Florida football 'not ready for prime-time': Gator fans weigh in on team, Napier's future

Many Florida fans view this season for the Gators as a “make or break” season.

Make or break for a defense that struggled for stops last season, make or break for QB Graham Mertz — who put up good numbers but ran an at-times stagnant offense.

And it’s make or break, especially for Billy Napier — who has yet to provide a winning season in his two seasons.

We spoke to Gator fans tailgating around Plaza of the Americas Saturday afternoon before kickoff vs Miami to see what they think of the team this season.

Drinking the Kool-Aid vs Lost Cause

Mike Stukel and Mike Wiggins were sitting next to each other under their tent.

But their views on the Gators couldn’t be more different.

Stukel admits he still drinks the “Kool-Aid” on Napier and the Gators.

“I think he wasn’t given much to start out with, and I think he’s done a good job building the foundation,” he said. “I think years 3 and 4 will start bearing fruits.”

He predicts seven to eight wins for the Gators, with wins over Miami, Sanford, Texas A&M, UCF, Mississippi State and Kentucky. Plus, one or two more. He mentioned FSU as a possibility after its loss in Dublin last week to Georgia Tech.

Wiggins said he “checked out” when Napier began to hire more coaches than players on the team.

“I don’t think he’s ready for primetime yet,” Wiggins said. “I think if we win four games, it’ll be a hell of a year, but if we can’t win this one and UCF, I don’t think he’ll be here next season.”

Wiggins likened Napier to past coaches like Ron Zook and Dan Mullen – good men, he said, who just weren’t ready for the competition of the SEC.

Both Wiggins and Stukel think 4-5 wins is the bare minimum needed to keep his job.

In Stukel’s eyes, the Gators won seven games last year due to the close losses to Arkansas and Missouri. Despite the much tougher schedule, he thinks the team is talented enough to reach that height.

Both men are on opposite ends about Graham Mertz. Stukel thinks he’s a solid QB who can stabilize the offense. Wiggins called Mertz a 4-5 win QB.

They both believe Mertz should keep his job this season and let freshman phenom DJ Lagway develop. Stukel wouldn’t mind seeing Lagway used similarly to Tim Tebow in 2006 with Chris Leak .

A boring offense

Erik Schmidt is also still a believer in Napier, but he wants to see more on both sides.

While the offense matriculated the ball downfield last season, he called the unit boring and wants to see more attack.

“I expect to see more plays down the field and less of short, passing, safe situation stuff,” Schmidt said. “I think they've got a lot of speed. I want to see them make use of it.”

Then there’s the defense. Schmidt knows the talent is there after some studded recruits like Myles Graham and LJ McCray joined the group, but he hopes the coaching staff has prepared them for SEC football.

As for Saturday’s game, he is confident the offense can score. It’s just a matter of if the defense can stop the ‘Canes offense.

“I think we do stop them and win 34-28,” Schmidt said. “I just hope it's not overwhelming for our freshman players to have such a big game to kick off their college career.”

For him, a bowl game is needed for Napier to keep his job.

A rivals perspective

Matthew Gilson doesn’t have any affiliation with UF. The Alexandria, Virginia, resident is at Saturday’s game just because he loves SEC football.

Why does he love it? Because he’s a massive Tennessee fan.

He thinks Florida has talent this season, but with that schedule, six wins is realistic.

Is that enough to keep Napier’s job?

“As a Tennessee fan, I hope it is,” Gilson said.

He surmises NIL as the biggest reason for Florida’s struggles. He cites the Jalen Rashada incident as a turnoff for other top recruits.

“Your NIL isn’t as top-notch as it should be for an SEC school,” Gilson said.

He anticipates an easy win for the Volunteers when the Gators travel to Knoxville in October.

Like others, though, he thinks the Gators can beat Miami.

“This is a true home-field advantage,” The first time I was here for the Tennessee game last year, night game, you have the Tom Petty vibes. It was a unique environment, and I've been to a few SEC schools and Florida's awesome.”

Noah Ram covers Gainesville-area high school sports and University of Florida athletics for The Gainesville Sun and the USA TODAY Network. Contact him by email at Nram@gannett.com and follow him @Noah_ram1 on X/Twitter.

This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Florida football 'not ready for prime-time': Gator fans weigh in on team, Napier's future