GAINESVILLEDue to the House v. NCAA antitrust deal, Florida Gators football coach Billy Napier and his teammates have been preparing for a roster reckoning.
Although the historic law went into force on Tuesday, significant changes were still in the works and not yet imminent.
Fall camp is set to begin at the end of this month, and Napier’s roster now has 117 players, twelve more than the 105 future limit that has been suggested.
There were restrictions on how you could create your roster when we were hired. Napier stated as much during the SEC Spring Meetings in Destin on May 28. Our group is one that I truly enjoy. For the most part, we’ve been lucky to maintain that group together. But it’s incredibly flexible, if we’ve learnt anything.
So, this year, follow the rules.
The settlement was not approved by Senior District Judge Claudia Wilken until June 6. Including a clause allowing current walk-ons to get a grandfather clause was a subject of contention.
Coaches who are struggling with roster management in the age of the transfer portal, NIL, and the College Football Playoff are glad of the relief. Although the postponement saves time, it doesn’t address long-term worries about how player safety and practice effectiveness would be affected by smaller rosters.
Despite having only 53 active players and up to 16 on a practice squad, NFL teams had an average of 119 players go through their rosters, according to a research that Napier cited. Players who are injured or performing poorly can be replaced at any time thanks to the free-agent market.
At the SEC Spring Meetings, Texas A&M coach Mike Elko stated, “We don’t have access to a revolving roster situation during the season, which is the biggest challenge from our perspective.” It would be sufficient if it was 105 and could remain at that level. We’re afraid that if an NFL player sustains a string of injuries, you can solve it by going to the free-agent wire.
You sustain a string of injuries for us, and there is nothing you can do about it.
The impact of the settlement on walk-ons has been lamented by many, particularly by coaches who were not scholarship players in the past.
Dabo Swinney, the coach of Clemson, played wide receiver at Alabama. Will Muschamp, who is currently a defensive analyst at Georgia, was a walk-on safety while coaching Florida and South Carolina.
Last winter, Swinney told the Orlando Sentinel, “I’m completely against eliminating walk-ons.”
In regards to roster size, Swinney’s position was both pragmatic and philosophical, as well as influenced by his own experiences.
“Just being able to play the games is enough,” he remarked. However, many individuals will find it difficult to adequately train players for college football with a 20-hour restriction, as they would not be able to create a practice squad at the very least.
At first, coaches were concerned that walk-ons would be completely put off. The SEC will allow 85 scholarship players and an extra 20 walk-ons, although other conferences might enable all 105 players to receive a scholarship.
Lane Kiffin, the coach at Ole Miss, stated, “I didn’t like when it was first presented.” As you begin to argue, “Well, if we don’t have that, then those don’t exist.” There are countless examples about coaches in that room and outstanding athletes who went on to become outstanding NFL players.
It’s simply one of the locker room’s most awesome features.
But soon, locker rooms won’t be as packed.
UF had 131 players at one point, but the average roster size in 2024 was 128.
Coaches have already reduced their workforce, but they have escaped the more significant layoffs that are imminent.
In late May, Georgia coach Kirby Smart stated, “We’ve been very honest with our guys.” We informed them that they might enter the (transfer) portal at any time. Because there aren’t many opportunities, some people have looked out and discovered that it’s not always the case that things are better. There are less opportunities for everyone.
Elko bemoaned the tough decisions, discussions, and calculations he and his teammates had to make, but he felt worse for the players affected by laws intended to support student-athletes.
With schools starting to split revenue and increasing scholarship support by $20.5 million, the settlement aimed to safeguard athletes and keep expenditures under control. In the ever-evolving financial paradigm of collegiate athletics, where football and men’s basketball support almost every other sport, roster limitations were considered as one method of managing transition.
It’s difficult. Elko remarked, “You’re still trying to figure out your fall camp roster in late June.” We have made an effort to be truthful with the children. However, it’s even more difficult from their point of view. There are 19-year-olds who are unsure of their status on the team. They are in a state of uncertainty as the summer approaches.
The challenge of managing a football roster is only one of many problems college athletics is confronting as it adjusts to the new realities of player remuneration and legal accountability, as UF and other well-known schools eke out an uncertain future.
For the time being, Napier and his teammates can relax, but things will change soon.
He said, “We’ll move forward in accordance with the settlement.” However, I believe that it will be decided in the upcoming months or years.
You can contact Edgar Thompson at [email protected].
