...And BTW:
Personally, I am to a major degree turning my back on most of the online sites' analyses and associated rankings of prospective recruits.
After that debacle a week or two back when On3 and others suddenly reclassified a huge chunk of the 2024 class (in particular it seemed chose to bump GATOR PROSPECTS DOWN SEVERELY), I looked into the background factors that turn out to affect such "evaluations" to the greatest degree. I won't go into the details here as to the myriad complex (and SELFISHLY BIASED) factors that in quiet truth most determine such dramatic "reshuffling"; suffice it to say simply that from an admittedly GATORCENTRIC P.O.V. I AM hereforth mainly "turning my back" on all that and instead trusting in Billy and his staff's evaluation of film, character and "upside", all in light of who and what we need and where they know we are headed.
My advice then to all of you is to NOT take it all too much to heart after all: Our current 2024 class is every bit as much an encouraging movement forward as we thought. We are still behind the one program we will HAVE to eventually pass...but we are passing everyone else and at the very least now have UGA squarely in our sites ahead. We will GET there--it just probably won't quite be in THIS recruiting cycle.
But we are if anything gathering momentum now, and THEY are showing signs of "cracks in their armor"...something that experience over the years gives US a certain perspective on. It is too early for me to come right out and say what "deep down hope" whispers (something like, "Let's proceed to do to THEM what they've done to Bama!")--but naturally it is our actual goal, some would say our "manifest destiny". That's exactly why "WON'T BACK DOWN" is the TP song that is now sung along with "We Are The Boys" after the 3rd quarter.
OK. Yes, admittedly prob still too early in this race to start crowing loudly. It's a marathon, not a sprint at this point. I can say it here, I'm thinking--but you won't catch me saying it somewhere like Twitter ("X"???), Gator Breakdown or wherever.
I do NOT care to contribute ANYTHING to the knee-jerk "prematurely inflated expectations" so inevitably characteristic of Gator Nation!
So agree or disagree as y'all see fit here, but understand that I'm NOT getting ahead of myself:
I can read and grasp the implications of our 2023 schedule as well as anyone. I would consider a resulting EIGHT win season a triumph, at this point--and can easily see us falling short of THAT, believe me. All depends on IF (1) the DEFENSE improves as much as we hope/expect, and
(2) Mertz actually fits and further develops as Coach's onfield proxy running this offense (with the stress on "RUNS", all things considered).
A whole LOT of "IF" there--but IF enough WERE to go right, Hey, perhaps we're NOT "5th in the East" after all. Not exactly the "Big Buzz" we're used to seeing/feeling heading into a season historically, but it is probably best to go for "down to earth/realistic", as opposed to "swaggering hyperbole" at this point (LOL).
