UF coach Billy Napier is confident in Gators' direction

May 12, 2023

DESTIN — Billy Napier is not making promises or predictions.

Florida's second-year coach instead points to his track record.

History says give Napier time and he’ll return the Gators to past glory. History also sets a high bar.

"It's a great challenge," he said early Wednesday morning over coffee at the SEC's spring meetings. "I’m up for the challenge. We’re up for the challenge. It's one of the things that motivates you to some degree, is to prove that you can do it. People hire you to do the job, you want to do the job.

"I felt the same way at Louisiana."

Napier left behind "a well-oiled machine" in Lafayette to restore a sputtering, yet storied SEC program to mint condition. Those Gators captivated Napier for decades prior to his arrival.

"We knew what we signed up for," he said. "Growing up in middle school, and high school, son of a high school coach, the Gators were dominating in the ’90s. I’m a teenager. I’m obsessed with the game. I’m in my dad's hip pocket every day. We’d watch football.

"And that's when Florida was at kind of the pinnacle of the game."

Napier later was a young assistant coach at Clemson when Urban Meyer's Gators owned college football.

"My memories as a middle school, high school, college player and early in my college career as a coach, that's the Florida that I remember," Napier, 43, said. "That was probably the desirable thing about the job. You’ve got a chance to get it back to where it's been before."

During his first season, he did little to conjure memories of Florida football of yesteryear.

The Gators finished 6-7, lost at Vanderbilt for the first time since 1988 and were blown out by 27 points in the Las Vegas Bowl. Napier's squad was inconsistent offensively and overmatched defensively.

UF began OTAs this week on the heels of a lackluster 10-7 decision during the April 13 spring game and with the nation's third-toughest schedule on the horizon, beginning Aug. 31 at two-time reigning Pac-12 champion Utah. On April 28, 2022 starting quarterback Anthony Richardson was selected fourth in the NFL draft by the Indianapolis Colts despite a wildly inconsistent season in Napier's offense, capped by 9-of-27 passing during a 45-38 loss at Florida State.

Despite looming questions and likely headwinds, Napier brims with optimism about his program's direction.

"We’ve been here before," he said. "I think history's the best indicator of the future."

Based on his experience at Louisiana, Napier expected a rough ride during Year 1 in Gainesville.

"It's the same job. You’ve just got more people watching," he said. "It's important to realize you understand going into this thing that there's going to be some turbulence."

Napier can only hope for a Year 2 jump like he enjoyed at Lafayette. The 2019 Ragin’ Cajuns improved from 7-7 to 10-3 while averaging 6 more points and allowing 13.5 fewer per game.

But when UF hired him in December 2021, Napier faced a different set of circumstances than he had when he arrived at Louisiana.

Back then, the transfer portal was less than a year old. Name, image and likeness legislation was two years away.

Each "caused significant issues" last year, he said Wednesday, as did playing catch-up in recruiting against the likes of Alabama, Georgia and LSU — programs with the Nos. 1, 2 and 6 classes in 2022. UF's ranked 14th to finish a respectable fifth in the SEC but not enough to close the talent gap.

"It was a grind," Napier said. "All those times take away. Your time is divided when you’re in catch-up mode."

Napier is not complaining. He is confident better days are ahead.

Louisiana was 33-4 from 2019-21 to earn him the opportunity at Florida. Napier is eager to make the most of it.

"We’ve been around this game our whole lives," he said. "What you can do is play better — win. Call a spade a spade. Tell the truth. You’ve got to do something about it.

"In this game, you’ve got to go earn respect. That's the fun part about it, right?"

Edgar Thompson can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at @osgators.

Sign up for email newsletters