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Billy Napier breaks down changes in Florida secondary

Alex Weberby:Alex Weber•09/29/22
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Photo by George Walker/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Florida’s talented secondary will not be at full strength as the Gators take on Eastern Washington, who is literally flying from one corner of the continental United States to the other for a matchup in the swamp. Star senior safety Trey Dean will not suit up for Florida on Sunday (not Saturday, due to the carnage of Hurricane Ian), leaving Billy Napier needing to play some less-experienced pieces.

Such as cornerback Jaydon Hill, who has been around the program for a while. However, he hasn’t played in an actual game since the 2020 season due to a number of knee problems. But in a bit of a surprise turn, Hill was tabbed as one of the Gators’ starting corners this weekend. Heck of a journey for this kid over the last couple years.

Though he may not be 100% ready to dominate, Napier is excited to get him this opportunity with some of the other guys in the defensive backfield banged up.

“Yeah no, I think, you know, Jaydon has been very much a work in progress as he’s kind of made his return to play. You know, he’s done everything that he’s been asked to do. He’s worked extremely hard and I think Jaydon is the guy I’ve got a ton of respect for,” Napier credited of Hill.

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Then, the Florida head coach continued, noting how much adversity Jaydon Hill has had to face just in order to get back on the field.

“You talk about what he’s been through. From an injury perspective, he had a knee [injury] in high school, had a knee [injury] here, had a kind of a minor knee issue in the summertime. And then, he’s been on that path to recovery.”

However, getting to start isn’t a favor Billy Napier is doing for Hill. He thinks the veteran corner has been one of the secondary’s top performers since he took over the job.

“So Jaydon was one of the better players that we had on our team in Spring practice in my opinion. I was very impressed with him as a player. It’s no surprise to me, you know. He showed pretty quickly here that he is very capable. So I’m excited to watch it. Boy, I’m excited with how he can impact our team.”