Billy Napier honest on talent gap between Florida, Georgia

At the end of the Florida–Georgia game in 2021, Georgia head coach Kirby Smart emphasized recruiting. At the same time, embattled Florida coach Dan Mullen said they’d “do recruiting after the season.” That didn’t mean Mullen wasn’t recruiting in season, but it did show how his mentality was different than Smart’s. Mullen is gone now, in no small part because of recruiting, and Billy Napier is dealing with the rebuild.

During his weekly press conference, Billy Napier was asked if he saw the gap between Florida and Georgia. His answer was frank and surprisingly honest.

“Yeah. I mean, I think we all understand that, right?” Billy Napier said. “I think there’s work to be done in a lot of different areas, you know when you’re trying to put together a football team.”

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“Personnel is part of that. I think we all understand the value of acquiring really good players. So, and then having a culture and development plan once they do arrive. There’s lots of things that contribute to this game,” Billy Napier said.

“So, there’s no question the evaluation and the recruitment process is pretty well documented, not only at Georgia but a lot of the teams, have done a really good job of it in those areas. So, it pays off. We all understand that.”

Florida takes on Georgia in Jacksonville at 3:30 PM ET on Saturday. Georgia is a big favorite over Billy Napier’s Florida Gators, largely because of that long-term success in recruiting to the program.

Steve Spurrier on the Cocktail Party’s location

The Florida-Georgia game likes to go by the nickname, “The World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party.” It’s traditionally played at a neutral site, in Jacksonville, to allow both programs to bring a large contingent of fans.

However, the neutral site aspect of the game has come under some scrutiny, especially from the Georgia side of the rivalry. That’s because neither team can host recruits for the game and Smart feels that the game would be a good opportunity to recruit. However, it needs to be on-campus to do that.

Now, legendary Florida coach Steve Spurrier weighed in on the game’s location while speaking to Paul Finebaum.

“I’ll tell you the truth, Paul, way back in 1990, if you remember, before 90, Georgia had won 15 of the last 20 and the Gators were wanting to move the game out of Jacksonville. Some of them told me, ‘Coach, we can’t beat ’em over there, we’re cursed or there’s a jinx or something.’ I said, ‘No, they’re just kicking our butts over there, that’s the reason they’re winning and we’re going to try to do something about it.,'” Steve Spurrier said.

“The team that wins is usually the best team, the best prepared, all that kind of stuff. As a Gator, I’d like to see it stay there, but who knows what’s going to happen three-four years down the road.”