Billy Napier shares what to expect from Florida’s spring game

Billy Napier opened up on the expectations for Florida’s Thursday spring game with a new-looking Gators roster.

The head coach was very adamant about the hard work done by his players. Since it was an up-and-down season to begin his tenure, it’s fair to question what will improve in Year 2 under Napier.

But it appears the fundamentals improved throughout the spring portion of practice.

“I think these guys have worked extremely hard,” Napier said. “And this is an opportunity to kind of put that on display. I think as a competitor, it’s not the end all be all, you know, but I think we’re much improved. Our systems are better, processes are better, we’re fundamentally a lot further along. I think a lot of the newcomers are explosive players. I think they’re impact players and I think they’re gonna be out there playing. So it’s gonna be a lot of fun to watch.”

Napier acknowledged the roster turnover but in a positive way, especially with a talented crop of players.

“You know, anytime you’ve got new quarterbacks, you got 27 rookies, right, that you know, a top 10 recruiting class in the country,” Napier said. “And all of them are here except four of them, you know? Not to mention a bunch of veterans that I think have taken strides so, you know, (I’m proud of how) hard this group has worked. And certainly, you know, I know our fans have shown up, and hopefully we’ll make it a lot of fun to watch.”

With Anthony Richardson off to the NFL Draft, Florida turns to different quarterbacks. The Gators brought in former Wisconsin quarterback Graham Mertz to compete for the starting job in 2023. Then, there is Jack Miller III, who started for the Gators in the Las Vegas Bowl. Meanwhile, redshirt freshman Max Brown has a lot of potential.

“I thought we really did a lot of good things,” Napier said of the quarterbacks in spring late last month. “I think the big thing is there is some situational football that we can learn from and we turned the ball over a handful of times that I think we can clean up.

“But, overall, just situational football, game management, understanding, being on the same page as a play caller, or understanding where you’re at, DND [down and distance] feel zone, what’s the thought process, are all things that you would hope comes from a scrimmage.”

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