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Billy Napier describes fight in Florida team, recalls story from before he took Gators job

Screen Shot 2024-05-28 at 9.09.17 AMby:Kaiden Smith•09/04/22•

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(Gilbert/Getty Images)

Florida Gators head coach Billy Napier secured a thrilling, come-from-behind win at home this weekend over No. 7 Utah in his Florida debut. Napier was asked about the statement his team made in their opener and told a story about the edge and character of his team.

“Well this group’s got fight in it and I don’t think I’ve said that publicly, that’s one thing about our team I respect is they compete. I’ve got to slow them down sometimes in the practice environment and I can remember a good friend of mine when we took the job who had worked here before, and he said these kids at Florida are the most competitive kids I’ve been around. And I would agree with them, I mean they’ve got a little bit different edge about them,” Napier said.

The Gators surely put their competitiveness on display Saturday, relying on some late game heroics from their quarterback Anthony Richardson and a game-sealing interception by linebacker Amari Burney.

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Napier also recognized that his team didn’t play a perfect game, and that there’s still work to do in cleaning up some mistakes made on Saturday. But nevertheless, he was proud of the intangibles his team showed, which will be crucial in their next matchup and for the remainder of the season.

“So the execution wasn’t always what we wanted out there. We got so much work to do; that’s what I think about it. We were fortunate to overcome many mistakes tonight, but the intangibles that the team showed, they continued to respond and then to rise up there at the end and make a play,” Napier said. “So we’ve got work to do, we won a game and it’s a special moment, we’re gonna enjoy it and then we’re gonna turn the page tomorrow and get ready for SEC play.”

Napier’s squad showed a ton of grit and perseverance in their opening game, and if Napier can clean up their mistakes and combine their style of play with mistake-free football, they will surely be a force to reckon with in the SEC. The Gators go on the road next week in their first conference matchup to take on the No. 20 ranked Kentucky Wildcats, who are fresh off of a 24-point victory versus Miami (OH).