NashvilleGator

Recent Comments
What is this meritocracy thing? Asking for Dan Mullen.
I usually avoid these discussions but... Colleges and universities fell into distorted DEI programs, much like many have fallen into hiring professors with aberrant political and social views, because open-mindedness is prized in higher education. The problem with prizing open-mindedness -- which in and of itself is not a bad thinking -- is a species of false equivalence: Just as some political and economic ideas are just bad ideas, there is no equivalence between group characteristics and ability. When you substitute a group characteristic for demonstrated ability, you begin watering down the results in the name of "fairness." But life is not and never will be fair because the more able and advantaged will pull ahead anyway. It's the physicist's fair race assumption: The faster runner will not only win but will always be pulling away. Don't misunderstand. It's certainly true that if you come from an impoverished background, a broken home, a crime-infested neighborhood, or you're a man wired to think you're a woman, you face a tougher road than a rich straight kid with brains and connections. But life ain't fair and the first law of economics is scarcity. There ain't enough stuff for everybody. So DEI can never fix these issues. It can only, at best, give the appearance of a fix.
Kiffen has always been a great recruiter and a great offensive coach. The stigma is because he has Spurrier's mouth without Spurrier's record.
"This isn’t a team that was an injured quarterback away from a Year 2 improvement. Or a 4th-and-17 stop on defense, and a missed last-second field goal from winning 7 games (and possibly 8 in a bowl) and changing the narrative of Napier’s brief tenure." Well, yeah, it literally is. "... has wasted (or couldn’t develop, or both) a top 5 NFL Draft pick at the most important position on the field." Uh, no. Just no. Anthony is a wonderful kid but was a colossal draft mistake by the Colts. As for the continuing focus on the size of the organization, I've been really curious since Napier arrived about whether Florida even has the third largest football staff in the SEC, after Alabama and Georgia. And the schedule is not even the second or third toughest in the SEC. That's been overblown. OK, those lazy and incorrect Hayes-isms aside, how soon we forget the abject decline in real roster talent when Napier arrived. If you want to bank on one thing in 2024, it's that the roster talent is better across the board. Of all the things that win games, talent is far and away the most important. And it's both better and full of experienced youth. That said, the offensive line remains a great unknown and the single biggest variable in 2024. It's hard to have faith in this coaching staff until they deliver on the field. On Spurrier's comments, the origin is likely rumors from campus that Napier is hunkered down in the football building, skipping meetings with administration officials. That's never a good sign. Unfortunately, the campus rumors have a sort of "Harsin at Auburn" feel. The single most alarming offseason event is a respected new hire S&C coach leaving shortly after arriving... for Boston College. I don't care what his past relationship with Bill O'Brien is, you don't leave Florida for Boston College. Well, that and Napier sticking with two offensive line coaches. The conventional wisdom isn't always right, but it usually is. Overall, I remain optimistic about the improvement in roster talent and the experienced gained by a young roster. But you have to be objectively honest that the coaching staff stuff is not encouraging.
While I only implied this, the ability of the #2+ quarterbacks to go turnover free against lesser opponents was not a given, although I would be inclined to agree with you on three out of five. Max could have easily had a couple costly turnovers against Tennessee. Mertz would have beaten FSU.
Thanks, gentlemen. It's just been a combination of working a lot and not much football news to comment on. All is well.
I suppose we shall see. Travis Kelce is huge and is a star, but his blocking grade is poor. Kincaid had a great rookie season but his blocking grade was mediocre. Most of the top blocking tight ends in the NFL (70+ run blocking average grade) are bigger than Bowers. I do think he'll be a very effective receiver.
Mertz carried the team on his back in the South Carolina win. And he was very good in the Tennessee game. The defense was better last year until it wasn't, Kentucky's biennial Super Bowl (the Gators in Lexington) to the contrary. The defense fell off a cliff after Shemar James was lost to injury. Do not devalue Mertz's ability to scramble behind an awful offensive line and to largely avoid turnovers.
I don't recall being a Bowers critic. I may have said I thought Pitts was better, and I do think "generational" is a bit strong for a 6-4, 240 pound tight end. Bowers is a great player and his combination of speed and work ethic should make him very successful in the NFL, regardless of draft position. He is smaller than the top NFL tight ends, suggesting that his blocking ability in college won't translate to the League. He is physically similar to Dalton Kincaid, albeit probably faster. His combination of speed and size relative to NFL DBs should make him a threat as a receiver. As for his draft stock, I agree with JTF that it is heavily dependent upon specific team needs.
I don't really see Dabo as a desirable hire. He has not adapted to the transfer portal era. His two NCs were highly driven by generational quarterback talents (much like Jimbo's success with the crab legs thief at FSU, which did not translate to another program). The rest of the Clemson 2016-2017 roster was significantly developmental. His recruiting only became elite as a result of the NC bump, which he hasn't sustained. Clemson's offensive line fall-off has been dramatic.
He offered at least two OC candidates, Weiss from Ole Miss and another that wasn't made public. Both turned him down. He probably won't make a hire just to make a hire and get those duties off his plate if he can't get someone he believes can equal or exceed his play calling ability. He probably can't hire a high caliber OC until the offensive line shows improvement and perceptions of his job security improve.
Kirby won't coach 24 more years for two reasons. First, his wife will constantly be in his ear. And second, he will eventually burn out because he is, at the end of the day, a human being. Kirby is a unicorn; with a high energy sales personality on one hand (obvious from his sideline persona and recruiting success) and brains on the other (an inference from the fact that he earned a finance degree from a good university). And he obviously can coach. That mixture is rare.
"Florida did have a solid special teams unit in 2023." Who hires these writers? Kicker and punter were solid. Performance around them; not so much.
That offensive line grade wasn't actually a grade, it was a statistic. The offensive line as a unit had at least one blown assignment in 20.1% of the plays run. One in five.
Jeez, you've got to be kidding. I seem to recall similar buzz about Milton after his "breakout" Orange Bowl victory over Clemson.
I think we said the same thing, more or less.
"There's no more important position in the sport, and none in more constant upheaval." It was that way before the portal became what it is now, because it's the only position on the field where there is rarely player rotation. Meaningful playing time is pretty much an all or nothing proposition. "Don't listen to the nonsense that Etienne "can't block." He was the most dynamic and dangerous offensive player on the team. No, that would be Eugene Wilson, III. That said, Etienne can't block. He is a dangerous running back, though.
I find it mildly funny that Corey Raymond has been rehired at LSU.
How bad is 30 guys TP'ing out, really, when Georgia has 20 outbound? The transfer portal headcount when a coaching change occurs really depends upon the perceived success potential of the incoming guy. You would still see a bunch of guys TP'ing out of Bama for playing time and maybe NIL money if the incoming guy was Lane Kiffin or Steve Sarkisian, but the number wouldn't be 30.
Ideally you'd like to see these quarterbacks with a similar supporting cast, but that ain't gonna happen, so... I'd have Ewers ahead of Beck (undoubtedly my anti-UGA bias, of course). Seriously though, the Ewers is a gamer with seemingly limitless arm strength and the ability to change his throwing angle at will. With accuracy. The SEC will test his ruggedness. If Milroe can tweak his accuracy, look out. I would hold off on the high ranking of Iamaleava until he's played a few games against SEC opponents with game film of him. Brady Cook may take a step back this season, as I suspect he will be spending a lot more time on his backside. Pavia didn't really do much that was special in the New Mexico State win over Auburn. It was mostly just a very effective game of keepaway from the Auburn offense with the rushing attack, and an Auburn front seven that just plain got their butts beat. Most interesting thing to watch with Mertz this season: a couple of speed burner wide receivers who were true freshmen last year. Second most interesting thing: Does Lagway push for early playing time? Early reports are that the kid is the real deal.
Hathcock is indeed the problem. He’s Ruiz Lite. Funny thing is, he didn’t even graduate from Florida. I think he dropped out as a freshman. But he’s always trying to inject himself into recruiting. And he’s given so much money that no one seems to be able to say “no” to him.
On pay for play, you say potayto, I say potahto. It's the Duck Test: If it swims, quacks and waddles like a duck, it's probably a duck. The challenge of proving collaboration between NIL collectives and schools is very similar to the prohibition against political action committees communicating directly with political campaigns to coordinate messaging and advertising efforts. And just because you can't prove it doesn't mean they aren't doing it.
Early arrival on campus is about getting on the field -- and to the League -- as soon as possible. You can easily sign on ESD, then sign an NIL deal and still not show up until summer. But coaches put pressure on signees to get into the weight room as soon as possible.