2024 Florida Gators football team explained

The 2024 Florida Gators football team represents the University of Florida as a member of the Southeastern Conference (SEC) during the 2024 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Gators are led by third-year head coach Billy Napier and play their home games at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium located in Gainesville, Florida.

The Gators entered the season having one of the hardest schedules in the country. Following Florida’s 17-49 defeat at No. 5 Texas and having a 4-5 record there was speculation head coach Billy Napier would be fired, however the team would end the regular season on a three game winning streak upsetting No. 22 LSU and No. 9 Ole Miss at home they then beat rival Florida State in Tallahassee, their first win in the rivalry since 2021 and their first at Doak Campbell Stadium since 2018. These wins gave Florida their first winning record since 2020.

Offseason

Coaching staff changes

Sean Spencer	Defensive line coach	Fired[1]	Gerald Chatman
Corey Raymond	Secondary coach	Fired[2]	Will Harris
Jay Bateman	Linebackers coach	Accepted job at Texas A&M<ref>News: Zwerneman . Brent . December 21, 2023 . Texas A&M hiring Florida's Jay Bateman as defensive coordinator . 2024-03-16 . Houston Chronicle . en.	Ron Roberts
Darnell Stapleton	Co-offensive line coach	Accepted job at Washington Commanders[3]

Coaching staff additions

Jonathan Decoster	Offensive assistant (Cleveland Browns)	Assistant Offensive line coach[4]
Gerald Chatman	Defensive line Coach (Tulane)	Defensive line coach[5]
Ron Roberts	Defensive Coordinator (Auburn)	Linebackers coach, Co-defensive coordinator, Executive defensive head coach[6]
Will Harris	Assistant defensive backs coach (Los Angeles Chargers)	Secondary coach[7]

Team departures

Overall, thirty-seven Florida players left the program during or after the 2023 season. 6 players graduated, 1 medically retired, 6 players declared for the NFL draft, while the other 24 players entered the transfer portal. Of those twenty-four, 21 have found new teams while 3 have not.

Jack Miller III	QB	So	Retired
Dante Zanders	TE	Sr	Graduated
Teradja Mitchell	LB	Sr	Graduated
Daniel Cross	WR	Sr	Graduated
Kenny Anyaehie	LB	Sr	Graduated
Jaelin Humphries	DL	Jr	Graduated
Dakota Mitchell	S	So	Medically Retired

Entered NFL Draft

See main article: 2024 NFL draft.

Kingsley Eguakun	C	Jr
Ricky Pearsall	WR	Sr
Micah Leon	QB	Grad Student
Eddie Battle	RB	Sr
Jacob Watkins	P	Sr
Lyndell Hudson II	OL	Sr

Transfer Portal

Twenty-one Florida players will be playing for new teams in the 2024 season after entering the NCAA Transfer Portal. Over the off-season, Florida added thirteen players from the transfer portal.

Departing transfers

Max Brown	QB	Charlotte
Caleb Douglas	WR	Texas Tech
Richie Leonard IV	OL	Florida State
Scooby Williams	LB
Jaydon Hill	CB	Texas A&M
Micah Mazzcua	OL	Nebraska
Jalen Kimber	CB	Penn State
Miguel Mitchell	S	Arkansas
Will Norman	DL	Marshall
Trevor Etienne	RB	Georgia
Princely Umanmielen	EDGE	Ole Miss
Keenan Landry	DL	Louisiana Tech
Jalen Farmer	OL	Kentucky
Andrew Savaiinaea	TE	Nevada
Jordan Herman	OT	Charlotte
Jonathan Odom	TE	Eastern Michigan
Kamari Wilson	S	Arizona State
Chris McClellan	DL	Missouri
Jadarrius Perkins	CB	Toledo
Thai Chiaokhiao-Bowman	WR	Rice
Mannie Nunnery	LB	Texas State

Additionally, the following players are currently in the transfer portal and have not committed to a new school for the 2024 season.

Carlson Joseph	RB
Ara Emerzian	P
Adam Mihalek	K

Incoming transfers

Jameer Grimsley	CB	Alabama
Asa Turner	S	Washington
Grayson Howard	LB	South Carolina
Clay Millen	QB	Colorado State
George Gumbs Jr.	EDGE	Northern Illinois
DJ Douglas	S	Tulane
Trikweze Bridges	CB	Oregon
Devon Manuel	OT	Arkansas
Chimere Dike	WR	Wisconsin
Brandon Crenshaw-Dickson	OT	San Diego State
Joey Slackman	DL	Penn
Caleb Rillos	TE	Air Force
Aidan Warner	QB	Yale
Elijhah Badger	WR	Arizona State
Jason Zandamela	C	USC
Cormani McClain	CB	Colorado

Recruiting class

See main article: 2024 college football recruiting class.

• Jameer Grimsley originally signed to Alabama, but left the program following the departure of head coach Nick Saban.

2024 Overall class rankings

ESPN[8]	--	--	2	9	9	30
On3 Recruits[9]	10	7	2	11	5	19
Rivals[10]	15	8	2	10	7	19
247Sports[11]	12	7	2	8	9	19

Walk-ons

Paul Kessler	QB	6'4.5, 217	Los Angeles, CA	Venice High School
Aidan Warner	QB	6'3, 199	Winter Park, FL	Winter Park High School (Yale)
Hunter Smith	K	5'10, 204	Gainesville, FL	Buchholz High School (FAU)
Jack Muse	P	6'3.5, 195	Hingham, MA	Hingham High School (UMass)
Jake Xeller	ILB	6'2.25, 239	Reston, VA	Herndon High School
Chase Stevens	OL	6'3, 305	Vero Beach, FL	Vero Beach High School

Schedule

Florida and the SEC announced the 2024 football schedule on December 13, 2023.^{[12] [13]}

Game summaries

No. 19 Miami (FL)

See also: 2024 Miami Hurricanes football team, Florida–Miami football rivalry and Florida Cup.

style=	Pregame line[14] !	style=	Over/under
Miami –2.5	54

Statistics	MIA	UF
First downs	25	17
Total yards	529	261
Rushing yards	144	139
Passing yards	385	122
Passing: Comp–Att–Int	26–36–1	14–26–2
Time of possession	34:30	25:30

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Miami (FL)	Passing		26/36, 385 yards, 3 TD, INT
Rushing		15 carries, 65 yards
Receiving		7 receptions, 112 yards, TD
Florida	Passing		11/20, 91 yards, INT
Rushing		11 carries, 106 yards, TD
Receiving		7 receptions, 50 yards

Samford

See also: 2024 Samford Bulldogs football team.

style=	Pregame line[15] !	style=	Over/under
Florida –38.5	55.5

Statistics	SAM	UF
First downs	15	22
Total yards	68–205	62–632
Rushing yards	61	166
Passing yards	144	466
Passing: Comp–Att–Int	22–33–0	19–28–0
Time of possession	33:30	26:30

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Samford	Passing	Quincy Crittendon	22/31, 144 yards
Rushing	Damonta Witherspoon	9 attempts, 26 yards, 1 touchdown
Receiving	Brendan Jenkins	4 receptions, 51 yards
Florida	Passing		18/25, 456 yards, 3 touchdowns
Rushing	Montrell Johnson Jr.	15 carries, 67 yards, 2 touchdowns
Receiving	Eugene Wilson III	6 receptions, 141 yards, 1 touchdown

Texas A&M

style=	Pregame line[16] !	style=	Over/under
Texas A&M –3	46.5

Statistics	TAMU	UF
First downs	27	19
Total yards	488	301
Rushing yards	310	52
Passing yards	178	249
Turnovers	0	3
Time of possession	37:37	22:23

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Texas A&M	Passing		11/17, 178 yards, 2 TD
Rushing	Le'Veon Moss	18 rushes, 110 yards
Receiving	Cyrus Allen	3 receptions, 81 yards, TD
Florida	Passing	Graham Mertz	12/15, 195 yards, TD, INT
Rushing	Treyaun Webb	6 rushes, 37 yards
Receiving		5 receptions, 94 yards, TD

at Mississippi State

See also: 2024 Mississippi State Bulldogs football team.

style=	Pregame line[17] !	style=	Over/under
Florida –7	57.5

Statistics	UF	MSST
First downs	27	31
Total yards	503	480
Rushing yards	226	240
Passing yards	277	240
Passing: Comp–Att–Int	26–28–0	20–34–0
Time of possession	27:36	32:24

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Florida	Passing	Graham Mertz	19/21, 201 yards, 3 TD
Rushing	Montrell Johnson Jr.	15 rushes, 68 yards
Receiving	Elijhah Badger	3 receptions, 45 yards
Mississippi State	Passing		13/21, 140 yards, TD
Rushing	Johnnie Daniels	14 rushes, 77 yards, TD
Receiving		3 receptions, 62 yards

UCF

See also: 2024 UCF Knights football team.

style=	Pregame line[18] !	style=	Over/under
UCF –1.5	61.5

Statistics	UCF	UF
First downs	20	18
Total yards	62–273	60–359
Rushing yards	40–108	32–130
Passing yards	165	229
Passing: Comp–Att–Int	12–22–1	23–28–0
Time of possession	27:44	32:16

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
UCF	Passing		12/22, 165 yards, INT
Rushing		16 carries, 75 yards, TD
Receiving	Randy Pittman Jr.	3 receptions, 44 yards
Florida	Passing	Graham Mertz	19/23, 179 yards, TD
Rushing	Montrell Johnson Jr.	10 carries, 54 yards, TD
Receiving	Chimere Dike	4 receptions, 88 yards

at No. 8 Tennessee (rivalry)

See also: 2024 Tennessee Volunteers football team and Florida–Tennessee football rivalry.

style=	Pregame line[19] !	style=	Over/under
Tennessee –14.5	55.5

Statistics	UF	TENN
First downs	22	18
Total yards	72–361	69–312
Rushes/yards	40–138	43–143
Passing yards	223	169
Passing: Comp–Att–Int	20–32–1	16–26–1
Time of possession	34:56	25:04

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Florida	Passing	Graham Mertz	11/15, 125 yards, TD
Rushing	Montrell Johnson Jr.	12 carries, 85 yards
Receiving	Chimere Dike	4 receptions, 76 yards, TD
Tennessee	Passing		16/26, 169 yards, INT
Rushing		27 carries, 112 yards, 3 TD
Receiving		5 receptions, 71 yards

Kentucky (rivalry)

See also: 2024 Kentucky Wildcats football team.

style=	Pregame line[20] !	style=	Over/under
Kentucky –2.5	42.5

Statistics	UK	UF
First downs	17	16
Total yards	68–309	59–476
Rushing yards	36–144	44–197
Passing yards	165	279
Passing: Comp–Att–Int	12–32–3	8–15–1
Time of possession	29:56	30:04

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Kentucky	Passing		12/26, 165 yards, TD, 2 INT
Rushing	Demie Sumo-Karngbaye	10 carries, 39 yards
Receiving		2 receptions, 56 yards, TD
Florida	Passing	DJ Lagway	7/14, 259 yards, INT
Rushing	Jadan Baugh	22 carries, 106 yards, 5 TD
Receiving	Elijhah Badger	3 receptions, 148 yards

at No. 2 Georgia (rivalry)

See also: 2024 Georgia Bulldogs football team and Florida–Georgia football rivalry.

style=	Pregame line[21] !	style=	Over/under
Georgia –15.5	52.5

Statistics	UF	UGA
First downs	13	26
Total yards	68–228	73–455
Rushing yards	38–115	33–146
Passing yards	113	309
Passing: Comp–Att–Int	9–30–1	25–40–3
Time of possession	26:25	33:30

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Florida	Passing		7/22, 66 yards, 1 interception
Rushing	Ja'Kobbi Jackson	12 attempts, 74 yards, 1 touchdown
Receiving	Aidan Mizell	4 receptions, 66 yards, 1 touchdown
Georgia	Passing		25/40, 309 yards, 2 touchdowns, 3 interceptions
Rushing		19 attempts, 82 yards, 1 touchdown
Receiving		2 receptions, 59 yards

at No. 5 Texas

See also: 2024 Texas Longhorns football team.

style=	Pregame line[22] !	style=	Over/under
Texas –23.5	48.5

Statistics	UF	TEX
First downs	20	23
Total yards	66–329	64–562
Rushing yards	41–197	31–210
Passing yards	132	352
Passing: Comp–Att–Int	12–25–2	22–33–0
Time of possession	32:06	27:54

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Florida	Passing	Aidan Warner	12/25, 132 yards, 2 interceptions
Rushing	Ja'Kobi Jackson	19 attempts, 116 yards, 1 touchdown
Receiving		5 receptions, 95 yards
Texas	Passing		19/27, 333 yards, 5 touchdowns
Rushing		16 attempts, 100 yards, 1 touchdown
Receiving		3 receptions, 67 yards

No. 22 LSU (rivalry)

See also: 2024 LSU Tigers football team and Florida–LSU football rivalry.

style=	Pregame line[23] !	style=	Over/under
LSU –3.5	56.5

Statistics	LSU	UF
First downs	25	13
Total yards	92–390	43–339
Rushing yards	44–128	17–113
Passing yards	262	226
Passing: Comp–Att–Int	28–48–0	13–16–0
Time of possession	41:43	18:17

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
LSU	Passing		27/47, 260 yards, 1 touchdown
Rushing		21 attempts, 95 yards
Receiving		7 receptions, 72 yards, 1 touchdown
Florida	Passing		13/26, 226 yards, 1 touchdown
Rushing		6 attempts, 65 yards, 1 touchdown
Receiving		6 receptions, 131 yards, 1 touchdown

No. 9 Ole Miss

See also: 2024 Ole Miss Rebels football team.

style=	Pregame line[24] !	style=	Over/under
Ole Miss –12.5	55.5

Statistics	MISS	UF
First downs	24	19
Total yards	77–464	63–344
Rushing yards	35–141	45–164
Passing yards	323	180
Passing: Comp–Att–Int	24–42–2	10–18–1
Time of possession	30:03	29:28

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Ole Miss	Passing		24/41, 323 yards, 2 touchdowns, 2 interceptions
Rushing	Jaxson Dart	14 attempts, 71 yards
Receiving		6 receptions, 94 yards, 1 touchdown
Florida	Passing		10/17, 180 yards, 2 touchdowns, 1 interception
Rushing		18 attempts, 107 yards, 1 touchdown
Receiving		5 receptions, 87 yards, 1 touchdown

Florida State (rivalry)

See also: 2024 Florida State Seminoles football team, Florida–Florida State football rivalry and Florida Cup.

style=	Pregame line[25] !	style=	Over/under
Florida –16.5	45.5

Statistics	UF	FSU
First downs
Total yards
Rushing yards
Passing yards
Passing: Comp–Att–Int
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Florida	Passing
Rushing
Receiving
Florida State	Passing
Rushing
Receiving

Personnel

Roster

^[26]

Coaching staff

Florida head coach Billy Napier entered his third year as the Gator's head coach for the 2024 season. During his previous two years with Florida, Napier led the Gators to an overall record of 11 wins and 14 losses (.440) and an SEC record of 6 wins and 10 losses (0.375), with one bowl appearance.

Billy Napier	Head Coach	3rd
Rob Sale	Co-offensive Coordinator / Offensive Line	3rd
Austin Armstrong	Defensive Coordinator	2nd
Russ Callaway	Co-offensive Coordinator / Tight Ends	2nd
Ron Roberts	Executive Head Coach, Co-defensive Coordinator / Inside Linebackers	1st
Jabbar Juluke	Associate Head Coach - Offense / Running Backs	3rd
Gerald Chatman	Assistant Coach / Defensive Line	1st
Billy Gonzales	Assistant Coach / Wide Receivers	2nd
Will Harris	Assistant Coach / Secondary	1st
Mike Peterson	Assistant Coach / Edge / Alumni Liaison	3rd
Jonathan Decoster	Assistant Offensive Line Coach	1st
Tyler Miles	Director of Football Strength & Conditioning	1st

Source: 2024 Florida Coaching Staff^[27]

Notes and References

1. Web site: Ferreri . Frannie . 2023-11-28 . Florida Gators Fire Defensive Line Coach Sean Spencer . 2024-03-16 . ESPN 98.1 FM - 850 AM WRUF . en-US.
2. Web site: Salerno . Cameron . 2023-11-28 . Florida coach Billy Napier fires assistants Sean Spencer, Corey Raymond with expected staff shakeup ahead . 2024-03-16 . CBSSports.com . en.
3. Web site: Goodall . Zach . 2024-02-15 . Commanders Hire Florida OL Coach Darnell Stapleton . 2024-03-16 . Sports Illustrated Florida Gators News, Analysis and More . en.
4. Web site: Bender . Corey . 2024-03-03 . JUST IN: Gators turn to NFL to fill co-offensive line opening . 2024-03-16 . On3 . en.
5. Web site: 2023-12-20 . UF set to hire Tulane’s Gerald Chatman to coach Gators’ defensive line . 2024-03-16 . Orlando Sentinel . en-US.
6. Web site: 2024-01-08 . Source: UF to hire ex-Auburn coordinator Roberts . 2024-03-16 . ESPN.com . en.
7. Web site: Goodall . Zach . 2023-12-11 . Florida Hires L.A. Chargers' Will Harris as Secondary Coach . 2024-03-16 . Sports Illustrated Florida Gators News, Analysis and More . en.
8. Web site: College Football Recruiting Classes - ESPN . 2024-03-15 . ESPN.com.
9. Web site: 2024 Florida Gators Football Commits . 2024-03-15 . www.on3.com . en.
10. Web site: 1standTenFlorida . 2024-03-16 . florida.rivals.com.
11. Web site: Florida 2025 Football Commits . 2024-03-16 . 247Sports . en-US.
12. Web site: 2024 Football Schedule . Florida Gators . 23 December 2023.
13. Web site: Rorabaugh . Dan . December 14, 2023 . Who will Florida, FSU, UCF football play in 2024? Keep up with college football schedules . 23 December 2023 . Tallahassee Democrat.
14. https://www.sportsbookreview.com/betting-odds/college-football/line-history/303812/ Miami Betting
15. https://www.sportsbookreview.com/betting-odds/college-football/line-history/304326/ Samford betting
16. https://www.sportsbookreview.com/betting-odds/college-football/line-history/304204/ Texas A&M betting
17. https://www.sportsbookreview.com/betting-odds/college-football/line-history/303734/ Mississippi State betting
18. https://www.sportsbookreview.com/betting-odds/college-football/line-history/304320/ UCF betting
19. https://www.sportsbookreview.com/betting-odds/college-football/line-history/303771/ Tennessee betting
20. https://www.sportsbookreview.com/betting-odds/college-football/line-history/303870/ Kentucky betting
21. https://www.sportsbookreview.com/betting-odds/college-football/line-history/304444/ Georgia betting
22. https://www.sportsbookreview.com/betting-odds/college-football/line-history/304273/ Texas betting
23. https://www.sportsbookreview.com/betting-odds/college-football/line-history/304145/ LSU betting
24. https://www.sportsbookreview.com/betting-odds/college-football/line-history/303972/ Ole Miss betting
25. https://www.sportsbookreview.com/betting-odds/college-football/line-history/303888/ Florida State betting
26. Web site: 2024 Football Roster. Florida Gators. August 12, 2024.
27. Web site: Football Coaches . 2024-03-16 . Florida Gators . en.