Rapid Reaction to Florida's appearance at SEC Media Days
Gators Online was in Dallas on Wednesday for UF’s trip to SEC Media Days. Florida Gators coach Billy Napier made the trip along with quarterback Graham Mertz, running back Montrell Johnson Jr. and linebacker Shemar James.
Napier addressed a number of topics, including his staff changes this offseason, how the roster has improved since last fall, the state of his program heading into Year 3, the difficulty of UF’s 2024 schedule and more.
In the video above, I’m joined by Nick de la Torre in Dallas as we share our rapid reaction to Florida’s appearance at SEC Media Days, the top storylines coming out of the event and some other highlights from Wednesday.
That included an interaction Mertz and former Heisman Trophy winner Danny Wuerffel. The two UF quarterbacks got together at the Omni Hotel and played each other for a game of EA Sports College Football 25.
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Graham Mertz spends time with Spurrier, Wuerffel ahead of senior year
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Everything Billy Napier said from the podium at SEC Media Days
Billy Napier on the Florida Gators
“I like our team. I believe in our team. When people ask me why, it’s about experience. It’s about production. We’ve got 463 starts on this team, 17 starters returning. We’ve got 41,000 snaps coming back this year, and we’re fourth in our league in returning production. We’ve got competitive depth for the first time.
We’re in year three. Our roster has stabilized. We’ve got credible leadership at the player level. The discipline and accountability of this team is at an all-time high, and I think some of the adjustments that we made in the off-season have proved to be effective.
These guys, these new staff members have made a difference, and I’ve been pleased with the progress. You’ll have questions about a lot of these guys, but Ron Roberts, Gerald Chatman, Will Harris, John Decoster, Joe Houston, Tyler Miles, Jake Sankal, Mark Robinson — all are changing our organization for the better.
We always view each team as its own entity. New players, new coaches, new roles, new voices, new opponents. Every team is a work in progress. I want to emphasize the word “work.” This group is about the work. There’s an old saying, it’s not about the size of the Gator in the fight but it’s about the size of the fight in the Gator.
We’ve been hard at work, going all the way back to the beginning of this off-season, developing the fight, a mentality, the intangibles of our team, our core values, the integrity, the togetherness, the discipline, the effort and toughness of the team. If we can do these things consistently, we’ll develop a high level of belief.
This group is hard at work developing the fight and the mentality. This team has purpose, and that’s why I believe in this team. It’s important that we finish strong. We’ve got 10 days left in this training block, and we’re 45 days out from the opener. It starts right there in The Swamp in all kinds of weather.”
![Florida Gators head coach Billy Napier walks during the first half at the Orange and Blue spring football game at Steve Spurrier Field at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville, FL on Saturday, April 13, 2024. [Matt Pendleton/Gainesville Sun]](https://on3static.com/cdn-cgi/image/height=215,width=393,quality=90,fit=cover,gravity=0.5x0.5/uploads/dev/assets/cms/2024/04/18141240/Untitled-design-72-2.png)
