The Florida football program is not what it once was under legendary head coaches like Urban Meyer and Steve Spurrier, and now Coach Billy Napier is feeling the heat. The Gators coach is in charge of turning around a program that has lost seven games in three consecutive seasons and hasn't won ten or more games since 2019, when Florida football went 11-2.
The Florida football recruiting pipeline has shown that it is still as useful as ever in recent years and one high profile recruiting coup was Cormnai McClain, who pledged to the Gators this May with a dedication to his mother.
McClain is a native of Lakeland, Florida who played with Deion Sanders and the Colorado football program last season before transferring. The rumor mill has run wild with reports of a McClain dismissal from the Gators football team recently which prompted a response from Coach Napier at SEC media days.
The comments came amid Napier's thoughts on the team's ridiculously daunting SEC schedule. A key Gators assistant also commented on the McClain rumors.
Napier Clears The Air
According to Napier, McClain is doing well and the Florida football program knows about his history. The rumor mill stated that he had been late to or absent from team activities.
“He's doing fine,” Napier said. “A lot of this gets blown out of proportion. He's a young player. Obviously, we're well aware of his history.”
McClain was benched for alleged “bad practice habits” including a lack of film study. Coach Sanders questioned his love for the game with Colorado football. McClain was not offered a scholarship by the Gators but chose to walk on and play cornerback for Coach Napier's team.
“We run a tight ship,” Napier said. “There's structure, there's routine, there's discipline, there's accountability,” he added.
“It's hard these days. You're in the minority if you show up in June, much less middle of June because you're (arriving on campus) a couple of weeks later. It is what it is.
“He's had a great week so far this week,” Napier added, saying that McClain gained 10 pounds and is learning the Gators' culture.
Florida Football's Schedule Looms
The Gators kick off the season against the Miami (FL) football team with a full SEC slate of games after the non-conference, bookended by a showdown with in-state rival Florida State football at the conclusion of the season.
Florida State football fell just short of the College Football Playoff last season and gets Florida football in Tallahassee this year.
With so many tough games on Coach Napier and the Gators' schedule, they will have plenty of chances to show what they can do. The schedule is incredibly difficult and Napier's team will need all the help it can get, which should open the door for McClain to prove his worth on the football field this season at some point.
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