SEC Media Days: Four Florida Gators questions that won't get answered
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Just a few days from now, the Florida Gators will enter the SEC Media Day circus in Nashville, Tennessee. Billy Napier will bring wide receiver Ricky Pearsall, offensive lineman Kingsley Eguakun, and cornerback Jason Marshall Jr. with him on July 19.
SEC Media Days provides great access for the media to coaches and players. It’s a long day with a lot of repetitive questions for the coaches and student-athletes. They’ll be well prepared for what questions the collection of reporters has for them. Will everything be answered? Here are some pressing questions that are on our minds that we think the coaches and players will likely try and sidestep in Nashville.
Who will be the starting quarterback in 2023?
When you bring a quarterback to SEC Media Days, you are announcing them as your starter. That’s your guy, the leader and face of your team. Billy Napier didn’t bring a quarterback to Nashville for SEC Media Days.
While we expect that Graham Mertz will be the Gators’ starter in 2023, he hasn’t done enough for Napier to outright name him as the starter thus far. With no quarterback making the trip, the second-year head coach and his players will certainly be asked who will be leading the offense in 2023.
Will we get a solid answer? Probably not.
What does Billy Napier think about the offseason Georgia has had?
The Georgia Bulldogs have had quite the offseason. Kirby Smart’s football players have been cited numerous times in recent months for speeding, reckless driving, DUI, and other various crimes.
“Everybody wants to know what the punishment is. Well, the players know what the punishment is,” Smart said while attending SEC spring meetings. “And that’s important for our guys to acknowledge that and understand it. But I want to educate further, I want to make sure they understand.”
Napier will surely be asked by the national media about Georgia’s string of arrests this offseason. It’s an opportunity that Steve Spurrier took advantage of in 2012. Prior to the season, the Gamecocks and Bulldogs would typically meet in the second week of the schedule. The game was moved back to the sixth week and Spurrier was asked how he felt about that.
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“I don’t know,” Spurrier told ESPN’s Chris Low in 2012. “I sort of always liked playing them that second game because you could always count on them having two or three key players suspended.”
Expect Napier to be asked about the type of offseason that Georgia has had but don’t expect him to tee off the way Spurrier would.
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Thoughts on the Florida Gators 2024 schedule?
I can already see this interaction.
Reporter: Coach, what do you think about the new 2024 SEC slate and how tough your schedule will be?
Billy Napier: I’m just worried about Utah.
The Gators have a tough schedule every year but 2024 is exceptionally brutal. Florida will play eleven Power 5 teams including games against Miami, Florida State, and UCF. Florida will travel to Austin to play the Texas Longhorns for Texas’ inaugural season in the SEC and they also retained the rivalry (at least for a season) with LSU. It’s a more punishing schedule than any punishment Kirby Smart has doled out to his team this offseason.
| Opponent | Home/Away |
|---|---|
| Miami Hurricanes | Home |
| Samford Bulldogs | Home |
| UCF Knights | Home |
| Georgia Bulldogs | In Jacksonville |
| Kentucky Wildcats | Home |
| LSU Tigers | Home |
| Ole Miss Rebels | Home |
| Texas A&M Aggies | Home |
| Mississippi State Bulldogs | Away |
| Tennessee Volunteers | Away |
| Texas Longhorns | Away |
| Florida State Seminoles | Away |
Roster management
There will be several questions about the Gators’ roster management. Napier said all offseason that the Gators absolutely wanted to add another quarterback to the roster. With Austin Simmons going to Ole Miss and not enrolling early at Florida, the Gators didn’t add another but do have five quarterbacks on the roster. Expect Napier to shy away from questions about other quarterbacks like Jalen Kitna and Jaden Rashada, while trying to turn the focus back on the guys he has on his team this season.
