Everything Florida coach Billy Napier said ahead of the Ole Miss game

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Florida Gators head coach Billy Napier spoke with the media for the final time Wednesday night before the Ole Miss game. He discusses the matchup against the No. 9 Rebels, UF’s linebacker depth, quarterback DJ Lagway and more.

Below is everything Napier said.

Billy Napier Q&A

Opening statement:

BILLY NAPIER: “Look I think it’s really important at this point in the season, you gotta be very process-oriented. You gotta have systems for everything you do, and you gotta be very consistent. Hopefully we’ve developed some habits with our players, some routines. The more consistent we can be with those things, the better we have a chance to play. You know, I think that the next couple of days will be really important to detail up the plan. It was a barn-burner out there today, extremely competitive. Came down to the very last play of practice. So two good days in a row, and excited about Saturday. Good to be back in The Swamp. What do we got?”

On Florida’s offensive line against the Ole Miss defensive line: 

BILLY NAPIER: “Yeah it’s the, it’s one of the premium matchups in the game, you know. I think each week we play a bunch of really good teams that have great personnel, and sometimes they have some unique players in certain positions, and that becomes one of the premium matchups of the week. So definitely a big part of the game. I think both sides, always protect and effect, right? Protect the quarterback, affect the quarterback. That’ll be a big component this week, for sure.”

On what makes Jake Slaughter a good pass blocker:

BILLY NAPIER: “Well, first of all, he works extremely hard, extremely smart, very diligent, he’s six-four and a half. He’s got some length in there, he’s got some power. And I just think he’s a technician. You know, he’s very good with his hands and feet, and so, veteran player, and a guy who, in my opinion, continues to get better, right? Great Leader, very rarely inside you’re always working as a team, right? So he’s got good guys around him as well.”

On Tre Harris returning for Ole Miss: 

BILLY NAPIER: “Yeah, very familiar with Tre. You know, Tre was right there, from right there in the backyard in Lafayette, him and Kyren Lacy the same year, Jack Bech as well, who’s one of the leading receivers at TCU, so crazy that we had three of the top receivers in the country right there in Lafayette. But Tre, a phenomenal football player. Really proud of him in terms of his journey, see him develop. He was a high school quarterback, and to see him grow, I’ve been keeping up with him, know him well. Great, great kid, great family.”

On the secondary trending towards getting guys back:

BILLY NAPIER: “No setbacks there, I guess is what I would say. At this point in the year, there’s a bunch of guys out there that you know, 24 more hours later, feel a little better. 24 more hours, we got a lot of that going on, not just in the secondary, but across the board.”

On what extended reps does for Jaden Robinson, Myles Graham & Aaron Chiles:

BILLY NAPIER: “Confidence, you know. And then they adapt, right? So, they adjust their week, you know? They adjust their work habits, their film study, their practice habits. The consequence of error starts to become really real, right? So, it’s one thing. It’s kind of like when, when you have your first child, right? Like, they tell you the entire time, like, look, this is going to change your life forever. And you’re like, ‘Yeah, I understand. It’s a big deal.’ Well, yeah, we’re telling you that these things are important. Okay, then you get out there and play, and then you realize how consequential some of those minor details can become. So, I just think that sense of accountability, knowing that every play counts when you’re out there. So, you see a little bit more urgency, and then they get they gain some confidence. They start to realize that they can do it. And I think experience is critical, especially for a young player.”

On Ron Roberts being the DC at Baylor when they played Ole Miss:

BILLY NAPIER: “Yeah, I think that every system continues to evolve, different play callers, different coordinators. I do think obviously those are two completely different staffs and group of players. So maybe there’s some carryover, familiarity. Certainly, bowl games spend quite a bit of time. But just in general, I think both sides have continued to evolve for sure.”

On limiting explosive plays:

BILLY NAPIER: “First of all, I think you got to play with the right leverage in coverage. So, I think every week, turnover margin, like we were 4-0 last week, you know. They missed the field goal, two fourth-down stops. We got a strip sack and then recovered the fumble after we knocked it off the guy. So, we were 4-0, played clean on offense, we had a 162-yard advantage in the kicking game. So, those made up for the lack of time of possession and play count. I think we’re about eight yards a play on offense. So, we were explosive. So, turnover margin is one, and then explosive plays are two. It’s always been that way. We’re going to need to make our fair share. We’re going to try to limit theirs.”

On how DJ Lagway has progressed this week:

BILLY NAPIER: “Yeah, good. Very similar to last week, hasn’t missed a rep. I think he gets a little better every day. No setbacks there. That’s a positive.”

On having a rotation at STAR versus playing one guy:

BILLY NAPIER: “Well, we rotate — we try to play all the deserving players. I think sometimes you have a scenario where maybe there’s a huge dropoff and then you have some scenarios where you got some depth and you want to develop depth because this is a game where you need depth, especially in this league. And big picture, I think some players can handle high load and some can’t. The STAR position is one where you are very active. You’re almost a linebacker and a cover guy at the same time so that workload is different than maybe a corner or a safety. It’s a hybrid role so you’re in the run fit, you’re chasing slot receivers all over the field. I think the player load is high there. You want to have multiple players who are capable there and we do.”

On Ole Miss defensive tackle/fullback JJ Pegues:

BILLY NAPIER: “Yeah, no, I can remember specifically evaluating him as a player when he came out. He was kind of, I think, a late take for them maybe. It’s awesome to see him playing and he’s got a lot of position flex, he plays inside and outside, plays on the edge a little bit. Obviously, he’s a ball carrier and he’s a guy who had some experience in high school doing that. Yeah, it’s good stuff, part of the matchup.”

On the NCAA limiting roster sizes and having to cut players:

BILLY NAPIER: “I think it’s going to be one of the more transformational things in our game in the last 20 years. I think just relative to your year-round process, how do you practice, how you do all season, how do you develop players. I think it’s a product of revenue sharing but I would say we lack clarity there, right? Like we have no idea when that is going to happen. hat are the details of that? What are the rules going to be? When do you have to be at 105? Can you be over in the spring and the summer and training camp and then you get to 105 when school starts or can you have a waiting list? If you get a guy hurt, can you bring a guy up. I think there’s a ton to talk about and define here. We’ve asked for clarity and I think it’s to-be-determined so, yeah, I mean, I think it’s all going to be much different. I think it’s going to change the game in a significant way.”

On if the changes in college football recently are too much too soon: 

BILLY NAPIER: “The game has always changed. I think there’s always been some adaptation required. I think we just had some very significant ones. I think the process of acquiring a player has significantly changed every six months since I’ve been at Florida for sure. I think that’s probably the number one thing. And then the retention of players has changed, that process is significantly different, and I think those two combined together, and now you’re talking about practice, that part, now you develop players and developing your team is going to change next year. The game is always evolving, gotta be ready to go.”

On why 105 players isn’t enough:

BILLY NAPIER: “The issue is we are not the National Football League, we can’t replace players. I would just say you have a certain number per position on your roster relative to the scholarship number, and then you have the next 20 who are walk ons. We used to go to training camp with 105. Typically, if you get a guy hurt, you would add a guy to the mix. I think the issue is going to be late in the season, scout teams, your just gonna have to evolve how you practice, it’s going to be very much the NFL the back half of the year, the sports science component will be critical, you gotta keep them healthy, strength and conditioning, being on top of all the science relative to player load and all the things that we do to prevent injury. I just think it’s going to change, we have 131 guys out there, we probably have 15 that are out, so our ability to replicate the opponent on offense, defense, and special teams, we can work at the same time, like the offense can go against the scout team, the defense can go against the scout team, whereas you may not be able to do that. All of a sudden your twos are servicing ones and you are less efficient with your time. Then you could have some nightmare scenarios with certain positions where you get short handed in a hurry.”

On what the ideal scholarship number is: 

BILLY NAPIER: “I think there’s been some research done. An NFL team, typically, in a calendar year might go through 120 players. I don’t know the answer to that. I just know we’re gonna have 105. We have to figure it out.”

On if you could theoretically have a mid-season walk-on tryout:

BILLY NAPIER: “I’ve asked specifically. I even threw out the idea you could have a club team on campus. When I was in Louisiana, I used to train 160-70 players in the summer, and then we’d trim it to 135 on the first day of class. If we got a guy hurt, we make a phone call, we bring a guy up. So, could you do that? But those are all … It has not been defind for us. We need some clarity.”

On how critical it is for UF to have a general manager in place for all this:

BILLY NAPIER: “Yeah, so we’re built to do it now. I think that the big thing here is that we’re getting ready to we’re really, literally going to be in a business model. We have a cap, we have contracts, we have negotiation, we have strategy about how we distribute those funds, and it’s a major math puzzle. Man, it used to be simple five or six years ago, 25 hard cap, 85 scholarships. Now we’re in the eight digits, something like that. So big-picture wise, that’s the No. 1 skill set. We’re going to build out a front office here in the next couple of months, and it’s primarily that purpose is to help us manage that huge math problem. There’ll be a ton of strategy around that, I’m looking forward it.”

On the noon kickoff:

BILLY NAPIER: “I think it’s mental. It’s a mindset. We talk about it. But look, they gotta wake up at the same time we gotta wake up. We’ll be eating about the same time, get on the bus about the same time, and put the ball down at 12 noon. So we both gotta deal with it, part of it.”