovers for the poor and disadvantaged schools who are not wise enough to stay away.
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Post by wahhappen on May 14, 2024 14:23:43 GMT -5
Glad I didn’t spend the $11 to read the rest of the article then. If by chance we do end up outside the top 25 in offense, we’ll make up for it on defense and special teams. We have the talent. I mean, we have almost used all of our scholarships this year.
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Post by wahhappen on May 13, 2024 20:14:51 GMT -5
So, it would be kind of frustrating that it took 2 years for Napier to acknowledge that the S&C approach he came in with wasn't working and once he realized it he made sweeping changes, but the crazy part is this: A) Hocke didn't work for CWT for 2 years. He was the head of his S&C department for 6 years starting at Louisiana. Before that he worked with CWT at Bama. It shouldn't take 2 years to realize your opponents are bigger and stronger than you. It damn sure shouldn't take 6. B) CWT left Hocke in the building (his contract was guaranteed) so now he's the Director of Player Relations and Assistant Head Coach because why the Hell not? CWT is also helping him to develop into more of an on-field role because "he's always been interested in that sort of stuff." Did I miss something? When exactly did the UF job become a place where the head coach could have losing seasons and still do his buddies a solid by getting them some on the job training? This shit is unbelievable. These are the types of things that are extremely frustrating right now. Before CWT got here, part of his initial appeal was that he had spent years with Saban and Dabo learning (On the Job Training), and then built and developed his own system which was proven to be successful at Louisiana. Remember, he was so well prepared that SS didn’t even need to interview anyone else for the job. All these stupid staff moves that don’t address real issues, the “systems are now built” garbage, and the genuine attitude of figuring things out along the way, make me want to slap someone. Over the years I have come to learn that when someone starts bragging about being a firefighter, most of the time, they are the one who started the fire in the first place. The saddest part is most of the fan base has convinced themselves we do not deserve better.
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Post by wahhappen on May 10, 2024 15:34:21 GMT -5
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Post by wahhappen on May 9, 2024 16:00:39 GMT -5
www.cbssports.com/college-football/rankings/cbs-sports-rankings/45 in this one. Home underdog to 47 to open the season. We've dropped in the preseason rankings every year he's been here. He changes nothing and says "we're ready now, we were just figuring it out," as the roster gets progressively less talented. For the life of me I don't understand how the fanbase is okay with this. There is an odd mix of information out there right now. For example, the majority of the articles I have read regarding the status of the program indicate (as if none of these things were within his control during his first two seasons) that 2024 will be the most talented roster we've had in years. Napier has not yet had the "luxury" of a returning QB since he has been here. This is the most veteran squad he has had. Our staff has been revamped and is ready to analyze the shit out of the league. Yet, we can't expect to win more than 7 games at best? What are we doing here? The fact is nobody is clamouring for the UF gig because every year we entertain this clown show, we get further from a plug-and-play championship contender and closer to a complete rebuild. It's the same reason CWT can't keep elite talent. If we had shown any signs of life between 2021 and 2023, guys would have stayed on roster and recruits would not have flipped. Yeah, those guys did not believe and did not "buy in." And we point the finger at their character instead of where the blame should logically land - the guy in charge of building something the team can believe in. It is very interesting to me that all of our "problem" players fit in just fine at other schools.
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Post by wahhappen on May 8, 2024 15:56:52 GMT -5
You guys. It is negativity like this thread that is causing us to drop in these rankings. Nobody wants to come to UF anymore because we are running off all of the good coaches before they even have a chance to get their recruits and build things their way. Case-in-point: Look at Mullet, McGoober, Muschamp, and Zook. Those guys are now thriving since leaving Gainesville.
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Post by wahhappen on May 6, 2024 15:58:03 GMT -5
I will admit the TN line jumped out at me considering the history and that we just beat them convincingly last year. Then I remembered that we were at home, played our best game of the year, took a 26-7 lead into halftime and only scored three points the rest of the way. Etienne also rushed for more yards than Mertz threw for.
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Post by wahhappen on May 6, 2024 15:37:45 GMT -5
Are you talking about Rob Roberts? He jumped off the Empire State Building this one time and he only sprained his ankle.
Yeah, Vegas is dumb and clearly has not yet received the news of Mertz' unfinished business. My hope is that the money line doesn't drastically swing once bets come pouring in on the Gators' side before my second mortgage check posts to my bank account to wager.
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Post by wahhappen on May 4, 2024 13:38:14 GMT -5
We have had four consecutive losing seasons before, but it was in the 1930s. I researched it for the Napier accomplishments thread in anticipation of what this season will bring. We won’t break .500 this year. We won’t win any games we should lose and will probably lose one or two we should win. Samford will tell the tale. If that game is close it’s going to a very long season. I’m not sure the Samford game will be fair. Remember, we were able to steal away one Mr. Callaway. They are probably still trying to recover from losing his Air Raid offense. Not only that, but it is a double whammy having to go up against him as co-offensive coordinator. He won’t be calling any plays, but he has damn sure taken ownership of some of the other non-specific parts of the offense that happens behind closed doors. Also, he is going to unleash Boardingham all over their asses.
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Post by wahhappen on May 3, 2024 16:17:48 GMT -5
I follow your logic - to a point. How far do we allow the program to fall before we cut bait? Normally when a coach is going to be successful, you see tangible signs of progress no later than year two. Year two for Napier was worse than year one. We failed to qualify for a bowl game at a time when more than half of FBS goes to one. The gap between us and even the mediocre teams in the SEC appears to be widening. Both current players and recruits are bailing. Napier seems to have no intention of fixing the obvious deficiencies in his "system" (I hesitate to call it that). I do have to give him one thing: He is doing it his own way, and if he is going down, it isn't going to be while doing what someone else suggested or mandated. Yeah it needs to be fixed asap. Look what happened to Nebraska. Right now we are still in the “F around ‘phase. This needs to be corrected before we enter “find out” territory. This is my (albeit, sarcastic) point. Why are we (by "we" I mean the majority of the fanbase, media, and University) so reluctant to acknowledge that something has to change soon in order to keep this experiment alive. I get trying to stay positive for potential recruiting and future coaching searches, but come on. We aren't in a mid-tier conference where people don't pay attention. We play in the SEC - a conference that we helped build up to its current legacy - where people follow Spring football, recruiting, and media days. To say that things are going exactly to plan, that Napier needs time to build it the right way, and that expectations are too high, all while we have regressed in recruiting, winning percentage, and all around results... that is just plain insulting to anyone who cares about Florida football and, in my opinion, is more damaging to the future of the program than maintaining this so called "spoiled fan" attitude that has been floating around. Someone needs to remind CWT, the media, and the fans that he didn't inherit a lifetime losing record Sunbelt team that made its first bowl appearance in 2011. He was brought in to return the program to its status of perennial championship contender, so what evidence do we have that shows promise of sustainable success? Is it 6-7, 5-7, top recruiting classes? To me, rainbows and promises should not get you a year 4. Honestly, if you can't get to 10 wins at the University of Florida within three years, what are the odds you will end up being a contender?
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Post by wahhappen on May 2, 2024 16:15:34 GMT -5
I'm almost at the point where I hope we go ahead and give him 5 years. Let's just see how it goes. That allows him, what, 6 full recruiting cycles to get rid of all of the Mullen recruits? And then 4 full seasons plus the lost "really difficult schedule" season of 2024 to get things back on track. Is that enough time? I legitimately want CWT to get a fair shake and have every opportunity to be successful. If on the off chance he still sucks at that point, then we can just chalk up the additional two years as market research and maybe people will start to wake up in the future.
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Post by wahhappen on May 1, 2024 20:38:57 GMT -5
That would be a great idea except I read that we have already reserved that space for commemorative “Fitz: Gone but not Forgotten” patches. But maybe they could do stickers in his image and hand them out for big plays like the Buckeyes and Seminoles do leading up to the big game.
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Post by wahhappen on May 1, 2024 15:55:33 GMT -5
You got it. The key is to continuously lower the bar, leveraging your own incompetence as a catalyst to show marginal improvement in areas nobody cared about before. That ain't workin', that's the way you do it. Money for nothin' and your chicks for free.
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Post by wahhappen on May 1, 2024 12:48:11 GMT -5
There is no way he chooses to play for one coach when we had two OL coaches that told him they pretty much wanted him to be a Gator. Word is getting around how we run NFL style practices, and I thought it would have for sure sealed the deal when he saw our former center was in the top 4-rated UDFA centers. Perhaps he is waiting until 10/5 when they-who-shall-not-be-named come to town, you know, for dramatic effect. The rivalry will be heating up at that point.
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Post by wahhappen on Apr 30, 2024 13:36:02 GMT -5
But he didn't say anything about the ownership he was given for some of the things they were doing in house at the time. How do we know he is legit?
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Post by wahhappen on Apr 30, 2024 13:27:53 GMT -5
I don't keep up with the "true" fans. I assume they are blaming Mullen for the lack of drafted talent and praising Napier for bringing Pearsall in to save us from having zero draft picks, right? Yep. And the only reason Pearsall got drafted in the first round was the coaching he received under Cajun Willie. I hate Mullen, his staff out recruits Napier's every day of the week, by a wide margin when he's invested, but even when he's on a show cause and day dreaming of NFL jobs, he's still a better recruiter. I really dislike Dan Mullen but he's right (to a point) on this: x.com/MarcRyanOnAir/status/1737597934596706479www.on3.com/college/florida-gators/news/dan-mullen-billy-napier-florida-troll-recruiting-rankings-national-signing-day/Where he's wrong is that averaging 11th isn't something to brag about and isn't good enough regardless of facilities. Yeah, Mullen bothers me because he could have been a good coach but basically chose not to be. I feel like he started to build something and then just gave up. Napier, on the other hand, just sucks at every aspect of leading a program. Yet, he continues to act like everything is going great -- as if 7-5 is the standard he was hired to live up to.
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Post by wahhappen on Apr 30, 2024 7:06:51 GMT -5
Not so sure on the UDFA's. So far we only have as many of them as we do drafted players..... 1. So sad 😔. But your spot on with the other 2. We got us a bunch of walk on's, and we are going to use their eagerness and desire to be D1 athletes to go get us some SEC wins. The only difference between a 5 star and a walk on is some guy at a recruiting services opinion. Get ready, Gators are getting ready to to shock the world! Sorry, I should have clarified not most UDFAs, but “highest ranked”. When you don’t have any real evidence of positive results, you make up stuff that sounds good.
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Post by wahhappen on Apr 29, 2024 13:39:32 GMT -5
I don't keep up with the "true" fans. I assume they are blaming Mullen for the lack of drafted talent and praising Napier for bringing Pearsall in to save us from having zero draft picks, right?
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Post by wahhappen on Apr 29, 2024 13:37:23 GMT -5
See, it's not all bad news. We must be close to having the top-rated UDFAs, preferred walk-ons, and converted-from-other-sports players in the country.
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Post by wahhappen on Apr 27, 2024 20:39:14 GMT -5
I saw a graphic during the draft earlier that Mizzou had a player taken in each round. Just in case anyone wanted to benchmark the state of the program. We had the same number of players drafted as England and Toronto. Once again, CWT is ahead of the NFL trends. We’ve started bringing in some international talent instead of wasting space on the old timey South Florida prospects.
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Post by wahhappen on Apr 26, 2024 19:09:41 GMT -5
Any early steam on where Jacob Watkins will go?
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Post by wahhappen on Apr 26, 2024 11:57:07 GMT -5
Georgia doesn’t know what they’re doing. While they keep signing money-hungry blue chippers, we’ll continue to stockpile true Gators who want to be in Gainesville for the right reasons.
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Post by wahhappen on Apr 25, 2024 20:46:17 GMT -5
After 6 Quarterbacks were taken in the first 12 picks of the NFL draft, the Raiders were forced to take a TE. I am certain they would have selected Graham Mertz had he opted to leave UF (assuming he wasn’t taken sooner). We are so fortunate that he decided to come back for unfinished business. Think of how much money he gave up to return.
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Post by wahhappen on Apr 23, 2024 15:25:14 GMT -5
Here is my favorite part: "I think giving Russ Callaway the co-coordinator title, giving him a little bit more ownership throughout the offseason and some of the things that we do in-house."
WTF does that even mean - "some of the things we do in-house"?? Is he mopping the floors and doing dishes? Or are we outsourcing some of the OC responsibilities? What, EXACTLY, is he doing? Why does the title change matter? I feel like we are all getting dumber in this process and I don't see how it all comes together for a magical transformation. CWT seems to believe it will, and he has firmly planted his flag in the "Mertz is our savior" camp. He must genuinely believe this is the year we skyrocket up to 11, I mean, 7 wins (new expectations in play). Otherwise, why talk up Graham? You would think he would be positioning for a year 4 plea deal using the "Lagway is here. Pieces are in place for the future" mantra. But, no, he is hell bent on his system and his players are ready to go this year. It will be fun seeing this all unfold. I was hopeful last year. Now I am just dumbfounded.
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Post by wahhappen on Apr 23, 2024 10:49:16 GMT -5
Wow fantastic! Thanks a bunch Mojave! Certainly belongs in the Zook Hall of Fame. Cajun Billy has a long way to go to even get close to improving upon comparing the phrases, and only then can he continue to improve. He must study more. He doesn't necessarily need to study more, just faster. Studying 4 hours really fast is just as good as studying 8 hours.
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Post by wahhappen on Apr 20, 2024 6:41:01 GMT -5
Really stretching the definition of efficient here. I’m tired of this guy. He meant to say “insufficient”. CWT isn’t very good at words whereas efficiency.
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