Florida had plenty of chances to break Saturday’s game against Tennessee open, but the Gators wound up losing in overtime, 23-17.
Head coach Billy Napier went over some of the critical moments in his post-game press conference and provided a minor update on some of the injuries suffered during the loss.
Napier called it a “challenging” loss, but he made sure to praise his defense for giving the team a chance to win against a top-10 team.
Here’s everything Napier said following the game in Knoxville.
Opening Statement
“I think the first thing would be — Yeah, I mean, look, I have a ton of respect for the young men in that locker room and the way they competed in the game. They were prepared and in the right frame of mind and attacked it. I do think that played extremely hard, played with passion. All three parts of our team.
“Certainly, the tale of the tape is the missed opportunities in the first half on offense. We had many opportunities to score points and left a ton of points out there. A couple of short-yardage situations, and then obviously the sneak, the fumble on the one-yard line.
“But defensively, I have to say, our guys kept us in the game. I thought we had a great plan. We played really good and kept the routes in front of us. We played really good on the perimeter and thought we did a nice job creating some negative plays, and then obviously did a good job on conversion downs and were able to affect the quarterback.
“Yeah, what a game. You know, obviously, you had a few injuries there and then certainly, Graham getting banged up was a big part of the game. And then D.J. obviously rose to the occasion and got us back in it there with the big throw at the end and tied up. So, you know, I just think we left a lot of opportunities on the field in the first half, in terms of points, and, ultimately, this was one of those games where the margin was really small.
“But, our staff had the team ready to play. I thought we had good plans. I think our kids fought their tail off. I have a ton of respect for that. We made some plays in the kicking game. Obviously had the miscue right before the half, and there’s no question that we had a substitution issue there, but we would not be in the game without the special teams performance.
“Those punt returns were critical, and certainly I thought we had control of the field position throughout.”
On decision to kick a field goal at end of regulation
“We had to play that we felt good about, and then obviously, they burned their time out, and I think we felt from the three there, we were playing pretty good on both sides of our team at that point in time. So, we felt like let’s go play overtime, and give our guys a chance to play some more plays.
I thought defensively, we kept ourselves in it. Wasn’t quite ready to do that at that point in time.”
On illegal formation penalty to end first half
“It was a specific — it was relative to an injury just to be cut and dry. It’s a substitution error based off an injured player that stayed on the field. Yeah. That’s exactly what it was.”
“An injured player, the player that had been substituted on that unit, did not come off. He stayed on.”
“No, it’s not about (who it was specifically). It was a substitution error.”
On Graham Mertz/Montrell Johnson injuries
“I think it’s tough. Obviously, Graham played phenomenal in the game, in my opinion. I mean, I thought he was lights out. And really prepared well and came to play.
“He does have an injury, a lower-body injury. Obviously, we’ll give you some updates on that once we get to next week, but it was significant enough that he couldn’t complete the game.
“I think that Montrell Johnson was in that category as well. He wasn’t able to return, and then RJ Moten had an injury. That was a little bit of a setback.”
On Florida improving week-by-week despite mistakes
“I would think the defensive performance and then just our ability to move the ball throughout, you know, we had opportunities in the red area. I think we’re three of six in terms of scoring opportunities, and ultimately that was the tale of the tape.
“You know, a fumble on the one-yard line, third-and-one we get stopped and are forced to kick a field goal. We go for it on fourth-and-one. A great play by their corner running over the top for a great tackle, and then we missed the field goal in overtime.
“So, Yeah, just I think ultimately, technically speaking, just a ton of missed opportunities in terms of points in the first half.”
On defensive performance vs. Tennessee
“Well, we played with good gap integrity. I thought the line of scrimmage on the edges, we tackled well. We mixed in the pressures, we were able to create some negative plays, made some long-yardage situations, and then also we got off the field.
“We were pretty good on conversion downs throughout the day. Defensively, we kept ourselves in the game. You know we had a chance to really take control of the game in the first half, and we missed on those opportunities.”
On RB Jadan Baugh
“Those guys are all capable players. Jadan, Ja’Kobi (Jackson), both are rookies, right? But, I do think they’re both very capable. Certainly, Jadan has already done some good things this year, and we have a ton of confidence in both players.
“They practice the right way there. They have character. They’re smart, they’re tough, and they’re productive. So we’re going to continue to get those guys.”
On locker room atmosphere after losing
“It’s the hardest part about it, you know? They played their tails off. I had a front-row seat to it. They played extremely hard in the game. You know, there are no guarantees in this game. You have to put yourself out there, with no guaranteed reward. It takes courage to do that, and I think ultimately, there’s an opportunity here for our team.
“I just really believe there’s something good on the other side of this. I do think it’s a challenge, you know, and I think that ultimately we’re all going to be tested. We’re all going to be challenged in this game. It’s going to be that way. If you’re a competitor, you play this game. You’re always going to be challenged. You’re always going to be tested. There’s always going to be scenarios where you don’t get the results you want, and do you have the discipline to reset? Do it again. Or will you get distracted when you compromise your character?
“I don’t think we have that issue. I think we’ve got a bunch of guys that care about each other, that played their tails off, that prepared the right way and competed. I think we just came up a handful of plays short, you know, and, that’s where as a coach, it’s a punch in the gut, you know, relative to you just want to do everything you can do to help the players.
On approaching the bye week, competitive practices
“We will continue to operate (that way). It’s working. That’s what I would tell you. I think our kids have bought into it, and it’s helped our level of play, in all parts of our team.”
On the team culture
“We got a group. We got a great combination of players relative to veteran leadership and then we have some young guys that have the right mindset and the right makeup who have an opportunity to contribute.
“There’s a lot of guys. There’s so many people that contribute to what you watched out there tonight. A bunch of them didn’t get a chance to make the trip, but they worked their tail off all throughout the week to help the team prepare.
“So it’s one of the best things about this group. Obviously, this will be a challenge here. We will have an opportunity to respond and we’ll play football next week at this time.”
On DJ Lagway handling pressure on the road
“One of the things about DJ that I respect is, as a competitor, he has this unique ability to raise his level of play and critical moments. I think he not only picked the right route progression but had to move and threw a strike at a critical moment.
“I thought he even did some of his more impressive stuff in the first half, you know when he was playing a whole lot. He did a lot of really good things.
“But for a rookie to go play on the road in that environment and to step up in a big time, big moment, I think he’s got that in his DNA and there’s a bright future ahead for him.”
On DJ Lagway starting moving forward
“Well, he started one game earlier in the year and then obviously he’s had an opportunity to contribute each week. So, he’ll be more prepared, but we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it. Y
“I have absolute confidence in DJ Lagway.”
On failed fourth-and-one play
“We got them all blocked. I think the guy that had Tre, man-to-man, ran over the top of the play and made a heck of a play. We blocked the perimeter really well, DJ made a good decision.
“I think it was an outstanding play by the corner that had Tre in man, to show up on the other side, obviously a good physical tackle on it and a really good play by their defender.”
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