Billy Napier believes Florida Gators could have ‘a handful’ of 4D players

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Gators coach Billy Napier is not only prioritizing blue-chip recruits in building Florida’s roster, but he’s looking for four-dimensional players as well.

Napier first described the term last year during 2022 spring camp.

“The first dimension is you know what you’re supposed to do, OK? The second dimension is, you know what every player in your position room is supposed to do, right? So you play Z receiver, you know what the H and the X have. You play left guard, you know what all five linemen are supposed to do when you play,” Napier said.

“The third dimension is you understand all 11 players on offense or defense or in special teams. You understand all 11 players on your side of the ball. And then a four-dimensional player, which is really rare, he understands all 11 on his side of the ball and he knows and can comprehend and discuss what the 11 other people on the other side of the ball are doing.”

Who were the 4D players on last year’s team? The obvious one was sixth-year senior and starting inside linebacker Ventrell Miller, the quarterback of Florida’s defense who made the play calls.

Miller was one of four 4D players on the defensive side of the ball according to defensive end Justus Boone, who included himself in that group.

“That’s one thing I take pride in myself. Me, I consider myself a four-dimensional player,” Boone said last year. “I take pride in it, Ventrell takes pride in it, Gervon [Dexter] takes pride in it. [Amari] Burney takes pride in it, too. Burney is sharp.”

Coincidentally, those were the only three players from Florida’s defense selected in the 2023 NFL Draft, while Boone is the lone 4D returner. Who else will join him in that “rare” category?

“Four-dimensional players, I think we’ll have a handful that will be close to it,” Napier told Gators Online’s Keith Niebhur this month. “We’re going to have some young players, some inexperienced players. I do think some of our portal players are experienced, but it is a new system that they’re playing in. There will be some things that come with that. I can just tell you from executing all three phases in the offseason, we’re much improved in executing what we do each day. It’s good.”

RELATED: Florida Gators LB Shemar James is ‘a whole different player’ now

Shemar James is one to watch

One player who believes he has 4D potential is inside linebacker Shemar James, a top-100 signee in Napier’s first recruiting class. James played alongside Burney and Miller as a true freshman and is now tasked with replacing them.

He said his biggest area of growth has been communication at the position, making the calls on defense and being more vocal overall.

“Becoming a 4D player, as coach [Jay] Bateman say. Knowing what I have and what the player beside me has to do as well,” James said in the spring. “I feel like I’m getting there (to 4D). I’m pretty close.”

Does James consider himself a 3D player right now?

“Three-and-a-half-D,” he quipped.

For James to fully develop that trait, he believes that will happen once he becomes well-versed in Austin Armstrong’s system and can start dissecting what offenses are doing pre-snap. Aka, the fourth dimension.

“I’ll say, overall confidence and just knowing the defense as a whole,” James said. “Take a picture. Coach Bateman says, ‘Take a picture of the play before the ball snaps.’ Who can motion, you know, the things that can change before the ball actually snaps. I feel like that helped me become a more knowledgeable player.”

James appeared in all 13 games as a true freshman, making four starts and finishing the season with 47 tackles, 3 quarterback hurries, 2 TFLs, 2 sacks, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery.

According to Pro Football Focus, James graded out as the best tackler (76.9) among Florida’s linebackers.

“Shemar played about 400 snaps last year. That’s a lot for true freshmen,” Bateman said. “This is his first spring practice because he wasn’t he wasn’t a mid-year enrollee last year. Shemar’s really, really talented. The thing I love about him is if I say something to him or Coach Armstrong says something to him, it gets applied the next day. He’s got a really high ceiling. He’s going to play a bunch of football here and he’s going to be a really good player.”