Billy Napier assesses where Florida football program is entering final portion of offseason

Billy Napier has almost completed his first offseason as head coach of the Florida Gators football team. With the hopes that his team is ready to tackle the season and regain UF’s reputation as a SEC East power, the pieces are falling into place as we speak.

“We’re in our summer regimen, essentially we’re getting ready to move right into training camp,” Napier said. “This is phase five, training camps is phase six, in-season is seven and post season is eight. So we’re moving right along.

“You know, I think the first time for each one of these things, not only with the staff but with the players, but I can’t compliment our staff enough. I think we’ve got really good people in all those areas from a leadership standpoint – Mark Hocke, Kelsee Gomes, Paul Silvestri, Joe Danos – all people in performance have done a really good job.”

If Napier’s track record is anything to go off of, Florida fans should be excited about the future of the Gators program. Since taking over Louisiana in 2018, he has compiled a 39-12 record where he won the Sun Belt Coach of the Year award in just his second season at the helm. Napier, who is also a former assistant under Nick Saban and Dabo Swinney, led Louisiana to double-digit victories in each of the past three seasons.

Now, following Florida’s poor 2021 season, Napier has become a breath of fresh air for those Gators players. Ushering in strong support staff and bringing in the No. 20 recruiting class (including six transfers) in the country in his first offseason that features nine four-star prospects or better, according to the On3 Consensus, he’s already on the right track to revive the Gators program.

“I think the summer is a big piece of the puzzle, so good people and I’m certainly excited about what I see so far.”

The first opportunity fans will have to see Napier’s Gators in action comes on Saturday, Sept. 3 at 7 p.m. ET when Florida battles the Utah Utes in The Swamp.