What Florida coach Billy Napier said about facing No. 11 Tennessee

Billy Napier has always known about the Tennessee-Florida football rivalry. The 44-year-old second-year Florida head coach was born in Cookeville, Tenn., and was raised in a family that included what he described last year as “diehard Tennessee fans.”

His parents went to Tennessee Tech. His uncle lived in Crossville, Tenn. His mother’s family owned a farm in Sparta, Tenn., and his father grew up in Celina, Tenn., before the family moved to Georgia when Napier was around two years old.

“I’ve got a couple uncles and cousins that have never missed a Tennessee game,” Napier said during his press conference on Monday. “They’ve flown all over the country to watch them play. Well-versed in this one. When your dad’s a high school coach, the parts of the country that my family’s from, the era that I grew up in, Florida-Tennessee was a big deal at that point in time.”

Napier got his first taste of being part of the rivalry last September, when Tennessee won 38-33 inside a sold-out Neyland Stadium. Now the 11th-ranked Vols (2-0) go to Florida (2-0) to open SEC play Saturday night (7 p.m. Eastern Time, ESPN) at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville. 

Here’s what Napier said about facing Tennessee, head coach Josh Heupel and facing his Vols during his Monday press conference:

“I do think it’s a big week. It’s Tennessee week. I think we’ve done a ton relative to educating our players about the rivalry. We do have some veteran players that understand, that have played in the game. But it’s time for SEC play. Certainly, this is an (SEC) Eastern Division opponent, as well. There’s magnitude of that. I think it’s a big weekend for Gator Nation. We play at home. We play a really good opponent. I think when you start thinking about their team, offense, defense and special teams, they have an identity. They’ve got a veteran team. This is a significant number of seniors. I think when you look at that two-deep, there’s a ton of experience there. I think they have good personnel and I do think they present variables on defense, the tempo on offense. They’ve done a good job on special teams, as well. The combination of all three parts of their team presents challenges. It’s going to be a really important week. I think when you play in these types of games, it’s about the preparation during the week, really sticking to your system preparing as an individual player, as a staff member.”

How different this Tennessee team is compared to the one Florida faced last season

“Two new starters (left guard Andre Karic and left tackle John Campbell) on the left side of the offensive line. The tight end (Princeton Fant) is gone. A couple of the receivers (Jalin Hyatt and Cedric Tillman) that were significant are gone. But they’ve got skill. I mean, they’ve got some really unique players, some speed in the slot. They’ve got some matchup issues. The center (Cooper Mays) has been out. I think they’ll get him back. I think he makes it go, his ability to communicate, really dictate the tempo and pace of the game. The quarterback (Joe Milton III) is a freak of nature. I mean, he’s very, very talented. Not only can throw it but can run it. I do think his ability to rush the ball may be even more effective and more willing it than the last guy (Hendon Hooker). They’re plug-and-play. They’ve got really good talent there.”

Facing Tennessee’s uptempo offense and what makes it difficult to stop

“I think obviously the uniqueness of the offense, the tempo. They’re snapping the ball. They run about three plays a minute. I think they’re first or second in the country in pace. There’s an element to that that’s unique. We can speed the tempo up, but we don’t do it every play, but I do think the uniqueness in a typical week. They’ve had success moving the ball and scoring points. I think there’s an element to that. Not only the personnel, but also just systematically. How you going to play them? What is your fastball going to be? What are your curveballs, what is your slider? How can you dictate the pace of the game a little bit? I think there’s some things to that. I’ve got a lot of respect for what they do.”

Trying to replicate Tennessee’s tempo in practice

“I think it’s a really good question. That’s part of teaching and coaching, is how do we recreate the game for the players. There’s a skill to that. We don’t just show up this week and think about that. We’ve been working on how we’re going to do that. I would tell you, coaches, we all bounce back and forth ideas in terms of how we do that. How we practice, some of those strategic ways to recreate the game when you play these different teams. I mean, the game continues to evolve. You see people go to the other end of the spectrum, get in the huddle every play. That’s one thing that’s unique about the SEC is the diversity in scheme, not only on offense. You get extremes on both ends, but you also defensively the number of variables you get in terms of front pressure coverage. You got to have systems on offense and defense that are rules based, that have the ability to adapt. You’ve got to play different ways each week to find ways to win. I think that’s one of the reasons why we’re built the way we are, is so that we can handle those variables.”

If there’s any difference for Florida when it’s not only game week, but a rivalry week

“I think what we’ve tried to do is we try to spend some time in training camp, part of onboarding new group of people, new staff members. I think there’s an element to that where you have new people in the building each year. We did some work there relative to going back and really educating everyone on the history and the magnitude of the game. Do you understand that this was the game at one point in time in college football relative to the SEC, the Eastern Division and certainly the national championship picture? (The game) happens early (in the season). I do think that’s helped in particular this year. Met with the leadership group at 11 o’clock. Certainly, I think some of the things that we emphasize during training camp. Look, we have several of these games. They all matter. But I think this one is unique because if you go back and look at the history of this game, the importance, yeah, I think there’s an element to it that’s a little bit different, for sure.”

Trying to control the ball offensively, keeping Tennessee’s defense on the field and the offense off the field

“The play count number can roll up. I think it’s right in the high 70s relative to both sides of the ball. They’re going to play in the high 70s. We’re going to play in the high 70s. The play count is going to improve. Depth can be a key component, especially late. I think the game’s about first down, then you got to get off the field on third down. Ball gets into the red area, you got to force them to kick field goals. Last year’s game was indicative of that if you dig into it.”