As spring practice wraps up and the transfer portal window closes, SEC football programs are taking stock of their rosters ahead of the 2025 season. While the real test won’t come until games begin in August, teams are beginning to take shape during the summer months.
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In a recent analysis of SEC head coaches, USA TODAY Sports writer Blake Toppmeyer sparked controversy with his rankings, particularly regarding Florida’s Billy Napier. Despite Florida’s impressive late-season surge in 2024, including key victories over LSU and Ole Miss, and a promising outlook for 2025, Toppmeyer ranked Napier near the bottom of the conference.
In his assessment, Toppmeyer wrote: “Florida opted for another lap with Napier rather than hitting the reset button. The emergence of quarterback DJ Lagway, and Lagway’s steadfast support for Napier, helped the coach save his job, and Florida finished the season playing better than it ever had previously in his tenure.”
He added, “Florida was remarkably quiet in the transfer portal, and it still seems as if Napier and the Gators are playing with an old deck of cards. Napier will go as far as Lagway takes him.”
However, this ranking seems to overlook several key factors favoring Napier. The Gators faced one of college football’s toughest schedules last season—and will meet similar opposition in 2025. Moreover, Florida maintains substantial talent from last year’s roster alongside Lagway, including four returning offensive line starters, plus Caleb Banks and Tyreak Sapp on the defensive front.
Should the Gators produce another winning season and make their presence felt in the College Football Playoff conversation, Toppmeyer’s assessment may prove premature. Florida fans eagerly await the opportunity to prove the skeptics wrong.
Rankings are below.
USA TODAY Sports SEC head coach rankings
- Kirby Smart (Georgia)
- Steve Sarkisian (Texas)
- Brian Kelly (LSU)
- Kalen DeBoer (Alabama)
- Lane Kiffin (Mississippi)
- Josh Heupel (Tennessee)
- Eliah Drinkwitz (Missouri)
- Shane Beamer (South Carolina)
- Mike Elko (Texas A&M)
- Mark Stoops (Kentucky)
- Brent Venables (Oklahoma)
- Hugh Freeze (Auburn)
- Clark Lea (Vanderbilt)
- Sam Pittman (Arkansas)
- Billy Napier (Florida)
- Jeff Lebby (Mississippi State)
Where should Napier be ranked? The case can be made he should be top 10 heading into the 2025 season.
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