The 2024 Florida Gators football team represented the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preem ...

as a member of the

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central United States, South Central and Southeastern United States. Its 16 members in ...

(SEC) during the

2024 NCAA Division I FBS football season The 2024 NCAA Division I FBS football season was the 155th season of college football in the United States, the 119th season organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), and the 49th of the highest level of competition, the ...

. The Gators were led by third-year head coach

Billy Napier William Hall Napier (born July 21, 1979) is an American football coach currently serving as head coach at the University of Florida. From 2017 until 2021, he was head coach at the University of Louisiana, amassing a 40–12 record in four season ...

and played their home games at

Ben Hill Griffin Stadium Ben Hill Griffin Stadium (in full Steve Spurrier-Florida Field at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium),Gainesville, Florida Gainesville is the county seat of Alachua County, Florida, United States, and the most populous city in North Central Florida, with a population of 145,212 in 2022. It is the principal city of the Gainesville metropolitan area, Florida, Gainesv ...

. The Gators entered the season having the most difficult schedule in the country. Following Florida's 23–17 defeat in overtime to No. 8

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

that resulted in the Gators going 1–2 in conference play, there was speculation head coach Billy Napier would be fired. However, the team would rally towards the end of the season, upsetting No. 22

LSU Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as Louisiana State University (LSU), is an American Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louis ...

and No. 9

Ole Miss OLE, Ole or Olé may refer to: * Olé, a cheering expression used in Spain * Ole (name), a male given name, includes a list of people named Ole * Overhead lines equipment, used to transmit electrical energy to trams, trolleybuses or trains Co ...

at home consecutively. The Florida Gators would finish on a three-game winning streak, beating their in-state

rivals A rivalry is the state of two people or Social group, groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Rivalry is the "against each other" spirit between two competing sides. The relationship itself may also be called "a rivalry", and each ...

Florida State Florida State University (FSU or Florida State) is a Public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preeminent university in the s ...

Tallahassee Tallahassee ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of and the only incorporated municipality in Leon County. Tallahassee became the capital of Florida, then the Florida Territory, in 1824. In 2024, the est ...

, their first win in the rivalry since

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

and their first at

Doak Campbell Stadium Doak S. Campbell Stadium (in full Bobby Bowden Field at Doak S. Campbell Stadium), popularly known as "Doak", is a football stadium on the campus of Florida State University in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is the home field of the Flo ...

since

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

. Florida would additionally end with their first winning record since

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

. With a win over

Tulane The Tulane University of Louisiana (commonly referred to as Tulane University) is a private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by a cohort of medical doctors, it be ...

in the

Gasparilla Bowl The Gasparilla Bowl is an annual NCAA-sanctioned post-season college football bowl game played in the Tampa Bay area. It was first played in 2008 as the St. Petersburg Bowl at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida, one of several new bowl gam ...

, Florida would win their first Bowl game since

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

. Their win over

earned them the fictional College Football Macguffin award.

Offseason

Coaching staff changes

Coaching staff additions

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.

Entered NFL Draft

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

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

Incoming transfers

Recruiting class

*Jameer Grimsley originally signed to

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

, but left the program following the departure of head coach

Nick Saban Nicholas Lou Saban Jr. ( ; born October 31, 1951) is an American sportscaster and former Professional gridiron football, professional and college football coach. He serves as an analyst for ESPN's ''College GameDay (football TV program), Colleg ...

2024 Overall class rankings

Walk-ons

Schedule

Florida and the SEC announced the 2024 football schedule on December 13, 2023.

Game summaries

No. 19 Miami (FL)

Samford

Texas A&M

at Mississippi State

UCF

at No. 8 Tennessee (rivalry)

Kentucky (rivalry)

at No. 2 Georgia (rivalry)

at No. 5 Texas

No. 22 LSU (rivalry)

No. 9 Ole Miss

Florida State (rivalry)

Tulane (Gasparilla Bowl)

2024-1220 Gasparilla Bowl Desmond Watson

Personnel

Roster

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. ''Source: 2024 Florida Coaching Staff''

References

{{Florida Gators football navbox

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

Florida Gators football seasons Gasparilla Bowl champion seasons

Florida Gators football The Florida Gators football program represents the University of Florida (UF) in American football, American college football. Florida competes in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the ...