Florida Gators 15th in preseason AP Top 25

Many believe Billy Napier’s Florida Gators turned the corner in 2024. With plenty of talent back from that squad, UF is getting lots of respect this offseason, and more of it came Monday when the Gators came in at No. 15 in the AP Top 25 preseason rankings.

Florida was 8-5 last season, and returns several key players, notably quarterback DJ Lagway, All-American center Jake Slaughter, running back Jadan Baugh, EDGE Tyreak Sapp, end Caleb Banks and placekicker Trey Smack. Meanwhile, the Gators added key pieces via the transfer portal and recruiting. Lagway has been limited in preseason camp by a calf injury, but the hope in Gainesville is he will be at 100 percent in the near future.

“We absolutely have aspirations to be a playoff team,” Napier said two weeks ago. “That’s the intention of coming here is to win championships. Now, what do we know about that? It’s about the work we do. It’s about today. Okay. It’s not about yesterday or tomorrow. It’s about today. A good today leads to a good week, leads to a good month, leads to a good season, and you look up and count them up at the end of the year.

I think for us it’s about getting the most out of this group. … I think for us we know that the results will be a product of really buying into the process, being present, stacking good days and creating habits that will hold up on game day. So we got a lot of guys that need to establish that we can trust them, and this next month will present that opportunity.”

Texas is the preseason No. 1 in the AP Top 25. The Longhorns, a College Football Playoff participant last season, play at Florida on Oct. 4. Penn State is No. 2.

Complete AP Preseason Top 25

1. Texas
2. Penn State 
3. Ohio State 
4. Clemson 
5. Georgia 
6. Notre Dame 
7. Oregon 
8. Alabama 
9. LSU 
10. Miami (FL)
11. Arizona State 
12. Illinois 
13. South Carolina 
14. Michigan 
15. Florida 
16. SMU 
17. Kansas State 
18. Oklahoma 
19. Texas A&M 
20. Indiana
21. Ole Miss 
22. Iowa State 
23. Texas Tech 
24. Tennessee 
25. Boise State