Tag: Billy Napier

Billy Napier talks DJ Lagway after first spring scrimmage

Billy Napier offered his first impressions of freshman quarterback DJ Lagway after the team’s first spring scrimmage.

A week into Florida’s spring practices, one of the biggest questions Gators fans have is how the five-star quarterback Billy Napier signed is doing.

[autotag]DJ Lagway[/autotag] will be the first homegrown starter Florida head coach Billy Napier produces in Gainesville. Max Brown signed in the 2022 cycle and transferred to Charlotte and Jaden Rashada ended up with Arizona State after backing out of his letter of intent the following year.

Lagway committed to Florida in Dec. 2022 and held that commitment for two years. He’s the future of the program, but it’s still Graham Mertz’s team for now. Napier said as much in his Saturday presser following the team’s first spring scrimmage. He also offered some praise for the first-year quarterback.

“He’s impressed me with his ability to learn, retain information and then he’s quick,” Napier said of Lagway. “He picks it up really quickly, and then his ability to take it from the meeting room to walkthrough and then do it in a practice setting.

“Today was good for him, right? He had to play the situations as they arose throughout the scrimmage. I think the big next step for him is the game-management piece, right?”

You’ve got to know when to fold ’em

Lagway will play this season, but he’ll need to figure a few things out before earning all of Napier’s trust. With all of the hype surrounding him, it can be tough to remember that Lagway is still in the earliest stages of his collegiate career.

The college game is much faster and more brutal than the high school game, and even the best take time to adjust. Physically, Lagway has all the tools an elite quarterback needs to succeed. Making sure that he’s mentally prepared to lead the Gators next year is Napier’s goal this year.

“I actually asked him on the field today and said, hey, did you play poker growing up?” he said. “Did you actually play cards growing up? You play Texas Hold’em and you get a three and a four, you know? You fold your cards and you go to the next hand.

“So, he obviously didn’t play poker growing up, but sometimes you get dealt a bad hand and you got to learn how to play the next hand. So, play the next play, managing the situation, thinking of your decision-making relative to the game and the team within that setting, I think he’s done a really good job in the practice setting.”

The fans will get a first look at Lagway in two weeks during the Orange and Blue Game to close out spring. He should start for one of the teams since he’s been running with the second team.

“Today was new for him, right? So every day is a new learning experience for him, but he is a quick learner. He did a lot of good today, I think. He made some plays with his feet, played with a group, you know, the twos most of the day.

“So, yeah, I think that’s where he’s at. I think he’s got physical talent. He’s picked it up quickly and now it’s just the game management piece is next.”

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Billy Napier among ESPN’s ‘those with something to prove’ in 2024

Napier is among those with the most to prove this coming fall.

The Florida football program has been deep in the doldrums over the past three years, doomed to defeat now having put together three straight losing seasons bridging across two separate head coaches. Will the misery ever end?

ESPN’s college football staff recently took a look at players and coaches who have the most to prove during the upcoming 2024 campaign, including Gators skipper Billy Napier. After two losing seasons of his own, plus missing out on a bowl invitation this winter along with a complete collapse on signing day, his seat has to be as hot as the surface of the sun at this point.

“In two years with the Gators, Napier is 11-14 and has not come close to beating rival Georgia, which means Florida hasn’t come close to challenging for the SEC East title,” writer Andrea Adelson begins.

“How much longer can that go on? Napier enters a crucial Year 3 with perhaps the most difficult schedule in the country, opening against rival Miami while also having to play Tennessee, Georgia, Texas A&M, LSU, Ole Miss and Texas in the SEC. He has to prove the program is headed in the right direction to have any shot at convincing the fan base he’s the right coach for the job.”

It seems like a Sisyphean task ahead of Napier and Co. but this is what they get paid the big bucks to do. The projections so far have been pretty bearish, which suggests that the current head coach might not be long for Gainesville, but he will at least get a chance to redeem himself before getting his pink slip out of town.

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Four-star offensive lineman sets up spring visit with Florida

The Florida Gators are on the 2025 recruiting trail and have coordinated an official visit with a 4-star offensive lineman

The Florida football staff have been in contact with a highly scouted offensive lineman from the 2025 recruiting cycle and the two parties have set up an official visit for this Spring.

Four-star recruit [autotag]Ziyare Addison[/autotag] has visited Gainesville, Florida a few times, and has told reporters at Swamp247 that he wishes to make another trip on April 13.

Addison took notice of Florida being more aggressive toward recruiting him and the rest of the 2025 class now that signing day for the current cycle has come and gone.

“Since they finished up the 2024 class, and really started to put more on the class of 2025, they really have been recruiting and getting after me,” Addison said. “I sat down and talked with (head coach Billy) Napier for a while when he was by my school. I am building a great relationship with him, and have kept taking to him and (offensive line coach Darnell) Stapleton. It’s a really good deal now that everyone has turned over to our class.”

According to the young offensive lineman, the Florida coaching staff has taken akin to Addison’s versatility as a multi-sport athlete.

“They are being real on how athletic I am and how versatile I am,” Addison said. “They know I am a guy that can play any spot on the o-line. They love that I am a multi-sport athlete. They love I run track and do the 200-meter. There are not many big guys like me doing that. I also wrestle as well, so they love that about me. I stand out to them for being an athlete, and always tell me how they need more athletic people on their team.”

Addison has been in talks with several top programs around the NCAA, and plans on making his rounds to other school campuses starting in March. He’ll be making visits to the likes of Florida State, Penn State, Oregon, Texas, Texas A&M and Oklahoma during their spring practice sessions.

The Riverview, Florida, native is a 4-star offensive lineman in the 2025 recruiting class. Addison is ranked as the No. 275 prospect according to the 247Sports composite scale and is rated as the No. 26 outside tackle in the nation.

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Billy Napier signals intent in remaining Florida’s offensive play-caller

Much to many Gators fans’ dismay, Napier recently suggested that he will maintain control of the offensive play calling.

Florida football is in need of a lot of changes if the program wants to escape the doldrums that have plagued the Gators for the past three seasons. However, there is one area where head coach [autotag]Billy Napier[/autotag] intends to remain in control.

The third-year skipper made an appearance on the “Gator Tales with Sean Kelley” podcast last Wednesday to talk about multiple issues surrounding the team, including his presence as the offensive play-caller. The answer he gave Kelley suggests that he has no plans on relinquishing that role in 2024.

“I think that — big-picture wise — we’re taking the group of people that we have there and we’re trying to develop some people, groom some people,” Napier said.

“We’ve done a ton of work in the offseason to kind of evaluate that, in terms of what that looks like. And I think down the stretch, we played pretty good offense, you know, we created a bunch of explosive plays and scored points. I think we’ve got a quarterback (Graham Mertz) that’s returning in the same system, I think ultimately for me it’s about all these other areas being taken care of so that I can focus, do my best for the team in that regard.”

The good news is that Napier is still working with the other pieces of the puzzle ahead of the fall’s opening kickoff.

“We’re in the process of defining those roles is what I would say, and I think we’re working our way through that,” he noted. “I do think that we will, there’ll be different responsibilities to some degree, you know, I think you’ll see, we’ll probably talk more specifically about that in the future.”

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Pressure is high for Florida football’s recruiting efforts, per The Athletic

The Gators are in desperate need of a top recruiting class soon.

Billy Napier and the Florida football program have been fighting hard to restore glory to the Gators but it has not been easy. In fact, it often feels like a Sisyphean task pulling the Orange and Blue out of its historically low doldrums.

The Athletic’s Ari Wasserman recently took a look at the college football recruiting landscape in a survey of schools where the pressure is running the highest. As expected, Florida was among those listed and for obvious reasons.

“Billy Napier seemed so close to signing a dominant class in 2024, but his program lost so much top-shelf talent in the final month heading into the early signing period,” Wasserman begins. “Morale is already pretty down in Gainesville and the pressure is mounting for results on the field in the coming year.

“Florida is in desperate need of some dominant recruiting results,” he continues. “Napier was brought in to be the anti-Dan Mullen. He created this vast recruiting department to get results and there have been some solid signs — like five-star quarterback D.J. Lagway — but there have been a lot of bumps. The Gators need bonafide results in a hurry.”

After three straight losing seasons — the first time it has happened since the 1940s — the Gator Nation is growing very impatient with the progress of the program. If Napier cannot turn things around quickly, he might be looking for a new job soon enough.

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Highlights from Billy Napier’s press conference on national signing day

Florida Gators head coach Billy Napier addressed the media on 2024 national signing day and addressed all the offseason questions

National signing day concluded on Wednesday afternoon, and Florida football coach Billy Napier took time to address the media and any burning questions for the offseason.

The Gators made several changes following the 24-15 loss to Florida State, including coaching replacements and interacting with the dreaded transfer portal which seems to take more, rather than give.

Napier didn’t hesitate to answer the dire questions regarding all the above and even broke down how the team wants to utilize name, image, and likeness laws in Florida’s favor.

Members of the media were also curious about the new executive head coach title for staff newcomer Ron Roberts and what his role will be on the sidelines.

Check out all the highlights from Wednesday’s press conference on national signing day with Florida head coach Billy Napier.

ESPN says Florida’s Billy Napier is ‘on the hot seat’ entering Year 3

Things haven’t gone well for Florida under Billy Napier so far, but is his job on the line heading into the 2024 season? ESPN thinks so.

After two losing seasons in Gainesville, Florida head coach Billy Napier is officially on the hot seat, according to ESPN senior writer Adam Rittenberg.

Coaching in the Southeastern Conference is unlike any other gig in the industry. Job security doesn’t exist unless you’ve won multiple championships, and the leash is short for those who come up short.

“Napier is just 11-14 overall, 6-10 in the SEC, and has had challenges with on-field consistency, retaining and attracting top players, and maintaining a strong staff,” Rittenberg wrote. “Florida hasn’t had a coach make it through Year 4 since Urban Meyer and might be hesitant about another quick change.

“The status of athletic director Scott Stricklin, who hired Napier, also should be monitored here. If Napier can’t navigate a brutal schedule — Florida State, Miami and UCF in nonleague play, plus SEC trips to Texas and Tennessee and Georgia in Jacksonville — it’s hard to see him back in 2025.”

It’s safe to say that Florida has underwhelmed over the past two seasons under Billy Napier, but complete overhauls take time. With perhaps the toughest schedule in the country ahead of them, the Gators need to fight for wins to save their coach.

Of course, there’s always the buyout to consider, but these days a booster ends up picking up the tab if they really want a coach gone enough. It’s tough to say that Napier is at that point, but a disastrous season could put him there.

Napier isn’t the only SEC coach on the hot seat, though. Arkansas‘ Sam Pittman is entering Year 5 on thin ice after a 4-8 season, and Vanderbilt’s Clark Lea is a coach to “keep an eye on.”

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Florida Gators athletic director alludes to more changes on football staff

The Florida Gators are rebuilding and making changes to its coaching staff, but athletic director Scott Stricklin has been aware all along

The Florida football program has made many changes to its football staff as of late, with head coach Billy Napier at the forefront of making the hard decision to move on from certain coaches.

Now it’s being reported by Gators Online that UF athletic director Scott Stricklin and Napier have always been on the same page when it comes to making these moves, such as parting ways with secondary coach Corey Raymond and defensive line coach Sean Spencer.

Stricklin gave an exclusive interview with Gators Online, detailing his relationship with Napier and when they considered what moves to make in the offseason.

“Our regular communication during the season is pretty frequent, right? We see each other. I stop by and talk to him at least once a week in addition to other run-ins,” Stricklin said. “We sat down midweek during the open date and started having some of those more in-depth conversations and those are some things that were on his mind back then even. And so, this wasn’t something like, end of the season, ‘OK, now it’s time to evaluate.’ It’s a constant evaluation.”

Stricklin added that he understands how Napier operates and that he’s always quick to realize what’s holding back his team from winning.

“Billy is almost maniacal in the way he evaluates things. And so, when fans get frustrated with an area and they want to comment and express their opinion, they don’t ever need to be concerned, ‘Does Billy realize this is a problem?’ Because he’s probably realized it’s a problem before it showed up out there on the field.”

It appears that evaluations are still taking place for the Florida Gators and there may be more moves ahead. Napier already brought on Ron Roberts as co-defensive coordinator and the linebackers head coach. Roberts also earned the moniker of executive head coach for defense.

The rebuild continues for Florida football all offseason, so stay tuned for more updates, especially as national signing day approaches.

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CBS Sports gives Florida’s Billy Napier a low grade after Year 2

The folks at CBS Sports are grading coaches that just wrapped up Year 2 with their current programs, including Florida’s Billy Napier.

Billy Napier’s first two years as the head coach of the Florida Gators haven’t gone so well, leading CBS Sports to give him a D grade when looking at the nation’s second-year coaches.

Napier getting a low grade isn’t so surprising. Florida is 11-14 under him, and the team took a step back in Year 2 finishing the season ineligible for a bowl game. Mix in an NIL fiasco that lost Napier an elite quarterback in Jaden Rashada, and it suddenly seems fortunate that the Florida head coach finished with anything but a failing grade.

“I’m not sure there’s a coach at the Power Five level on a hotter seat than Napier,” CBS Sports’ Tom Fornelli wrote. “After an uninspiring 6-7 record in 2022, the Gators were less inspiring in 2023 amid a 5-7 campaign. What had been a great recruiting class fizzled as signing day approached and the losses mounted. The Gators head into 2024 with one of the toughest schedules in the country and not a lot of confidence in their coach.”

Standards are high at Florida, but the good news for Napier is that he doesn’t need to make the College Football Playoff to save his job. The seat is hot, but a 7-6 season likely buys him another year in the Swamp.

Napier spent much of his first two years building a winning culture off the field in Gainesville. Now it’s time for that to translate to on-the-field success, even against the nation’s toughest schedule.

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Gators turn attention to class of 2025, set up visit with 5-star wideout

The Florida Gators will welcome a 4-star WR recruit from the class of 2025 during visitors day on Feb. 3

With national signing day closing in, the Florida football program already has its eyes set to the class of 2025. The team is kicking off the new year with some good news as it will welcome a highly touted recruit to the UF campus this spring.

According to Swamp247, five-star wide receiver [autotag]Caleb Cunningham[/autotag] plans to make an official visit during Gators visitor’s day on Feb. 3.

The Gators have some stiff competition to out-recruit, with Cunningham hailing from Ackerman, Mississippi, a neighboring town to the Mississippi State Bulldogs. The local university is currently the favorite to land Cunningham, per the crystal ball predictions on 247Sports.

Florida initially offered Cunningham back in October 2022 when he was on an official visit to Gainesville. Head coach Billy Napier and Co. have been in constant contact with the young recruit, dating back to August of the same year when coaches were allowed to reach out.

Cunningham is a four-star prospect, although rating as a five-star on the 247Sports composite scale. The Mississippi native ranks at No. 2 among wide receivers and the No. 10 overall recruit in the nation.

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