Billy Napier speaks on the importance of the Florida-Georgia rivalry

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Each week the SEC holds a teleconference for all 14 head coaches in the league. Billy Napier took his turn Wednesday to preview Florida’s game this weekend at South Carolina.

Here’s everything Billy Napier said on the SEC Teleconference.

Everything Billy Napier said on the SEC Teleconference

Opening Statement

Billy Napier: “Yeah, we’re right in the middle of preparing. Obviously a really good Georgia team. We have a tremendous amount of respect for what they’ve accomplished, you know, the consistency in which they perform. And, you know, these are the types of games that you, as a competitor, you look forward to it. Being in Jacksonville, the venue is split down the middle, the history, the tradition, the level of competition, I mean you get excited about the challenges and the opportunities that come with that. But, Georgia is a formidable opponent. I think they play a really good brand of football and it’s going to require our best.”

On using radios in helmets like the NFL does to limit sign stealing

Billy Napier: “Yeah, I think it’d be quite a transition, in my opinion. I think that, ultimately, if that’s available I do think you’ll have a number of coaches and staff that continue to operate the way they do operate. I do think there will be, you know, I mean I think, obviously it’s done at the National Football League level. It’d be quite the process to make that transition. But I do think, the level of technology that’s available these days, certainly open-minded to that. But I would think that each team would have their choice of what they could do.”

On Georgia quarterback Carson Beck

Billy Napier: “He’s a talented athlete and passer. He’s obviously been there a number of years. He’s gotten comfortable in their system. I think he’s got arm talent; he’s very accurate; and certainly he’s done a nice job of making some plays with his feet. And he’s gotten better every week as he gains more experience and gets comfortable. You can see his confidence grow. He’s got a really good group of players around him. They’re really big, tall, long up front. Really good group of skill players in every room. He’s played well. You can see why he was one of the better quarterbacks in the country coming out.”

On Georgia’s defense

Billy Napier: “I think the game ultimately the caliber of player, the height, length, the speed … this is a group that has confidence and is very comfortable in their system. They communicate at a high level and they’re able to do that because of that. I think the continuity in the system and the number of reps they’ve accumulated in their career allows them to be multiple. Ultimately there’s always a little bit of chess match, who’s got the king last. I think the key is we do our part to position our players to have success. You don’t like plays as a coach where you don’t have an answer for the players. Both of us, we’re well-versed, we know the issues. Obviously, I have a ton of respect for Coach Schumann and Coach Smart.”

On the week of practice

Billy Napier: “I thought Monday, coming off a couple days off, we were a little sluggish early, and then I thought we got better as the practice went, and I thought we were much improved yesterday, so they had really been a couple days without football. It’s natural for that to happen, but I do think think overall there’s good energy, there’s focus. Thought we finished the right way yesterday and then certainly today will be a really important practice.”

On the next step he’d like to see the Gators take Saturday

Billy Napier: “I think just steadily improving, you know I mean we got, I’d like to see us put more of it together, you know. Parts of our team have played at a really high level at different points throughout the year, you know, and I think ultimately for us to continue to grow as a team and as a program, we need consistency across the board. We can’t have one position group playing at an elite level and then this one drops off. So, individual players playing their best, position groups playing their best, units complementing each other, and ultimately for our team to play at a really high level, we have to play well at all three parts of our team. So just improvement and consistency, I think that’s the key for us.”

On how much Napier has heard how big the Florida-Georgia game is?

Billy Napier: “Yeah I mean, I think if you’re the head coach at the University of Florida, I mean there’s a lot of games that are important, you know, and certainly some more than others to people that have history here, right, and I think ultimately this game, there’s a long list at Florida, right. We’ve got a history with a lot of teams, but this one with the state’s bordering each other obviously the history and tradition behind the game, our fanbases have to live with each other to some degree in certain parts of each state, and it’s what makes college football fun.”