16-in-16 2025: Florida Gators
Florida is ready to get back to national prominence. Can they take another step forward in ‘25?
By: Bossman
For a refresher on our ratings system, check out our 16-in-16 ratings guide here.
Is Billy Napier still on the hot seat? Heading into year four of the Napier tenure in Gainesville, things look more promising than they have since the early days of Dan Mullen roaming the sidelines. The Gators have a brutal schedule to navigate once again in 2025, but with DJ Lagway at the helm, fans have hope this program can take the next step back to national relevance.
State of the Program: 7/12 biscuits - Ascending…the program has hope and momentum and has a shot to take a step up; there’s not much fast food around, so Burger King will have to do. It strives for the best, and with a few tweaks, can compete with the best.
Last season began with fans chanting “Fire Billy” and “We want Lane” in the background of nationally televised pregame shows, and the Gators season started off with a thud. It seemed like Napier was a dead man walking on multiple occasions, namely after the opening season drubbing against Miami at home and the blowout loss to Texas later in the season. Multiple dreaded votes of confidence were given to Napier, but he defied the haters and willed the Gators to a second-half surge led by DJ Lagway. Even with the daunting schedule, Florida finished 7-5 on the regular season and earned two more biscuits heading into the 2025 season, a positive step in the right direction on the path back to competing for SEC and national championships, where every UF fan believes the program should be.
The program is in a healthy state from an investment standpoint, and as one would expect, the Gators are making significant investments in the football program to keep up with the Joneses and propel the school back to the national forefront. Florida brass invested roughly $85 million into a 142,000 square foot facility, the Heavner Training Center, that opened in 2022 and features everything needed to run a small city.
While the training center is the flash that wows recruits, you also need the money to pay those players and pull them in. Florida ranked sixth in the SEC in the 2023-2024 season in terms of total collective funding, so they’re in the upper echelon of the conference (and the nation), signaling a strong commitment to winning.
The Florida Athletic Department is also set to invest over $400 million in renovating The Swamp, which has fallen into disrepair in some parts and is behind federal code. The project will finish the planning phase this fall, with the scheduled completion date pushed back to early 2030. Overall, the investment and upgrades are much needed, but fan reaction has been split on the renovation, especially considering the enhancements will likely result in a loss of 5-10,000 seats.
Napier has hired a veteran staff that has some continuity at the highest positions. Ron Roberts is a veteran defensive coordinator entering his second season in Gainesville and has led top-tier defenses in both the Big 12 and SEC. His offensive coordinator, Russ Callaway, has been the OC of UF since Napier’s first season in 2022. However, Napier calls the plays, and Callaway is more of an advisor, something that has given Florida fans some discomfort over the last few seasons. The Florida staff also highlights multiple former NFL talents such as Alabama legend Vinnie Sunseri (Co-DC/safeties) and Gators legend Brandon Spikes (Asst. Director of Player Development). With the ever-changing landscape of modern college football and the move toward more NFL-style operations, Napier hired NFL front office veteran Nick Polk to be GM, who received praise from big names at the pro level.
What went right in 2024?
Have we mentioned DJ Lagway? The freshman phenom took over for starter Graham Mertz in the Tennessee game after Mertz went down with a torn ACL, and he came out guns-a-blazin’. Lagway provided a spark for the Gators that helped them go on a late-season tear that ultimately saved Napier’s job. Lagway started five of the remaining six regular-season games, with Florida winning four of those games - and the game they lost, Lagway exited the game with an injury when Florida held a 10-3 lead on the Georgia Bulldogs. In the four-game win streak to end the year, Lagway averaged 59% completion rate, 211 yards, 1.5 TDs, and 1 INT. It was enough to get the job done, but it wasn’t all on him.
The defense started humming in the latter half of the season, aside from the Georgia and Texas games. Aside from those two anomalies (and the two best teams in the SEC last season), the Gators defense held opponents to just 15.8 PPG, pummeled teams with 3.2 sacks and 6.8 TFLs, and averaged 2.7 turnovers a game. The LSU game especially sticks out, as the Gators defense was ferocious that afternoon, totaling seven sacks, 11 TFLs and six passes defended.
Finally, it was a big year for the team culture at UF. After a rocky start to the season and fans and national media bearing down on Napier, the team stuck together, hunkered down, and got to work. After Lagway became the full-time starter, the confidence of this team soared. The Gators found their unquestioned leader. They went through the fire in 2024 and walked out of it with their heads held high, something that should pay dividends heading into 2025.
What went wrong in 2024?
This team was plagued with injuries throughout the year. Mertz went down for the year in the Tennessee game, Lagway was never 100% healthy, and there were multiple other injuries throughout the season on both sides of the ball. Injuries are part of football, and teams deal with them to varying degrees each year, but Florida had the bug last year. The bright side is they still finished 8-5, even with the rotating cast of characters in and out of the medical tent.
The blowout losses were also a big cause for concern. Against some of the top competition on their schedule, Florida struggled mightily, a sign Napier’s squad still has a big gap to close. Against Miami, A&M, Georgia and Texas, the Gators lost by an average of 21 points a game, and two of those games were in The Swamp. The good news - DJ Lagway played sparingly, if at all, in those games.
What Florida needs in 2025
The first one is obvious: DJ Lagway has to stay healthy. We already have injury concerns heading into fall camp, though Florida officials say it’s minor. With his injury history, you just hope he can stay healthy. You also have to wonder if Florida will play it more conservatively on offense to preserve Lagway’s health. He’s the engine that makes this team run, and if he’s out for a significant chunk of the season, you can kiss it goodbye. In terms of play, Lagway needs to cut down on the picks and improve his efficiency through the air. His WR corps is talented, but he lost his two leading receivers from last season in Elijah Badger and Chimere Dike. He’ll need someone like J. Michael Sturdivant (UCLA transfer), Eugene Wilson III, or freshman Dallas Wilson (or all three) to step up.
To keep Lagway healthy, the offensive line will need to be stellar - and they should be. Florida returns four starters on the offensive front for a combined 98 starts. We harp on it all the time at Biscuits & SEC: an experienced line that has played together for multiple seasons is what makes a great offensive line. The Gators will have that this season.
The defense took a big leap up in the latter half of last season, and we expect more improvement this season. The Gators lost a few key pieces like Shemar James and Jack Pyburn, but they return game-wreckers in Tyreak Sapp, Caleb Banks, Jaden Robinson, and George Gumbs, not to mention young talent from the prep ranks.
Overall, Florida returns 13 starters (66% of 2024’s production), which should help them take another step forward in ‘25.
How they can earn some extra biscuits
Stay the course, don’t take a step back. Another 7-5 season keeps them at around seven biscuits, but hitting eight wins, with this schedule, likely earns the Gators another biscuit. Anything after that is gravy. Florida has a daunting schedule again in 2025, but the roster is in a great place to keep the momentum going in Gainesville.
Next Up:
Georgia Bulldogs
Previous:
South Carolina Gamecocks, Alabama Crimson Tide, Auburn Tigers
