WATCH: Florida players react to Texas loss, Billy Napier announcement

AUSTIN, Texas — The injury-depleted Florida Gators were no match Saturday for No. 5 Texas, which built a 42-0 lead en route to a 49-17 victory. UF was down 11 starters against the Longhorns, including quarterback DJ Lagway and its top three cornerbacks.

The Gators had less than 150 yards passing with three-string QB Aidan Warner for the second week in a row, while their defense gave up over 300 yards through the air (333) for the second straight game and a career-high five touchdowns to Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers.

Despite so many starters and backups out on both sides of the ball, Florida receiver Chimere Dike and linebacker Shemar James did not use injuries as an excuse for the team’s performance in Austin.

“Regardless of how many people were out, we didn’t execute to our ability. We didn’t take advantage of the opportunities we had,” Dike said, referring to Florida’s missed red zone opportunities. “At the end of the day, we didn’t take care of what we needed to. We can’t really make any excuses.”

James added, “It’s frustrating a little bit, but that’s the game of football. It’s a tough game. Guys will get banged up. But it really just comes down to capitalizing.”

Dike and James were asked about the news this week regarding their head coach, Billy Napier. UF athletic director Scott Sticklin announced on Thursday that Napier would be back next season.

James was happy about the decision.

“I’ve been here since the beginning with Coach Napier,” James said. “He actually recruited me, so I was excited to see that letter. It was kind of a relief to know that he’ll have another year, you know, so we can develop under him as well. I’m just excited for Coach Napier.” 

“I love Coach Napier,” Dike said. “He’s the reason why I came here. Obviously, my relationship with Graham, just getting to sit down and talk to him. He’s wanting to build a program. I have full belief in him, and it’s unwavering. Today was obviously tough, but our team’s going in the right direction. With all the young guys with an opportunity to improve, and excited to see him in the future.” 

RELATED: Billy Napier reacts to Scott Stricklin’s vote of confidence

In the video below, check out what Dike and James had to say after the loss at Texas.

Florida Gators react to Texas loss

Q&A with Chimere Dike, Shemar James

On not being able to capitalize on the chances for takeaways early:

Shemar James: “We definitely took a blow on the defensive side of the ball, things weren’t going our way. Kind of like self-inflicted wounds. We preached on that saying, ‘If you give a good team an inch they’ll take a mile.’ We gotta clean that up on our side of the ball and we probably could have came out with a win.”

On the poor defensive performance after recent strides:

Shemar James: “It’s the game of football. You can be on high and before you know it, it’s a roller coaster game, so, we just got to get back in the film room and get better.”

On what the second half effort says about this team:

Chimere Dike: “Yeah, this team has obviously been through loads of adversity, I’m proud of the guys for going out there and battling in the second half, a lot of teams would have gave up, but at the same time we gotta execute better, we gotta improve. At the end of the day, we didn’t take care of what we needed to, like you said we had self inflicted wounds, and when you play a team like Texas you can’t do that.”

On how much the week of prep helped Aidan Warner:

Chimere Dike: “I think anytime you’re a young player, when you’re able to have game reps against a really good football team, it’s one of those things you can learn from. He came out there and competed for four quarters, and I know he’s going to continue to get better and take steps forward.”

On what UF could have done better in the red zone:

Chimere Dike: “Yeah, I mean, I think when you have red zone trips especially on the road against a good team, you know, down some bodies, I think it’s important to capitalize and we didn’t. I think that was the story of the first half. Those are things you need to cash in on.”

On the play of Aidan Warner:

Chimere Dike: “I think Aidan did a really good job. I think there was a lot of guys who could have done things better around him, myself included. When you have a young quarterback like that you have to help him as much as you can. I think he competed for four quarters, I think he threw some really good balls. When you looked at him he never looked like he was gonna give up or was out of it, so I’m proud of him, proud of the way he competed.”

On if he thought DJ Lagway was going to play:

Chimere Dike: “I knew DJ was going to do everything he could to get on the field, he was progressing throughout the week. That kid loves competing, he loves the University of Florida. He wanted to be out there, but it just was the best thing for us that he wasn’t. I’m looking forward to him continuing to take strides and get healthy.”

On how frustrating it was defensively with all the injuries:

Shemar James: “It’s frustrating a little bit, but that’s the game of football. It’s a tough game. Guys will get banged up. But it really just comes down to capitalizing. We got to come up with the right mentality. We got some really good two’s and three’s that came in the game and played pretty well. It just came down to being ready for the moment and executing.”

On Myles Graham developing:

Shemar James: “He’s getting better each and every week from the first week to this week. He’s been improving, taking good strides. Getting things right and communicating. I expect that from Myles.”

On staying together to finish the season strong:

Shemar James: “Like you said, stay together. Staying together, that’s what will get us over this hump and get some wins at the end of the year.”

On how much the injuries contributed: 

Chimere Dike: “Yeah, we were down, but like he said, it’s a next man up mentality. Regardless of how many people were out, we didn’t execute to our ability. We didn’t take advantage of the opportunities we had. Obviously, it’s tough kind of being down, but hopefully we can get guys back healthy and guys continue to come back, but at the end of the day, we didn’t take care of what we needed to. We can’t really make any excuses.”

On Dike being underrated ahead of coming to the SEC:

Chimere Dike: “I’ve played a lot of college football. I was confident coming to the SEC. I have great coaches around me, teammates that believe in me, and I just try to go out there and play as hard as I can. It’s an honor to play for the University of Florida. It’s a dream come true for me. So, just every day I try go out there and work as hard as I can.”