Like most of Gator Nation, [autotag]Billy Napier[/autotag] struggled to explain the countless injuries suffered by Florida ahead of and throughout the rivalry game against Georgia on Saturday, but the Gators head coach remained adamant that he was proud of his team and the effort they put forth in the 34-20 loss.
“I’m extremely proud of our team,” Napier opened his post-game press conference. “I think throughout this entire year, the character of this group has shown up. I think it’s a tough group, and I do think that I’m proud of the way they competed in the game today, the effort in which they played and the pride and way in which they took in representing Florida and competing.”
Napier said the goal was to put a “fanatical effort on the field,” and to push back against the challenging moments that were bound to come in a game of this magnitude.
“We wanted to ramp up the intensity,” he said. “We wanted to play with better effort. We wanted to out-finish, out-compete, out-hustle, out-physical and we knew that there would be poise and composure needed. …We felt like we understood the mission, and we felt like we had the men to do it.”
There’s no doubt that Florida put together a strong effort in the first half. After all, they entered the break leading Georgia by a touchdown. It’s the culmination of weeks of hard practice and a strong belief in the coaching staff from the players.
“Unity is powerful, and I do think in the last couple of weeks, this group has started to believe that they can play with anybody and beat anybody,” he said. “Obviously, there’s a bunch of football here that could be done better. I was proud of a lot of the players that stepped up.
“We went into the game, with some injuries. We had some injuries throughout the game, but I do think the players who had opportunities really stepped up and did a great job for the team.
“So, I’m proud of our team. I’m proud to be associated with that group in there. Obviously, we came up a little bit short today, but I do think the game kind of went the way we wanted it to. We made it ugly at times. We had our team in position at times to win the game.”
DJ Lagway injury update
Of course, the most impactful injury is the one suffered by true freshman quarterback [autotag]DJ Lagway[/autotag] in the second quarter. Lagway was helped off the field and onto a trainer’s cart. He returned from the locker room in the second half with a brace on his left leg and supported by crutches.
“It’s soft tissue,” Napier said on the injury. “We’ll have more for you next week.”
Lagway will undergo an MRI tomorrow to find out more on the injury.
Napier added that he believed the plan was working until Lagway went down. Even after the injury, the offense did some good things but was clearly at a disadvantage with a third-stringer running the show.
“Hats off to [autotag]Aidan Warner[/autotag],” he said. “We’re talking about a guy who didn’t go through spring practice. Really did a lot of two-spot work in training camp, won the job at some point in training camp and then two weeks ago started taking real reps with the second unit. …Obviously, he made some plays, made a handful of mistakes. They’re really a good group on defense.”
Florida’s offense wasn’t completely inept with Warner under center. The Gators tied it up with him at quarterback, albeit mostly on the back of [autotag]Ja’Kobi Jackson[/autotag] running the ball. The late turnover was a costly mistake, but one that might be expected from a player with such little experience.
Napier also discussed limiting the quarterback’s freedom to scramble now that the Gators have lost two quarterbacks to injury. Warner and his backup, [autotag]Clay Millen[/autotag], play a more pro-style at quarterback, which should make that adjustment easier.
Depth is a plus for Florida
Although the game seemed to slip away from Florida after the injury, similar to the way the Tennessee game went after Graham Mertz went down with a significant injury, Napier refused to indulge in any “snake-bitten” rhetoric.
“I don’t believe in that,” he said. “There’s always been injuries in this game. Every team in the country has injuries. One thing I can say is that we built a roster that has some competitive depth, and that’s proved to be beneficial.”
Napier pointed out the depth on the team, all the way down to the walk-ons. Having so much talent means practice is competitive, and it’s one of the reasons Florida’s been able to stick with the next-man-up mentality.
Napier praises defensive effort
While the offense struggled following Lagway’s injury, the defense held firm for most of the night. After holding Georgia to six points in the first half, Florida shifted to more of a bend-don’t-break strategy in the second. Until Warner’s interception, the Gators remained in the game for most of the night.
It’s the fourth contest in a row where the defense has impressed, and Napier was sure to praise that unit.
“For the first time since I’ve been head coach here, we showed up. We believe we can beat that team, and I think ultimately that belief is probably the most powerful and the final value relative to what we teach. You’ve got to have integrity. You’ve got to be together. You’ve got to have discipline. You’ve got to have effort and toughness.
“If you do all those things consistently, then the product starts to look the way it should look, and there’s a level of belief that comes with that. I think we’ve gotten to that point.”
Specifically, Napier praised the efforts of Cormani McClain and Trikweze Bridges with all of the injuries in the secondary. He also gave a nod to the three interceptions forced by the defense in the first half.
“We affected the quarterback, he said. “We made it sloppy. Made it ugly. We limited the explosive plays. We made them go the distance and were able to get some takeaways. We obviously need to capitalize on some of those short fields, but hats off to our defensive staff. They had a great plan and the players executed that plan.”
Special teams disaster
When asked specifically about the botched field goal attempt in the third quarter, Napier had this to say:
“(That was) one of many plays where maybe a player had an opportunity to make a play and he didn’t necessarily do it right. It never comes down to just one play. We probably played 180 plays out there today, and there were multiple opportunities for us to get it done. Special teams are a team effort, and on that play, we did not execute.”
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