For a school with statues of three quarterbacks in front of its stadium, the Gator program has not had many highly rated QBs--or so it seems. Oddly enough, the worst recruiter of QBs was Dan Mullen, aka "the Quarterback Whisperer". Billy Napier is the only head coach to recruit a QB with a grade of 100. Spiurrier and Meyer recruited QBs with grades of 99. I give Driskel to Meyer since he committed just as Meyer was leaving. Muschamp recruited Grier, but was never able to use him. McElwain recruited Franks, but it was Mullen who propelled Franks into the elite category before his injury. Napier has recruited some grade 99 and 100 QBs into the class, but some of them wound up leaving--most notably Jaden Rashada and Austin Simmons. Napier's average QB grade is lower because he invests in backups who tend to be transfer portal QBs with lower ratings--especially in the era of the Transfer Portal. The one higher rated QB that Napier tried to grab, Deshawn Purdie, elected to leave before competing with the incumbent.
All that to say, it appears that QB recruiting is improving under Napier despite the additional challenges in the Transfer Portal era.
All that to say, it appears that QB recruiting is improving under Napier despite the additional challenges in the Transfer Portal era.
| Class Range | Head Coach | Average Grade | Highest Grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997-2001 | Steve Spurrier | 97.50 | 99.0 (Grossman) |
| 2002-2004 | Ron Zook | 90.50 | 95.0 (Leak) |
| 2005-2010 | Urban Meyer | 86.25 | 99.0 (Tebow) |
| 2011-2014 | Will Muschamp | 88.13 | 99.0 (Driskel) --> 96.0 (Grier) |
| 2015-2017 | Jim McElwain | 81.22 | 95.0 (Franks) |
| 2018-2021 | Dan Muillen | 87.00 | 93.0 (E. Jones) |
| 2022-2025 | Billy Napier | 82.92 | 100.0 (Lagway) |
