Florida football has a plan for upcoming roster limitations, but clarity still needed
The transactional age of college football is about to usher in another change — one that has coaches and administrators fearing potential unintended consequences.
College football roster sizes are expected to be capped at 105 players for the 2025 season as part of the House vs. NCAA Settlement, which is expected to pass this April.
Florida football coach Billy Napier is concerned about the ripple effect after the Florida Gators operated with a roster of 131 players during the 2024 season.
“It’s going to be one of the more transformational things in our game in the last 20 years,” Napier said. “I think just relative to your year-round process, how do you practice, how you do all season, how do you develop players. I think it’s a product of revenue sharing, but I would say we lack clarity there.”
The SEC has already taken the proactive step of maintaining the scholarship limit at 85 players, with 20 walk-ons, though other conferences can offer up to 105 scholarships if the settlement passes.
Napier said having a high level of walk-ons is essential when operating practices during spring and fall camp and through the course of the season.
“The issue is we are not the National Football League; we can’t replace players,” Napier said.
“Late in the season, scout teams, you’re just gonna have to evolve how you practice, it’s going to be very much the NFL the back half of the year, the sports science component will be critical, you gotta keep them healthy, strength and conditioning, being on top of all the science relative to player load and all the things that we do to prevent injury.”
How will Florida football manage roster with 105-player limit
Another issue is how Florida will manage its roster from a talent and depth standpoint going forward. UF had a handful of preferred walk-ons contribute during the 2024 season, including sophomore cornerback Cormani McClain, who returned an interception for a TD against Kentucky, redshirt freshman quarterback Aidan Warner, who started against Texas and redshirt freshman running back Anthony Rubio, who rushed for a TD against Tulane in the Gasparilla Bowl.
McClain, a former five-star recruit from Lakeland, transferred in from Colorado last spring and was given a substantial NIL deal as a preferred walk-on because Florida was at its scholarship limit last season.
“We’re really, literally going to be in a business model,” Napier said. “We have a cap, we have contracts, we have negotiation, we have strategy about how we distribute those funds, and it’s a major math puzzle.”
Florida football staff member Jacob LaFrance has served as UF’s director of player personnel in 2024, though UF is in the process of hiring a general manager that will oversee the program in an administrative position. The list of candidates, reported by Edgar Thompson of the Orlando Sentinel last week, includes former Jacksonville Jaguars general manager David Caldwell, current Ole Miss general manager Matt Lindsay, former Atlanta Falcons director of football operations Nick Polk and Rick Mueller, the current director of player personnel for the UFL’s Arlington Renegades.
“We’re going to build out a front office here in the next couple of months, and it’s primarily that purpose is to help us manage that huge math problem,” Napier said. “There’ll be a ton of strategy around that, I’m looking forward it.”
How Florida football could deal with injuries with the 105-player limit?
Football is the ultimate contact sport and injuries are bound to arise. Napier said based on his studies, an NFL team typically goes through 120 players in a calendar year.
While coaching at Louisiana, Napier said he trained160-70 players over the summer before trimming the roster to 135 on the first day of class.
“If we got a guy hurt, we make a phone call, we bring a guy up,” Napier said. “So, could you do that? But those are all … it has not been defined for us. We need some clarity.”
Leave a Reply