Napier Expects Gators to Pick Up Where They Left Off
ATLANTA — Billy Napier wasn’t a very popular guy at halftime of Florida’s game with Texas A&M last year.
The Gators coach was booed off the field, and was booed again when he was featured in an anti-drunk driving video on the Jumbotron. He certainly wasn’t popular after the Aggies got done battering Florida 33-20, dropping the Gators to 1-2.
But Napier stayed the course, and with rapidly developing freshman DJ Lagway at quarterback the Gators won four of their last six games, including wins over then-No. 22 LSU and No. 9 Ole Miss.
That hot streak has Gator fans expecting more as the 2025 season nears, and Napier knows it. But he’s also refusing to focus on expectations that come from outside of the program.
“The first thing I would say about expectations is when we talk about expectation, I think the important part is what we expect from each other. I think we’ve learned that,” he said. “Not only do you need to block out noise, but it’s absolutely necessary that you do it. So I think we’ve gotta have high expectations for each other.”
Lagway, who seriously considered A&M before deciding to stick with Florida in the recruiting class of 2024, completed just under 60% of his passes for 1,915 yards, 12 touchdowns and 9 interceptions in his true freshman season. But he saved his best play for late in the year, as he engineered the upset wins over LSU and Ole Miss, then led the Gators to a big win over arch-nemesis Florida State.
“I was most impressed with how (Lagway) handled (becoming the starter), the type of teammate that he was, the humility, the character. And the guy was phenomenal on game day,” Napier said. “He’s just a great competitor. He showed a ton of grit and toughness, played through some injuries, and obviously I thought he grew every week as he continued to get better, and I think year two for him has got a chance to be really special.”
Lagway will helm an offense that returns four of five starters from last year, including All-American center Jake Slaughter. On defense, Florida could start a defensive front with each player having at least four years of college football experience.
The Gators have a large number of players they have developed from within, but Napier said they need to use training camp to develop even more talent in order to survive a schedule that includes a stretch that has road games at LSU, Miami and Texas A&M and a home game against Texas.
“We’re fortunate that we have a good core group of veteran players that understand what winning football looks like in this league. But we need to develop depth. I think in this league there’s no question you’re going to need it, especially when you start getting into the bulk of the conference schedule,” he said.
One of the best things about returning an experienced group of starters, Napier said, is they don’t need to be taught how to win. They’ve already learned that.
“There was a critical stretch right in there around Tennessee-Kentucky where all of a sudden we flipped the switch, and there’s a confidence and a belief that we could play with anybody,” he said. “And from that point forward, you know, I think they felt like they were good enough, and it was about just going and executing and playing on game day. So the good thing for us is a huge majority of that group is back. And we’ve added some more really good young players to the mix.”
Florida 2025 schedule
Aug. 30: Long Island University
Sept. 6: South Florida
Sept. 13: @LSU
Sept. 20: @Miami
Oct. 4: Texas
Oct. 11: @TEXAS A&M
Oct. 18: Mississippi State
Nov. 1: Georgia (in Jacksonville)
Nov. 8: @Kentucky
Nov. 15: @Ole Miss
Nov. 22: Tennessee
Nov. 29: FSU
Projected lineup
QB: #2, DJ Lagway (So.)
RB: #13, Jaden Baugh (So.)
TE: #89, Hayden Hansen (RS-Jr.)
WR(X):#9, J. Michael Sturdivant (RS-Sr.-TR.)
WR(Z): #6, Dallas Wilson (Fr.)
WR (Y): #3, Eugene Wilson III (RS-So.)
LT: #58, Austin Barber (RS-Sr.)
LG: #77, Knijeah Harris (Jr.)
C: #66, Jake Slaughter (RS-Sr.)
RG: #70, Dameion George (RS-Sr.-TR.)
RT: #53, Bryce Lovett (RS-So.)
DE: #94, Tyreek Sapp
NT: #95, Jamari Lyons (RS-Jr.)
DT: #88, Caleb Banks (RS-Sr.-TR.)
JACK: #34 George Gumbs Jr. (RS-Sr.-TR.)
WILL: #5, Myles Graham (So.)
MIKE: #10, Grayson Howard (Jr.-TR.)
NICKEL: #0, Sharif Denson (Jr.)
CB: #28, Devin Moore (Sr.)
SS: #18, Bryce Thornton (Jr.)
FS: #14, Jordan Castell (Jr.)
CB: #27, Dijon Johnson (Jr.)
