ESPN's Kirk Herbstreit heaps praise on Billy Napier, Gators: 'Great sign of the culture'

Florida might have saved its season in one fell swoop against LSU, but there were signs building for the past month or so that the Gators were close to turning a corner under third-year coach Billy Napier.

And one prominent ESPN analyst noticed it during Saturday’s game against the Tigers.

“No idea if [Florida football] is gonna end up winning this game today but damn is it impressive to watch this team play with energy,” wrote Kirk Herbstreit on Twitter during the game. “Have faced a lot of adversity and sitting at 4-5 easy to see teams lose their focus and drive. NOT the Gators.

“Kudos to Billy Napier, his staff, snd especially these players for BRINGIN IT! Great sign of the culture in Gainesville!”

While fans had mixed reactions to the sentiment on Twitter, Florida’s players kept proving Herbstreit right for the rest of the game. The Gators rallied from an early third quarter deficit to put the game on ice in the final frame.

Quarterback DJ Lagway, the prized recruit of the Billy Napier era, was lights out throwing it downfield, even working at less than 100% health. He suffered a hamstring injury two weeks ago in a game against Georgia, missing last week’s contest against Texas as a result.

But he was there when Florida needed it.

So too was a defense that made life extremely difficult on opposing quarterback Garrett Nussmeier, who spent some time in high school playing in the Gainesville area. Nussmeier took seven sacks in the game.

LSU had previously allowed only six sacks in its first nine games of the season.

Bottom line: Florida came to play, despite the record and despite the noise in the system surrounding Billy Napier. And for that, Napier can take a bow. He deserves it after Saturday night.