FSU football: Impact of Florida hiring Billy Napier as head coach
By Kelvin Hunt
Recruiting
It’s telling that Napier wasn’t the next head coach at LSU since he’d spent the last four years coaching in that state. The Tigers have their pick of the top talent in the state, and I’d think Napier would have built some solid recruiting relationships during the four years he was at Louisiana-Lafayette.
Billy Napier was given credit for bringing in a few big-time players while he was at Alabama, according to 247 Sports. A couple of them were from Florida, but nearly all of his recruits came from in-state while at Louisiana.
Does he have the chops to make waves as a recruiter in the Sunshine State? Florida has a lot of resources, and it’s a brand for sure, but we’ve seen the Gators cycle through head coaches since Urban Meyer left in 2010.
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The Gators have only cracked the top 10 rankings twice since 2015 and have not had a top-five class since 2013.
Does Napier have the chops to get that done with other elite programs raiding the state and Mike Norvell showing he’s going to be a factor in the state?
Louisiana-Lafayette did see their recruiting classes improve somewhat under Napier’s watch, but recruiting in Florida is a different type of animal.