By Austin Perry
Copyright outkick
When a college football program’s culture has gotten “toxic,” it means every aspect of the team has been affected. From the coaches to the assistants and, of course, even down to the players, everyone feels the effects of things turning sour in the locker room. When things turn really sour, however, the toxicity can reach far beyond the walls of your team’s home stadium. We’ve already written extensively at OutKick about how Florida Gators head coach Billy Napier should be fired, and part of that is due to how toxic the culture has gotten in Gainesville. It wasn’t enough to have a defensive lineman spit on an opposing player no more than two weeks ago in a loss to South Florida. Now, even Florida’s recruits are crashing out in ways that have everyone in Gator Nation very concerned. That’s KJ Ford, a defensive end at Texas high school football powerhouse Duncanville, and Florida’s second-highest rated recruit in their 2026 signing class, having an absolute meltdown in the handshake line after his Panthers were upset by nearby Waxahachie Friday night. Talk about bad sportsmanship! There must have been something in the water bottles in high school football games last night, because this is the second random act of violence that occurred in a game on Friday. Not only is the leadership at Duncanville going to have to answer some tough questions about this kid’s season, but Florida might have to make a decision about whether they still want Ford in their class as well. I’m not saying this is Napier’s fault. He hasn’t coached this young man for a single snap of college ball yet. But if you already have documented incidents of players committing disgusting acts like spitting and putting themselves before the team with selfish decisions like that, the last thing you want is another headache in the locker room. Maybe Ford is a great kid and just had a moment when his wires crossed, but it will be up to the coaches at Florida to do their due diligence and vet him. Then again, all of this may be for naught, since Napier may not be in The Swamp much longer, and with that comes the inevitable cascade of “decommittments,” and Ford will be coveted by a ton of other big-time programs. Regardless, while this may be coincidental, it’s still a sign that things are trending in the wrong direction for the Florida Gators, and there may not be enough time to turn this ship around. Florida plays the fourth-ranked Miami Hurricanes on the road tonight, so it might get a lot worse before it gets better. But hey, all the other coaches in the SEC think Napier is a pretty swell guy, so at least he has that going for him.
