5 Thoughts from the Florida Gators win over Missouri

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Winning football games is hard and winning conference games in the SEC isn’t easy. Florida head coach Billy Napier was happy to notch his first conference win Saturday but was quick to point out that the Gators are a work in progress.

That is true, but Florida can celebrate tonight before turning its attention to trying to get Napier his second SEC win over LSU, who was slaughtered at home by Tennessee.

Here are five thoughts from the Gators’ 24-17 win over Missouri.

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Welcome back, Jaydon Hill

Jaydon Hill was ready to be a starter in 2021 before an ACL tear ended his season before he got the opportunity. He was on track, and having torn the ligament in his other knee in high school, he knew what the rehab entailed and what he needed to do. He came back in the spring and, even in a non-contact jersey, was impressive.

“I always felt like watching him in spring ball that he was one of the best players we have,” Napier said of Hill. “That showed up today.”

Hill was settling back in when he had another knee injury. At first the redshirt sophomore thought he had torn his ACL again. It turned out to just be a LCL injury, which required a minor surgery but a surgery that would keep him off the field for all of fall camp and the first month of the season.

Hill started last week against Eastern Washington. He said giving up a catch that resulted in a first down on the first drive of the game was his “welcome back” moment.

Sorry to disagree with you, Jaydon, but I think you’re welcome back moment came against Missouri.

Hill recognized the formation.

“Really the route combination came from a lot of film study,” Hill said. “Honestly last night, I watched that same play like three times.”

It paid off, allowing Hill to jump the pass with only green pastures ahead.

“When I caught it and I saw just green grass it was over,” he said with a smile after the game. “Nobody is catching me.”

He picked off another pass in the third quarter, making it two on the day and two for his career.

Hill is the first Florida player with two interceptions in the same game since Rashad Torrence II on Oct. 30, 2021 vs. Georgia. He’s also the first Florida player with two interceptions and a pick-six in the same game since Chauncey Gardner-Johnson vs. Michigan in the Peach Bowl on Dec. 29, 2018.

Welcome back, 23.

Ventrell Miller

We’ll have a lot more to say about Ventrell Miller later tonight but for now, what a performance.

Miller tied his career high with 2.0 TFL and also paced the Gators with 11 tackles (10 solo). He was everywhere. He’s hurt but you can’t tell. It’s scary to think where the Gators’ defense would be without 51 in the middle of the field.

“It felt good,” Miller said of his play. “To put on a performance like we did, I feel like I brought some awareness to my foundation going out there and making plays for my foundation. I feel pretty good. First SEC win. We just wanna keep stacking those on top of each other.”

Napier’s first SEC win

It wasn’t pretty, when Florida and Missouri get together it typically isn’t, but a seven-point win is a win and it’s Napier’s first SEC victory as the UF head coach. In his post-game press conference, Napier remained even-keel despite the accomplishment.

“I think you guys are evaluating the team much like I evaluate the team, we’re a very capable group but still not as precise and detailed as we need to be in a lot of areas but we’re getting there,” he said. “The one thing about that group as you can hear, they’re a very competitive fiery group, right so I think we’ve got the right makeup, we’re growing up some young players and ultimately at some point here we continue to get better, there’s going to be some momentum that comes with that, and I’m hopeful that we can remain humble and that we can evaluate this game independent of the outcome and see the things that we could have done better and then go back and work on an improve and get ready for the next one.” 

Florida’s third down defense is abysmal

It’s the two-ton elephant in the room. You can’t get much worse than the Gators’ have been on third down. Florida came into the game allowing a 50 percent conversion rate on third down. That ranked 127th in the nation. Only Colorado (57.38 percent), Bowling Green (54.43 percent), Northern Illinois (52.86 percent), and Charlotte (51.43 percent) were worse.

Missouri converted 52.9 percent (9-17) of its third down attempts Saturday. That included mind-numbing conversions on 3rd and 15, 3rd and 18, and an astonishing 3rd and 22.

“Third and long, the national average is under 15 percent right,” Napier said. “So, when you give up that many there are some things you need to look at, but it’s all very fixable I think.” 

It’s inexcusable to be that bad.

Special teams gives and takes away

We need to be fair. I’ve called out the Gators’ special teams unit a lot in 2022. They got a tremendous play Saturday from Xzavier Henderson’s 48-yard punt return, which marked a career high as well as Florida’s longest return of the 2022 season.

That’s great, especially considering UF was dead last in the SEC in punt return yards. In fact, Henderson’s return was exactly double the entire season’s worth of punt return yards (5 returns for 24 yards) prior to the Missouri game.

“It was the one area of the kicking game going into the game that I felt like we had an opportunity to make some money, to make some hay. Great call, got a fieldable punt,” Napier said of Henderson’s return. “Special teams is about winning one-on-ones. When we pull that clip up, we’re going to see our guys. Gators are winning one-on-ones. I think that Xzavier’s been waiting for the opportunity. We got him loose. We talk about giving him an opportunity and we finally did that today.”

Then there was a forgettable day for Adam Mihalek. The redhsirt freshman was good from 37 but then missed his next two attempts. Mihalek has been good this season but the two misses Saturday drop him to 5-of-9 (55.5%). That’s not going to cut it but don’t expect to see a change quite yet.

“They were both deep. I think that’s one thing to consider there. I think I could help him. That’s what I think about. I think I could help him by managing the game there a little bit. We got a couple of two-play sequences there where I could coach better,” Napier said. “But, ultimately, we put him out there and we expect him to make it. Adam has been huge for us so far this year. He missed a few today, just like there are several things I could have done better today. No player goes out there is perfect. Adam will respond to that going forward.”