Scott Stricklin believes patience with Billy Napier will soon pay off

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — When Scott Stricklin introduced Billy Napier as the next head coach of the Florida Gators, Napier preached patience. The Florida program, despite going to three New Year’s Six Bowl games from 2018-2020, needed new direction. Napier asked for patience in that process.

Two years in and Florida football isn’t where Napier, Stricklin, or the fan base wants it to be. The Gators are 11-14 and missed a bowl game in 2023. Still, Stricklin sees the vision that he had when he hired Napier and believes the program is on track.

“There’s a few things we’ve gotta adjust,” Stricklin said on WRUF radio Monday afternoon. “We hired a new strength coach from the NFL. We have a new nutritionist that we haven’t announced yet but he’s from the NFL. And we had a few position coach changes that have been made public.

“At the end of the day we have to take this core group of kids, which I think we had a really good core group of kids. They came to Florida and they want to compete for championships. We’ve gotta continue to develop them and continue to bring in, we brought in the top quarterback in the country and the National Gatorade player of the year in DJ (Lagway). LJ McCray, is probably the top defensive lineman in the country. Two of the best linebackers. We have a lot of high-end talent coming in. We’ve got to continue to grow that. I think we’re going to be rewarded for our patience.”

The Gators were young in 2023. They started seven freshmen at various points of the season and relied heavily on the younger players on their roster. They went through growing pains. Stricklin pointed out that the two teams playing for a National Championship on Monday have one freshman or redshirt freshman combined in their starting lineups.

“To get good in college athletics you have to get old and you have to stay old,” Stricklin said. “We’re in the process of trying to get there. I believe in him and I believe in the kind of guy he is and the way he runs his program. I believe he’s going to get it done.”

Florida will likely rely on young players again in 2024 but those players gained valuable experience in 2023. One way to get old quicker is through the transfer portal, where Florida has had some success with players like O’Cyrus Torrence, Montrell Johnson, Ricky Pearsall, and Graham Mertz, but Napier wants to build the program through high school recruiting, something Stricklin is aligned with.

‘When Billy Napier was brought in as head coach, there was an understanding that for us to get back to where we’re not just winning but winning consistently so we don’t have these dips, we were going to have to take a more patient approach,” Stricklin said. “We were going to have to go through maybe a short term growing pain for the longterm benefit.

“That’s what we’ve seen the last two years, to be honest with you. We have taken some steps to set us up for the future to be more successful. I think we’re going to begin to see some of the rewards for that patient approach and some of the steps that have been taken in the last two years and some of the steps that have been taken since this past season and the changes Billy has made within the program.”