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Good Morning Gators: Florida HS coaches give impressions of Billy Napier

On3 imageby:Zach Abolverdi•06/24/22•

ZachAbolverdi

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Florida coach Billy Napier. (Isabella Marley/UAA Photo)

Florida Gators football is the No. 1 topic in Good Morning Gators every day — but we cover news, notes and analysis from across the Gators sports world. Join us each morning to get caught up on everything in the world of Florida football, UF recruiting, Gators basketball, Florida baseball and more.

Florida held its first 7on7 camp Wednesday under first-year coach Billy Napier and his new staff, with Carrollwood Day winning the “Swamp Shootout.”

Some of the top high school programs in the Sunshine State competed in the 28-team tournament, including Bartram Trail, Benjamin School, Buchholz, Columbia, Jones, Mainland, Melbourne, Miami Northwestern, Rickards, Seminole, Vanguard and Vero Beach.

Gators Online caught up with a few coaches at the camp to get their early impressions of Napier, including former Florida running back Elijah Williams from Jones High School.

“He’s doing a great job,” Williams said of Napier. “He’s reaching out to a lot of the alumni. We’re here. We support him. I met Coach Napier and I love what he’s doing. He’s a great guy and he connects to a lot of people.

“I mean, any time you got a guy of his pedigree who’s coached at all the places he has, but also coached at South Carolina State. That speaks volumes of this guy and his connections. He’s used to coaching diverse groups. So, I think it’s perfect.”

Williams has a pair of players on his team, top-50 EDGE Malik Bryant and 2024 four-star defensive tackle D’antre Robinson, who are top targets for Napier’s staff. Olympia coach Travis Gabriel and his squad, featuring four-star defensive lineman Kamran James, also attended the Swamp Shootout.

“All the coaches here, they are approachable,” Gabreil said of Napier and his staff. “That’s the thing I know a lot of us high school coaches like. You don’t have to look at them twice. Just walk up on them and talk to them, and they want to talk football. And I think all that starts with Coach Napier and his leadership.

“Some coaches, you can’t approach. Some coaches, their door is always open. That’s the first thing we heard about Coach Napier was he’s a coach’s coach, and you see it. He’s not putting on a front. He’s not trying to be somebody in front of anyone. I really believe that is exactly that guy 24/7. So, we can’t appreciate that enough, especially from a head coach at a big-time program like Florida.”

Four head coaches at the Swamp Shootout played for the Gators in addition to Williams, along with Eric Kresser (Benjamin School), Demetric Jackson (Columbia) and Vincent Brown Sr. (Wildwood). Jackson was a defensive back for Florida’s 1996 national championship team.

“To me it’s not the staff, it’s the Gator faithful,” Jackson said when asked about Napier. “If we leave these guys alone and quit putting unrealistic expectations out there, I think they’re going to do great. They’re doing all the little things, the detailed stuff, that I think is going to get them across the board.

“But sometimes Gator Nation is like, ‘If we don’t win 11 games, he’s a bad coach.’ I think what Napier is doing with this staff, I’ve had a chance to talk to quite a bit of the coaches, they’re doing it the right way and it’s going to get Florida back to being an elite program. We just gotta give them time.”

In other Florida football news

  • Gators Online Podcast: Former UF lineman Shannon Snell discusses his interactions with the new staff, changes within the program, working with players on the grill and more. 

UF recruiting roundup

Gators sports roundup

Let’s keep talking

Want to keep the conversation going? Head over to our Florida message board, Swamp Talk. Sign up here and join the discussion.

Gators Twitter updates

  • Top-100 EDGE Keldric Faulk will announce his commitment on July 5:

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