DJ Lagway, Billy Napier just made the Florida transfer portal pitch that much easier

There is probably no team in the country that closed the regular season hotter than Florida. After a brutal start that made Billy Napier’s firing seem almost inevitable, freshman QB DJ Lagway helped a remarkable turnaround: The Gators ripped off wins in each of their last three games, including home upsets over LSU and Ole Miss. With Lagway around for at least two more years and a star-studded recruiting class on the way, the future suddenly started to look very, very bright.

Of course, this is college football in 2024, and that means your success is only as good as the next transfer portal window. As conference rivals like Ole Miss, Auburn and others load their rosters for 2025, Napier needs to do the same if he wants to turn this young team’s potential into an SEC title next season. Fortunately, the team had a Gasparilla Bowl appearance against Tulane on Friday to serve as an advertisement for the direction of the program — and boy did they ever do it any favors.

The Gators didn’t get off to the best start. Lagway threw one brutal eavesdropping in the end zone late in the first half, and Florida took just a 6-0 lead into the locker room against a Green Wave team down to its third-string QB due to gate departures.

Just as they did in the regular season, however, Napier’s team finished strong. Lagway ended up throwing for 305 yards and Florida outgained Tulane by over three yards per carry. game and scored 27 points in the second half to turn a competitive game into a 33-8 rout. The offense was as balanced and deadly as ever, while the defense clamped down on an overpowered unit and harassed Tulane’s Ty Thompson for three interceptions.

Florida certainly looked the part of an SEC contender in 2025. But perhaps more importantly, they made it look fun. Any recruit (or currently playing on Portal) weighing up whether they want to be a part of Napier’s program had to come away thinking it was going to be a blast; at one point late in the fourth, Napier even allowed 449-pound defensive tackle Desmond Watson to convert a third-and-short as a running back.

Granted, a mid-December exhibition game against a team decimated by transfers isn’t the most meaningful data point. But every little bit counts, and being a head coach in 2024 means you’re always pitching yourself to someone. Florida made a big statement with how it closed out the year (and how Napier closed on the recruiting trail), but a lot of the good vibes would have been wiped out with a lackluster bowl performance. Now, however, Napier can rightly argue that the arrow points straight up.