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Napier: Gators have talent, but need more dependable, disciplined players

On3 imageby:Zach Abolverdi•04/10/22•

ZachAbolverdi

On3 image
Florida coach Billy Napier. (Jordan McKendrick/UAA Communications)

Following the Florida Gators’ second scrimmage of spring camp Saturday, first-year coach Billy Napier was asked if any individual players have started standing out to him. 

Some? Sure. 

Enough? Not even close. 

“Yeah, there’s a lot of them. I mean, I think we have a lot of good individual players. But this game isn’t about individuals, right? This is why it’s the best game there is,” Napier said. “It takes 11 people doing their job. So we’re not to a point here where we can start talking about individuals.”

The Gators have several players who can do their job, with Napier saying he feels good about his starters and some second-stringers at every position on the team. 

However, Napier made it clear Saturday that his overall roster doesn’t have enough dependable depth. And if you can’t be counted on, you won’t see the field under this staff. 

“I think the team as a whole lacks depth. We need more players as a whole that do their job consistently and play winning football,” Napier said. “I think the reality is as we get closer to the game, OK, we get to put 11 out there every play, right? And to run between the lines for the Florida Gators, you have to be dependable and accountable, and you’ve got to be consistent, everybody understand? 

“So, you know, it is a privilege to represent the University of Florida and run between the lines and play. We get to put 11 out there at a time. We need more players to make progress and get in that group, does that make sense? And we’ve got a lot of players that I trust and we will put out there, but we’ve got a lot of work to do to create depth and add more players to that list.”

That starts with eliminating undisciplined penalties, which was Florida’s biggest issue in the second scrimmage according to Napier. He was “pleasantly surprised” when the Gators only committed two penalties in the first scrimmage, but they reverted back to their old ways Saturday with a penalty-plagued practice. 

It’s not a trend Napier will tolerate. 

“Florida was 121st in the country in penalties last year,” he said. “I think the first way you win is you don’t beat yourself. You completely control the things that have nothing to do with the opponent. We’re talking about undisciplined penalties, we’re talking about taking care of the ball, we’re talking about mental errors. …We’ve always taken great pride in not giving the other team anything. They’ve got to earn every single thing that they get. 

“When you talk about penalties, typically, you’re going to have some technical fouls in a game. But the undisciplined ones, you want to eliminate completely. We had too many (Saturday). Our goal is to play and be under one penalty in every 30 plays. I can probably say that typically in the past, we’ve done that. Is our team ready to play that brand of football? No. But we don’t play tomorrow. We don’t play this week. We’ve got time. We’re in the process of working hard on that and that’s my job as a coach.”

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