Billy Napier addresses OL Josh Braun’s decision to transfer

Billy Napier addressed offensive lineman Josh Braun’s decision to transfer on Wednesday while speaking on the weekly SEC teleconference.

On Tuesday, the news broke that Florida offensive lineman [autotag]Josh Braun[/autotag]’s intended to transfer from the university following the season. In the 24 hours since those plans have been made public, Braun and Florida head coach [autotag]Billy Napier[/autotag] have addressed the situation.

Braun took to social media a few hours after the initial report from Swamp247 came out. He explained his plan to graduate from the University of Florida before moving on but noted that his class schedule requires him to be away from the team for the rest of the year.

By shutting things down now, Braun will retain his redshirt and a year of eligibility. Although he hadn’t seen a ton of playing time this season, Braun played in two games as a special teamer and didn’t want to risk injury.

Napier’s only chance to address the situation came Wednesday during the weekly SEC teleconference since Florida is on a bye week. He praised Braun’s character and seemed to understand the offensive lineman’s desire to take on a bigger role.

According to a follow-up report from 247Sports, Napier and the coaching staff urged Braun to stay by telling him he was one spot away from consistent playing time. But preserving the redshirt for a fresh start is the better business decision, albeit a tough one to come to.

“I think a tough situation for Josh,” Napier said. “I think anytime, a lot of things going on there relative to big picture personally, with his wife, his degree, certainly his role on the team…

“Josh has been a class act. Extremely bright. A guy who’s close to getting his degree here,” he said. “Wants more of a role, and certainly, you know, interesting decision, relative to being right in the middle of the season, but we’ve got nothing but respect for Josh and will certainly help him going forward anyway possible.”Losing Braun does leave Florida in a tricky spot. With [autotag]O’Cyrus Torrence[/autotag] still recovering from a lower-body injury, Florida is already using its sixth and seventh linemen often. Another injury would have brought Braun in, but now Napier and Co. have to reach deeper down the depth chart for a replacement.

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