GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Read everything Florida head coach Billy Napier said during his recruiting class of 2024 Early Signing Period press conference on Wednesday, after the Gators signed 17 prospects from the high school level, four from the NCAA transfer portal and one from the junior college ranks.

Napier also addressed Florida’s postseason assistant coaching changes and reports regarding the future of UF’s football strength and conditioning program, among other topics.

BILLY NAPIER: I think when you get to a day like today, realization is it takes a team of people. I think we’re very fortunate at the University of Florida that we have a great team. Can’t thank the administration enough relative to what they’ve done here the last two years to improve the process, to improve the experience of the player, and to give us the opportunity to compete and sign the very best players in the country, and we did that today.

I want to thank our coaches who have been on the road. Our on-the-field coaches go on the road for two weeks here, a little over that. We put Kali Kames on the road, Chad Lucas on the road, and both of those guys did a terrific job. 

Certainly Coach [Will] Harris, to have the opportunity to get out there a little bit, was impactful as well.

We’ve got great people in our personnel department. Jacob LaFrance, Nick McDonald, Joe Hamilton was [an] all-star in this cycle. Bird Sherrill.

We’ve got really, really good people in the back there. I can’t compliment them enough relative to the evaluation process, the roster management process, young, talented, and certainly their work ethic was impressive. I think we improved there.

The on-campus recruiting department, Bri Wade was exceptional. We added Skylar Wise to the mix here, halfway through the process there, and she did a great job. Certainly Katie Turner’s leadership in that recruiting strategy role across the board, again, another all-star that is a difference-maker, and I think we all can agree to that.

We’ve got great pilots that work around the clock. They did their job and were a difference maker for us. I think the players did a nice job in this cycle. I can’t compliment them enough in terms of the messaging, their ability to resonate with the players, their families. They’re the best recruiters that we have relative to their experience here.

We’d be remiss if we didn’t thank Florida Victorious, and certainly we spent probably 18 months working towards a true systematic approach there. We’ve got great leadership there. Jose Costa, Nate Barbera, their time investment and a number of investors that have certainly impacted our ability to recruit at a high level.