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How Billy Napier’s first full recruiting class compares to Dan Mullen’s

The team ranking is worse under Napier, but his first haul is deeper than what his predecessor signed.
 
Florida Gators coach Billy Napier finished his first full recruiting class Wednesday.
Florida Gators coach Billy Napier finished his first full recruiting class Wednesday. [ JOHN RAOUX | AP ]
Published Feb. 3

Billy Napier’s first full recruiting class with the Florida Gators looks a lot like the ones Dan Mullen brought to Gainesville four years ago. That’s what you’ll see from a quick peek at the rankings after Wednesday’s national signing day.

Napier’s first full class sits 14th in the 247Sports composite (our source for all rankings in this story). Mullen’s three full classes ranked ninth, ninth and 12th.

Related: The grading curve is over for Billy Napier, Florida Gators

The reality is more nuanced; Napier’s haul is deeper than what Mullen signed and has a higher ratio of blue-chip prospects.

Recruiting rankings are, of course, imperfect. The lowest-rated recruit of Mullen’s first class — Ethan White from Clearwater’s Calvary Christian High — started 21 games and was a second-team all-SEC offensive lineman last season. But Napier calls college football a talent-acquisition business, and this is a good time for a side-by-side assessment.

Ethan White, seen here blocking for Emory Jones, started 21 games for the Florida Gators despite being the lowest-rated recruit of UF's 2019 class.
Ethan White, seen here blocking for Emory Jones, started 21 games for the Florida Gators despite being the lowest-rated recruit of UF's 2019 class. [ JOHN RAOUX | AP (2021) ]

Two quick caveats: We’re excluding transfers because the portal climate has changed too much in four years to allow for an apples-to-apples comparison. We are, however, including the three Mullen signees who didn’t make it to campus that season (though four-star linebacker Diwun Black did join the Gators later).

Related: Florida Gators’ Billy Napier: ‘We’re playing a game that’s never been played before’

National team ranking

Napier: No. 14

Mullen: No. 9

SEC team ranking

Napier: No. 5 (seventh, including future members Texas and Oklahoma)

Mullen: No. 5 (seventh, including the Longhorns and Sooners)

Ranking among coaches in first full cycle

Napier: Seventh (behind Oklahoma, LSU, Miami, Oregon, Notre Dame and USC)

Mullen: Third (behind Texas A&M and Oregon)

Top signee

Kelby Collins was the Gators' top signee in the 2023 class.
Kelby Collins was the Gators' top signee in the 2023 class. [ BUTCH DILL | al.com (2022) ]

Napier: Four-star Alabama defensive lineman Kelby Collins (No. 42 overall)

Mullen: Four-star California defensive back Chris Steele (No. 42 overall)

Top-50 recruits signed

Napier: 1

Mullen: 2

Top-100 recruits signed

Napier: 2

Mullen: 4

Top-200 recruits signed

Florida Gators tight end Keon Zipperer was a top-200 recruit in Dan Mullen's 2019 class.
Florida Gators tight end Keon Zipperer was a top-200 recruit in Dan Mullen's 2019 class. [ JEFFEREE WOO | Times (2022) ]

Napier: 8

Mullen: 7

Top-300 recruits signed

Napier: 11

Mullen: 12

Top-500 recruits signed

Napier: 19

Mullen: 18

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Related: Why the Florida Gators wanted Wisconsin transfer Graham Mertz

Average recruit ranking

Napier: 260

Mullen: 345.5

Average recruit rating

Napier: 92.04 (sixth nationally)

Mullen: 90.56 (13th nationally)

Blue-chip signees (four- or five-star recruits)

Napier: 18

Mullen: 16

Blue-chip ratio

Napier: 18/20 (90%)

Mullen: 16/24 (66.7%)

Top-10 Florida natives signed

Kaiir Elam, seen here at the 2019 Under Armour All-American Game, was one of the state's top recruits in his class.
Kaiir Elam, seen here at the 2019 Under Armour All-American Game, was one of the state's top recruits in his class.

Napier: 1

Mullen: 2

Related: Florida’s Big Three will hit another historic low for in-state recruiting

Top-25 Florida natives signed

Napier: 5

Mullen: 4

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