{"id":31206,"date":"2025-07-02T00:27:10","date_gmt":"2025-07-02T00:27:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/31206\/"},"modified":"2025-07-02T00:27:10","modified_gmt":"2025-07-02T00:27:10","slug":"gators-billy-napier-sec-brethren-brace-for-roster-reductions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/31206\/","title":{"rendered":"Gators’ Billy Napier, SEC brethren brace for roster reductions"},"content":{"rendered":"

GAINESVILLE \u2014 Florida Gators football coach Billy Napier<\/a> and his brethren have been bracing for a roster reckoning spurred by the House v. NCAA antitrust settlement<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The landmark legislation went into effect Tuesday<\/a>, but sweeping changes remained on the horizon, not yet at the doorstep.<\/p>\n

With fall camp scheduled to start at month\u2019s end, Napier\u2019s roster stands at 117 players \u2014 a dozen above the proposed future limit of 105.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we got the job, there were certain parameters around how you build your roster. We proceeded that way,\u201d Napier said at the SEC Spring Meetings on May 28 in Destin. \u201cI really like the group that we have. We\u2019ve been fortunate to keep that group intact for the most part. \u2026 But if we\u2019ve learned anything, it\u2019s very fluid.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, play by the rules this year.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"LikeLike their coaching brethren, Florida coach Billy Napier, left, and Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin wonder how the House v. NCAA Settlement will impact their teams. (Photos by John Raoux and Randy J. Williams\/The Associated Press)<\/p>\n

Senior District Judge Claudia Wilken did not approve the settlement until June 6. A sticking point was including a provision to allow current walk-ons to receive a grandfather clause.<\/p>\n

The reprieve is welcomed by coaches grappling with roster management in an era of the transfer portal<\/a>, NIL<\/a> and the College Football Playoff<\/a>. While the delay buys time, it doesn\u2019t allay long-term concerns about the impact of smaller rosters on player safety and practice efficiency.<\/p>\n

Napier recalled a study indicating NFL franchises had an average of 119 players pass through their rosters, even though teams are limited 53 active players and up to 16 on a practice squad. A free-agent market provides a continual source of available players to replace those who are injured or underperforming.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe biggest challenge from, from our perspective, is we don\u2019t have access to a revolving roster situation during the season,\u201d Texas A&M coach Mike Elko said during the SEC Spring Meetings. \u201cIf it was 105 that could stay 105, it would be enough. The fear that we have is you get a rash of injuries in the NFL you go to the free-agent wire and you fix it.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou get a rash of injuries for us, and there\u2019s no out, there\u2019s no option, there\u2019s nothing you can do.\u201d<\/p>\n

Many have bemoaned the settlement\u2019s impact on walk-ons, especially coaches who once were non-scholarship players themselves.<\/p>\n

Clemson coach Dabo Swinney walked on at Alabama as a wide receiver. Former Florida and South Carolina coach Will Muschamp was a walk-on safety at Georgia, where he currently is a defensive analyst.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m totally against eliminating walk-ons,\u201d Swinney told the Orlando Sentinel last winter.<\/p>\n

\"Dabo<\/p>\n

Phelan M. Ebenhack\/AP<\/p>\n

Dabo Swinney holds a trophy full of crackers after winning the 2021 Cheez-It Bowl. (Phelan M. Ebenhack\/AP)<\/p>\n

Swinney\u2019s stance was philosophical and practical relative to roster size as much as personal to his experience.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s enough to be able to play the games,\u201d he said. \u201cBut in college football, to prepare guys properly with a 20-hour rule, to not be able to have the ability to have a practice squad at a minimum is going to be a challenge for a lot of people.\u201d<\/p>\n

Coaches initially worried walk-ons would be entirely fazed out. While some conferences could allow all 105 players to receive a scholarship, the SEC will permit 85 scholarship players and an additional 20 walk-ons.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t like when it was initially presented,\u201d Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin said. \u201cThere\u2019s so many stories, whether it\u2019s coaches in that room, great players that went on to be great NFL players that, as you start saying, well, if we don\u2019t have that, then those don\u2019t exist.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just a really cool part of a locker room.\u201d<\/p>\n

Yet, locker rooms will soon become less crowded.<\/p>\n

The average roster size in 2024 was 128. UF at one point had 131 players.<\/p>\n

Coaches have already whittled down their numbers, but avoided the larger cuts soon to come.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve been very honest with our guys,\u201d Georgia coach Kirby Smart said in late May. \u201cWe told them that they were free to go in the (transfer) portal. Some have looked out and realized that that\u2019s not necessarily the grass is greener because there\u2019s not a lot of opportunities. Everybody\u2019s got a reduction of opportunities.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"GeorgiaGeorgia coach Kirby Smart said he’s already discussed long-term options with walk-ons as the House v. NCAA Settlement impacts roster sizes. (John Bazemore\/AP)<\/p>\n

Elko lamented the difficult choices, conversations and calculations he and his fellow coaches faced, but felt worse for the players impacted by legislation meant to help student-athletes.<\/p>\n

The settlement set out to control costs<\/a> and protect athletes as schools would begin to share revenue and increase scholarship funding to a tune of $20.5 million. Roster limits were seen as one way to manage transition amid an ever-changing financial model of college athletics, where football and men\u2019s basketball fund nearly every other sport.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s challenging. You\u2019re trying to figure out your fall camp roster in late June and still don\u2019t have clarity,\u201d Elko said. \u201cWe\u2019ve tried to be honest with the kids. But from their perspective, it\u2019s even tougher. You\u2019ve got 19-year-olds who don\u2019t know if they\u2019re part of the team. They\u2019re left in limbo heading into the summer.\u201d<\/p>\n

As UF and other high-profile programs inch toward an uncertain future, the task of balancing a football roster is one of many issues facing college athletics as it adapts to a new reality of athlete compensation and legal accountability.<\/p>\n

Napier and his fellow coaches can take a breath for now, but change is coming.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ll proceed according to the settlement,\u201d he said. \u201cBut I think it\u2019s to be determined in the next couple of months or years where it goes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Edgar Thompson can be reached at egthompson@orlandosentinel.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"GAINESVILLE \u2014 Florida Gators football coach Billy Napier and his brethren have been bracing for a roster reckoning…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":31207,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[43],"tags":[1369,723,1382,1318,13102,1370,1317,1315,1316,62,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-31206","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-ncaa-football","8":"tag-college-sports","9":"tag-florida","10":"tag-florida-gators","11":"tag-football","12":"tag-gainesville","13":"tag-latest-headlines","14":"tag-ncaa","15":"tag-ncaa-football","16":"tag-ncaafootball","17":"tag-sports","18":"tag-united-states","19":"tag-unitedstates","20":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/114780808454294591","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31206","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31206"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31206\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/31207"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31206"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31206"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31206"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}