The turning point for [autotag]Billy Napier[/autotag]’s team came during the first bye week of the season, and since then it’s been a crescendo of a season building up to back-to-back wins against ranked opponents.
Napier spoke to the media after the second of those wins, a 24-17 upset against Ole Miss, and he covered the team’s ascent in great detail. The Florida head coach also touched on the trust he has in [autotag]DJ Lagway[/autotag], as well as standout performance from his defense, running back [autotag]Montrell Johnson[/autotag] and safety [autotag]Bryce Thornton[/autotag].
Here’s everything Napier said after defeating Ole Miss on Saturday.
Opening Statement
“Alright, I’m going to keep it quick because I know y’all got something planned for tonight.
“First of all, just an incredible atmosphere today. It doesn’t get much better than that — 12-noon kick, 65 degrees and a packed house. Our fans were just incredible; played a major role in the game and just to see them rally behind our team and players. Certainly, for me, our seniors — I think that this group, I just told them in (the locker room) just now, leadership is really hard. It requires a lot from you, and I think these guys have stepped up in a major way.
“That first month of the year was a challenge at every facet, and I think young people, at that point, have to decide who they want to be and what they’re about. And I think this group of seniors, there’s very specific players in that group. I’m very grateful for them. I think we challenged the team and the way we played today should reflect on that group and the courage and the adversity that they have showed.
“The whole message this week was earn the right to win. I think that we have to win the right to earn the win throughout the week, and then ultimately when we get to the park it’s not about yesterday, it’s not about tomorrow, it’s not about who’s on the other sideline. You’ve got to spot the ball and you’ve got to go earn the right to win.
“Today was special in a lot of regards, in terms of Dr. Fuchs, this being his last game. I’m thankful for him and his leadership and for him being part of the group of people who gave me an opportunity here, so I’m thankful for Dr. Fauchs.
“The game was a game of turnover margin, red-zone scoring and, if you put those two things together it will be very difficult to beat. Obviously, the defense was lights out. We played great field position and we made just enough explosive plays and we were able to rush the ball against a good front.
“Complementary football is football in its purest form. Yeah, just really proud for our players and our team.”
On defensive stops late in the game
“When we were trying to build our team and put our team together, there’s an understanding in this league that you have to be ready good in the trenches. We all understand that, and really not just this league, but to be a championship contender and play consistently every week, you’ve got to be good up front on both sides.
“I thought we were better on both sides today upfront. Short-yardage defense is a big component. Those are identity plays and we had guys step up and make plays. But again, I think they had six turnovers if you include the fourth-down stops and missed field goal with a couple picks and a muffed punt.
“We took full advantage of those. It wasn’t always pretty on offense. There’s certainly some things we can do a bit better here, but I mean that’s a good group over there. I thought we managed their front with the way that we played the game.”
More on fourth-quarter stops
“We were able to stop the run with a light box. All the running game was quarterback scramble. For the most part, outside of those two explosives in the first half, we stayed on top of them. We had good leverage in coverage, and again, we were able to affect the quarterback.
“We hit him a lot. You could see that it was affecting him, and obviously we’ve got really good specialists on the field position portion. We played complementary ball and it ended up working out.”
On Aaron Gates’ injury, adjustments
“Aaron has been one of our best players for the last five or six weeks of the season. He’s still a young player but extremely talented. He played corner, receiver, punt returner and kick returner in high school. The big adjustment was the kick-return game depth chart. He does a lot for us in the kicking game as well, and now Sharif Denson is playing basically the entire game.
“Sahrif’s been a rotational player. He and Aaron play equal snaps every week. Certainly today, he got all of the load.”
On Montrell Johnson’s big game
“Montrell is a special kid to me for a lot of reasons. He’s a class act, first of all. He has been since I first met him. Just a selfless guy who really sets the tone and the example in that running backs room. We’ve got young players in there that have been able to transition and play well and be successful, and they’re watching him. He set the example, he sets the standard in that room.
“That possession where we threw the shot to Chim(ere Dike) and fed him three plays in a row, I told (running backs coach) Jabbar (Juluke), ‘let’s get him in there; I think he’s feeling pretty good today,’ and he delivered. He had 127 yards today, 18 carries.
“The guy, all he does is produce. I remember the first scrimmage we had at Louisiana, he was wearing No. 25 back then, I wrote down back then: 25’s a real guy. He’s been toting the rock every since.”
On culture change, things coming together
“We’ve got a long way to. Obviously, we’ve improved. I think it goes back to what I’ve told you guys before, that belief is the most powerful thing in the world. At some point midseason, we started to figure it out. We started to believe, look, we can play with any team in the country.
“We’ve tried to direct our players’ attention to things that require no talent. Convince them that you have the physical ability, but it’s got to be about more than that. You’ve got to dream big and have little processes. It’s about the daily. Can you do it daily? Can you be consistent? I think that was the big leadership challenge this week.
“The staff did a really good job getting them physically ready, mentally ready and emotionally ready to go. It requires a lot to compete at that level in that arena, and I thought that the staff had them ready today.”
On leadership on the team
“I’m not singling one person out because we’ve got more than I can count, and that’s what it takes. Not just players. I counted it up one day. We’ve got about 275 people who contribute to our team, and they all matter.
“We struggled early. It’d be easy for a lot of people, not just players, to maybe not take as much pride in what they do or blame others. You’ve got to be solution-oriented. Anybody can talk about problems. Who can work together with other people and come up with solutions?
“There’s no substitute for people remaining humble and continuing to take pride in what they do.”
On Bryce Thornton’s performance
“Bryce has been a huge bright spot, stepping up in a major way. Obviously, we’ve had some injuries there. Two picks and a career-high in tackles, and coming off of an injury. Bryce has been in that training room every day for weeks, and I think he’s really stepped up for our team in a major way.
“Bryce got good experience last year. I think ultimately, he’s a very capable player, and he showed out today.”
On trusting DJ Lagway late in the game
“Backed up offense is about five first, (then) flip. You know you got to get five yards. You try to get a first down, then you try to get another and flip the field. Sometimes you need you need to do that.
“So he has made progress. We didn’t move him around a lot. He did make some plays with his feet today. But I asked him how he was feeling and he said I’m good, so we went with it, and a heck of a catch by Badge(r) and certainly you don’t have to protect to throw a movement pass. That’s one of the best things about it.”
On Lagway’s escape artist plays
“Yeah, those are the plays of the game. I’ll say what I said last time: the good Lord bless DJ Lagway. It just pays off to be six-foot-three-and-a-quarter, 240 pounds.
“Those were phenomenal plays. Guys are draped all over him, and the guy keeps his eyes downfield. For the most part, we kept him clean today. We called a game to where their front wasn’t able to be a factor to some degree. We did what we needed to do to win, and he was a huge part of that for sure.”
On former Gators spending time with team
“One of the more impactful things that we’ve tried to be very intentional about is including our former players, and I think it helps our players because there is a generational gap here in terms of some of those successes from the past.
“This place has been to the top of the mountain, and I think it’s important for our young people to understand what that looks like. And sometimes meeting young players who’ve done it, and players in the past, I think helps them. The way we want it to work around here is you come here, you finish the race, you get your degree, and you come back and do what those guys are doing.
“I’m very thankful. We’ve got some great former players that have made an impact.”
On seeing hard work pay off after rough start
“It’s not about yesterday. It’s not about tomorrow. It’s about today. You have to work extremely hard to get to a place where you have some belief and I think belief comes as a result of a lot of integrity, togetherness, discipline, effort and toughness. I think this group has done that.
“We challenged the players yesterday to be a today guy, not a someday guy. Right? I think sometimes we like to punt it down the road and say someday I’m going to, rather than hey, you know what? Today I’m going to do that.
“Just taking action, being present, living in the moment, focusing on the things you can control. I mean, these are said over and over, but I think this group’s done it, and the product speaks for itself. They played their tail off today.”
Is it gratifying or surprising to see this success come?
“I would just say we’re just getting started. This is just part of the big-picture journey. College football is unique. You play 12 regular-season games. Maybe you get to play another two. But I’m around these guys every day. Behind the scenes, there’s a lot that happens and a lot that goes on and we go and we put it on full display 12 times a year.
“I’ve been saying it the entire time. I just think there’s something special about this group, and when the football wasn’t right in the beginning of the year, man, it hurt me a little bit, to be honest with you. Because I’ve been watching these guys work and I’m anticipating this and being much improved.
“I just was consumed with anything and everything that I could do to help them get better. You know, like, how do we fix this? Give them some credit. I mean, they were vocal. They took ownership. They collaborate with the coaches, and I think we chipped away at it. And today, we obviously played good enough to win.”
On Graham Mertz walking out for senior night
“Graham’s one of those on that list when I say we should be thankful for this group of seniors. Injuries are a challenge. One thing I tell you about that guy, he don’t flinch, man. He’s been the same guy, throughout the entire deal.
“These guys know his heart. They know how hard he’s worked, and for him not to be able to play is a big deal. But the humility, the class, the selflessness, the way he’s handled the situation with DJ, their relationship, his example to the team, his knowledge.
“One of the reasons why (Lagway) is playing like he is out there is because he got to watch Graham Mertz for six, eight, ten months. That relationship has been critical, and we got a lot of examples like that on our team. Montrell Johnson, Jadan Baugh and Ja’Kobi (Jackson) is another example of that.
“In college football, when you get it rolling is when the veteran players are establishing expectations and standards and young players show up, they get in line and they do what they see being done. Until you get to that place, you haven’t established anything, and I think this year was the first time I can say with conviction that we’ve established that.”
On turning point for this team
“I go back to that open date, that first open date. I walked off that field on that Wednesday and man, it’s like abuse out there. I can ignore it. I can kind of control my environment and live life. But for these young people in the digital world they live in, they can’t do that. They live a life where they cannot do that.
“Sometimes you get to an open day — I’ve been on teams where an open date is a disaster and you’re trying to work, you’re trying to come up with plans for improvement — but just to see this group, man, they were like, coach, what what are we doing? What do we need to do?
“Just the passion and energy and the way they worked that week in that Wednesday practice, I’ll never forget that. I walked off the field and I said, that’s the best practice I’ve ever been associated with in 20 years of college football. At that point, I’m like we got to get this, figure this out.
“So I think Tennessee was a turning point. In that locker room after the game, it was like, okay, we can do this. Obviously Kentucky, another open day, what we experienced in Jacksonville. I just think hope’s powerful, man.
“Just proud of these guys, man. Sometimes you have to go through stuff. They’re different because they went through that, right? They don’t really care what anybody thinks. They care what the people around them think. They care about doing their job and being accountable, being responsible to the people around them, and I think what they’ve been through has forced them to do that.
“Football’s a conditional game. You’ve got to find something that’s unconditional. So, it’s pretty good crew. That was fun.”
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