Former Florida guard O’Cyrus Torrence has turned his breakout into a massive payday, and the new contract is a sharp reminder of the kind of offensive line success Billy Napier never managed to repeat in Gainesville.
Torrence has signed a four-year extension with the Buffalo Bills worth $78.4 million, including $46 million guaranteed. The deal puts him seventh among the NFL’s highest-paid guards and keeps him under contract with Buffalo through the 2030 season.
For Florida fans, that contract lands as both a point of pride and a what-if. Torrence arrived in Gainesville with Napier from Louisiana after being a low-tier three-star prospect, bringing three solid seasons with the Rajun Cajuns before making the jump to the Power Four for his senior year. That transition can be a rough one, but Torrence erased the doubt immediately.
He logged 689 snaps for the Gators, allowed just eight pressures, and never gave up a sack. In fact, he finished his college career without allowing a single sack. His play earned him an 88.0 PFF grade and All-American honors after the 2022 season.
That performance helped make him a second-round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, and it fed the early belief that Napier might have a real formula on the offensive line. If he could take a player like Torrence and build him into that kind of prospect, Florida fans wondered what would happen once higher-end recruits entered the program.
The answer, at least in Gainesville, never really came.
One of the defining frustrations of the Billy Napier era was how much investment went into the offensive line without the payoff to match. Napier used two of his paid assistant coach spots on that unit, but the results never rose beyond average, and at times were far worse.
He kept betting on similar three-star developmental types like Torrence, yet never uncovered another player who hit the same level. Jake Slaughter, Florida’s other offensive line All-American under Napier, was actually a Dan Mullen holdover.
Now the spotlight shifts to Phil Trautwein, who inherits the same challenge. Florida fans have placed a lot of trust in the new offensive line coach, who previously helped develop a long list of NFL prospects while coaching the position at Penn State.
In Other News...
Former Gator JaKobi Jackson Is Suddenly Turning Heads At Ohio State
JaKobi Jacksons move from Florida to Ohio State already made him a name to watch this offseason, and now the former Gator is drawing even more attention in Columbus. After a breakout 2024 season in Gainesville was cut short by injury, Jackson has been getting a fresh look in practice, giving the Buckeyes another back to evaluate as camp roles start to take shape.
The more surprising part is the order of things behind him, with returning sophomore Bo Jackson still part of the picture after a freshman season that topped 1,000 rushing yards and an offseason surgery that apparently has not kept him off the field. Even so, the early practice reps have created an interesting competition in the backfield, and for Florida fans watching from afar, it is a reminder that Jacksons departure may be felt well beyond the swamp. [Read more 🡒]
Jon Sumrall Is Already Demanding What Florida Must Find Fast
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The early days of camp are always about more than reps, though, and this one comes with the added weight of a new staff trying to set standards fast. Sumralls expectations center on consistency and urgency, the sort of tone a program wants before September arrives, and the photo galleries from the reporter-open practices only add another layer of curiosity for anyone tracking how Florida looks in those first workouts. [Read more 🡒]
Florida Could Face A Brutal CFP Problem Thanks To Notre Dame
Floridas path to the College Football Playoff just got a little more complicated, and not because of anything happening in Gainesville. Under the 2026 procedures, Notre Dame would be guaranteed a place if it finishes in the top 12, while the playoff will also reserve spots for the Power Four champions and the highest-ranked Group of Six champion. That structure leaves less room for borderline at-large teams and raises the possibility that a strong Florida season could still end with the Gators on the outside looking in.
The uncomfortable part for Florida is how quickly the math can turn against a team with a good record. In the hypothetical scenario the new format creates, a 10-2 Gators team could have the rsum to feel playoff-worthy and still lose out to Notre Dame because of the way the bracket is built. For Florida, the issue is not just winning enough games, but navigating a selection process that now gives the Irish a clearer lane than many other contenders. [Read more 🡒]