Around 9 pm Thursday, and deep into an unsettling spring game, Florida coach Billy Napier received the best news of the night.

That’s when 5-star safety Xavier Filsaime — the No. 32 overall player in the 2024 recruiting class according to the 247Sports composite — announced he had committed to the Gators over Georgia.

Want to know how it changes at Florida under Napier? Recruiting — and specifically, beating rival Georgia (and SEC heavyweights Alabama, LSU and Texas A&M) — for impact blue-chip recruits.

Because it’s not changing with Graham Mertz or Jack Miller playing quarterback.

If there’s 1 takeaway from the Florida spring game, it’s this: Napier needs another quarterback from the spring transfer portal (which opens Saturday for 15 days) to bridge the gap between another transition year and the arrival of 2024 5-star QB DJ Lagway.

To be fair to Mertz and Miller, pass protection was spotty and there were dropped passes and poor snaps and mistakes every possession. And to be intellectually honest: The numbers (388 yards, 2 TDs) from Mertz (the projected starter) and Miller were aided by sacks that weren’t called, and playing against 2nd- and 3rd-team defenders.

Look, it’s not that difficult to put a fluid passing game on the field. Last year alone, 63 FBS quarterbacks had at least 2,600 passing yards, 47 threw at least 20 TD passes and a whopping 75 completed at least 60% of their passes.

Anthony Richardson, the Florida quarterback last season, did none of those. Nor did Mertz at Wisconsin.

Seven SEC quarterbacks did in 2022, and the combined record of their 7 teams was 71-23. The record of the 7 teams that didn’t: 40-46.

There was nothing fluid about the Florida passing game in 2022, and it looked just as discombobulated Thursday night in the spring game. The offense scored 17 points in a spring game that was set up for the quarterbacks to perform well against 2nd- and 3rd-team defenses.

Both Mertz and Miller were given time with the No. 1 offense against the backups on defense — a defense that, over the past 3 seasons, gave up historically bad numbers.

Maybe new defensive coordinator Austin Armstrong has made a significant impact. Maybe a handful of freshmen (DEs Kelby Collins and TJ Searcy, CB Ja’Keem Jackson) and transfer portal additions (DT CamRon Jackson) have upgraded a defense that gave up 50% of 3rd-down conversions in 2022 and nearly 30 points per game.

They played with intensity and speed, and tackled well. They had 9 sacks, double-digit tackles for loss and countless pressures. They were the difference in the game.

Or maybe Mertz and Miller are what they are: game managers who aren’t going to win big games.

That, of course, means Napier more than likely will be shopping in the spring transfer portal. The question is: What will be there?

Remember, Napier and his staff evaluated 24 quarterbacks from the winter portal and chose Mertz — an enigmatic former blue-chip recruit who never met expectations at Wisconsin.

This time, the options will be limited. Maybe Georgia’s Brock Vandagriff, or Ohio State’s Devin Brown, or Casey Thomson of Nebraska. All 3, if available, would help improve a Florida passing game that may finally have a deep threat in freshman WR Aidan Mizell.

Any addition now would have 3 months to learn the offense over the summer, then compete for 4 weeks in fall camp and try to win the job before the season opener at 2-time defending Pac-12 champion Utah.

The reality is, it could get worse before it gets better at Florida. The schedule is brutal, and the quarterback play may not be any better than last year’s uneven ride.

Then again, Napier already has 4 Top-50 recruits in the 2024 class, including a 5-star quarterback. It’s a heavy lift in Gainesville, and it’s going to take time and patience from a rabid (and impatient) fan base.

The spring game wasn’t the future at Florida.

Another 5-star recruit — who decided to play for the Gators instead of 2-time defending national champion Georgia — is how this thing turns.

Napier will need many more head-to-head recruiting wins over Georgia and Alabama and LSU and Texas A&M to make it work.

Because it’s not working with Mertz or Miller.