Florida Gators Football

The University of Florida announced Tuesday that the football team's upcoming home game against Eastern Washington has been pushed from Saturday to Sunday as Hurricane Ian continues its path toward Florida.

Hurricane Ian is a Category 3 storm expected to make landfall in Florida late Wednesday or early Thursday, per Matthew Cappucci of the Washington Post.

A statewide emergency was declared last Saturday for 24 counties after the storm strengthened into a tropical depression. Some 2.5 million people are under evacuation orders.

Zach Rosenthal of the Washington Post provided more information on what may be next.

"Ian is expected to strengthen into a Category 4 hurricane but will likely weaken when it makes landfall along the Florida Gulf Coast," Rosenthal wrote. "Forecasters are predicting landfall to the south of Tampa—a city highly vulnerable to storm surge."

Other sports teams in Florida have also been affected.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are practicing at the Miami Dolphins facility this week, but they are still expected to host the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday evening.

The Tampa Bay Lightning have postponed a pair of preseason home games this week.

Other games remain status quo. Of note, Florida State football's home matchup with Wake Forest is still scheduled for Saturday at 3:30 p.m.

The No. 12 Florida Gators were upset by the No. 20 Kentucky Wildcats 26-16 on Saturday at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville, and it was a particularly rough outing for quarterback Anthony Richardson.

The 21-year-old completed just 14 of 35 passes for 143 yards and two interceptions. He also rushed for only four yards.

It was a steep drop off from last week's win over No. 13 Utah in which he completed 17 of 24 passes for 168 yards, rushed for 106 yards and three touchdowns and pulled off a dazzling mid-air pump-fake, spin move two-point conversion.

After his Week 1 performance against Utah, fans were ready to name Richardson a Heisman Trophy candidate, but now the Internet believes he shouldn't even be considered in that elite category following his latest performance.

To be fair, this is Richardson's first season as a starter for the Gators. He sat behind Emory Jones in 2021.

At this point, it's fair to say Richardson is probably not a Heisman Trophy candidate this year. However, he's young, still has plenty of room to grow, and fans shouldn't be calling him a bust after just two games.

Richardson and the Gators will look to bounce back next weekend against the unranked South Florida Bulls before a matchup with the No. 24 Tennessee Volunteers on Sept. 24.

Former Ohio State quarterback Jack Miller committed to Florida on Tuesday.

Miller will fill the void in the Gators' quarterback room left by Emory Jones, who entered the transfer portal. The Arizona native went 7-of-14 for 101 yards in mop-up duty for OSU during the 2021 season.

The redshirt freshman was a 4-star recruit and the No. 13 pro-style quarterback in the 2020 class, per 247Sports' composite rankings.

Had he stayed with the Buckeyes, Miller would've seen his path to the starting job blocked by Heisman Trophy finalist C.J. Stroud and Kyle McCord in 2022. The Buckeyes already had former No. 1 overall recruit Quinn Ewers transfer to Texas for presumably the same reason.

Miller's situation in Columbus was complicated by his November arrest for operating a vehicle while impaired. He subsequently pleaded guilty to reckless operation, a misdemeanor.

In terms of playing time, Miller will probably have little in the way of guarantees since Anthony Richardson isn't going anywhere.

The freshman had Florida fans demanding he be named the starter after throwing for 192 yards and two touchdowns and running for 275 yards and two touchdowns in the team's first two games.

Former head coach Dan Mullen looked a bit more justified for taking a cautious approach with the 6'4" signal-caller when the Gators lost 34-7 to Georgia on Oct. 30. 

Inside the final three minutes of the first half, Richardson committed three turnovers (two interceptions and one fumble) that Georgia turned into 21 points to take a commanding 24-0 lead.

A meniscus injury will keep him out for Thursday's Gasparilla Bowl against UCF, eliminating the chance for him to end 2021 on a high note.

With the experience he gained this year, Richardson should be better next season. Any advantage he might've had over Miller in terms of continuity is probably nonexistent, though, since the offense could look a lot different under new coach Billy Napier.

The pro-style QB's transfer will likely make that position battle one of the more closely followed when spring practices begin.

Kamari Wilson, a class of 2022 5-star safety from IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida, will attend Florida.

Blake Alderman of 247Sports reported Wilson chose Florida on Wednesday after taking an official visit to the school this past weekend.

Per 247Sports' composite rankings, the 6'0", 200-pound Wilson is ranked 28th in his class overall, second among safeties and fifth overall from Florida. 

Wilson fielded 33 offers, including ones from Georgia, Texas A&M, Alabama and Notre Dame. In the end, he chose the Gators, who have added a potentially dominant force in their secondary.

Wilson racked up 114 tackles, five interceptions and five touchdowns during his sophomore year in 2019 for Westwood High School in Fort Pierce, Florida.

He decided to transfer to IMG Academy before the 2020 season and announced his decision on social media:

"It was a super tough decision," Wilson added, per Jon Santucci of Treasure Coast Newspapers.

"I love this football team so much, and I didn't want to leave it. IMG is going to give me the tutors that I need to succeed academically. I don't have to worry about violence there. I can just go there and focus on school and football."

He also mentioned academics as a reason for his move.

"The thing that got me thinking about transferring was my grades," Wilson said.

"I'm a 3.2 (grade point average) student, but I had some C's during the third quarter because I had some struggles staying focused. I don't think that will be an issue for me at IMG. I'll have tutors for every class, and I think that will really help a lot."

Wilson played his 2020 season at IMG Academy. In the summer of 2021, he excelled at the Future 50 event, per Chad Simmons of On3 Sports:

Wilson was heavily tipped to play at Georgia at one time, with many of the 247Sports prognosticators projecting as much.

However, Wilson will head to rival Florida, which went 6-6 in 2021.

The Gators will be under new leadership in 2022 as Louisiana-Lafayette's Billy Napier now runs the show in Gainesville. 

Adding a player like Wilson is a huge get for Napier as he looks to establish his footprint in the SEC and in the Sunshine State.

Florida confirmed Sunday that it has hired Louisiana-Lafayette's Billy Napier as its next head football coach.

Ross Dellenger of Sports Illustrated first reported the hire.

Napier has a 39-12 record across four seasons at Louisiana, leading the Ragin' Cajuns to a 11-1 record so far in 2021. The team is set to compete in the Sun Belt Championship Game on Saturday at home against Appalachian State.

After taking over a squad that went 5-7 in 2017, Napier led Louisiana to a 7-7 record and a bowl appearance in his first season as a head coach. The squad then went 11-3 in 2019, the first season with double-digit wins in school history.

The Ragin' Cajuns have now accomplished the feat in three straight years, including the 10-1 mark in 2020 that ended with a win in the First Responder Bowl.

Prior to his time as a head coach, the 42-year-old gained experience at some of the top programs in the country, including as an offensive coordinator at Clemson and receivers coach at Alabama. The former Furman quarterback also served as offensive coordinator at Arizona State in 2017.

The Tennessee native fill the vacancy left by Dan Mullen, who was fired last Sunday after a 5-6 start to the season.

Mullen produced a 34-15 record across four seasons at Florida, earning wins in the Orange Bowl and Peach Bowl before reaching the SEC Championship Game last season. A slow start to 2021 ended his tenure, showing the high expectations for this program.

Napier will be expected to get the Gators back to national-title contention in a hurry.   

The Florida Gators reportedly have their eyes on Billy Napier to become their next head football coach. 

Per Ross Dellenger and Pat Forde of Sports Illustrated, the Louisiana head coach has emerged as the top choice to replace Dan Mullen. 

SI noted if a deal is reached at some point within the next week, Napier would still coach Louisiana against Appalachian State in the Sun Belt Conference championship game on Dec. 4. 

Florida's athletic department announced on Nov. 21 a parting of ways with Mullen one day after a 24-23 loss to Missouri. The Gators had a 5-6 record overall with one game remaining in the regular season. 

Special teams coordinator/running backs coach Greg Knox is filling in as head coach for Saturday's game against Florida State. 

Mullen was hired by the Gators in November 2017 after he spent nine seasons as head coach at Mississippi State. The 49-year-old went 34-15 in 49 games at Florida with one appearance in the SEC Championship Game (2020). 

Napier is in his fourth season as head coach of the Ragin' Cajuns. After a 7-7 record in his first year with the program, the 42-year-old has gone 31-5 in 36 games since the start of 2019. 

Prior to being hired by Louisiana, Napier had extensive experience as an assistant coach with several top-tier programs. He was the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Clemson for Dabo Swinney's first two seasons from 2009 to 2010. 

Napier spent five seasons over two stints at Alabama. He worked as an analyst for the Crimson Tide in 2011 and wide receivers coach from 2013 to 2016. 

Before Napier's hiring at Louisiana, the program posted three consecutive losing seasons under Mark Hudspeth.