As Florida football begins year four of spring practices under Billy Napier on Thursday, the roster is continuing to evolve as he envisioned.

There's more depth, length and speed in all position groups, which Napier hopes will result in more success after the Florida Gators posted an 8-5 season in 2024.

"We got the right mix here, veteran example and rookies that are deciding to be here," Napier said. "So, it's a big, long, fast group, and seem to be getting along pretty good and working the right way."

Florida will have 15 workouts in all, practicing each Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday until the Orange and Blue game on April 12 at 1 p.m. at The Swamp. UF will take a week off for spring break from March 16-23.

Unlike other programs around the country, which chose to cancel or modify their spring games, Florida is planning to play a full spring game at this point.

How will Florida football DJ Lagway look taking the first-team reps in practice?

As an early enrollee last spring, Lagway took reps with the second team behind incumbent starter Graham Mertz. It's Lagway's team now, after he went 6-1 as a starter and led UF on a four-game win streak to close the season while Mertz was out with a torn ACL.

The 6-foot-3, 239-pound Lagway showed off a rifle arm in his first year as UF's starting quarterback, averaging 16.7 yards per completion while connecting on six TD pass plays of 25 yards or more. Overall, Lagway passed for 1,915 yards with 12 TDs to nine interceptions in a successful freshman season. The big key for Lagway as a sophomore will center on continuing to cut down on his mistakes while establishing more of a dual-threat element to his game. Lagway rushed for just 101 yards with no TDs last season.

Can Florida football QB DJ Lagway establish chemistry with a new group of receivers?

Florida lost two of its starting receivers ― Elijhah Badger and Chimere Dike ― to eligibility last season, while receiver Marcus Burke transferred to UCF and tight end Arlis Boardingham transferred to Bowling Green. It's unclear at this point if Eugene Wilson III will take part in spring drills after undergoing hip surgery last October.

J. Michael Sturdivant, a transfer from UCLA, provides a potential big target for Lagway at 6-foot-3 and 205 pounds. Sturdivant had 22 catches for 215 yards and two TDs for the Bruins last season. \

Meanwhile, freshman wide receiver early enrollees Dallas Wilson (five star, Tampa Bay Tech), Vernell Brown III (four star, Orlando Jones) and Naeshaun Montgomery (three star, Miami Central) also will get chances to establish chemistry with Lagway this spring.

How will two new coaches impact the Florida football defense?

Florida hired Washington safeties coach Vinnie Sunseri to replace Austin Armstrong and become UF's co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach. Sunseri was schooled under Nick Saban as a player and graduate assistant at Alabama and under Bill Belichick as a running backs coach with the New England Patriots .

Secondary coach Will Harris left UF unexpectedly last month and was replaced quickly by Arkansas secondary coach Deron Wilson, who worked as a quality control assistant under Napier in 2022.

Sunseri and Wilson will get their first chances to work and establish a bond with UF's players. The Florida secondary showed marked improvement in terms of forcing takeaways under Harris (10 interceptions, four forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries in 2024). Wilson will try to continue that upward trend in 2025.

Which early enrollees will emerge for Florida football in 2025?

Of UF's 25 incoming true freshmen, 19 have enrolled early and will take part in spring drills. Last season, early enrollee running back Jadan Baugh stood out, capping a strong spring by rushing for a team-high 77 yards in UF's 2024 spring game.

This spring, Wilson, Brown and Montgomery will get chances to flash at wide receiver. On the defensive side, cornerback Ben Hanks Jr., edge rusher Jayden Woods and safety Hylton Stubbs are all top-100 national recruits worth keeping an eye on.

Two more intriguing early enrollees to watch are all-purpose back Waltez Clark and quarterback Tramell Jones Jr., who will battle with Louisville transfer Harrison Bailey for snaps at backup quarterback behind Lagway.

Who will land the final starting spot on the Florida football offensive line?

Florida returns four starters on the offensive line ― led by All-American center Jake Slaughter, left tackle Austin Barber, left guard Knijeah Harris and right guard Dameion George Jr.

That leaves the right tackle starting job up for grabs after Brandon Crenshaw-Dickson graduated. Kamryn Waites (6-8 343 pounds) made two starts at right tackle last season and could emerge as the leading candidate. UF also is high on redshirt sophomore Bryce Lovett (6-5, 317 pounds) who started three games at right guard last season but has position flexibility to play both the guard and tackle spots. Florida could also opt to move George back out to right tackle, where he started in 2023, and start Lovett or Waites inside at right guard.

Redshirt sophomore Caden Jones (6-8, 327 pounds), redshirt senior and Arkansas transfer Devon Manuel (6-7, 319) and redshirt freshman Fletcher Westphal (6-8, 321 pounds) are three more tackles could see their roles increase on the offensive line as well.