DALLAS (352today.com) – The University of Florida’s head football coach believes experience will be the key to the Gator’s success in the 2024 season.
Billy Napier expressed optimism as he fielded questions from dozens of reporters at SEC Media Days in Dallas on Wednesday.
“We’re in year three. Our roster has stabilized. We’ve got credible leadership at the player level,” said Napier. “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.”
Adjustments included firing two assistants in an effort to overhaul the team’s defense following a disappointing 2023 season in which the Gators finished with a 5-7 record and 3-5 in SEC play.
Napier brought starting quarterback Graham Mertz, inside linebacker Shemar James, and running back Montrell Johnson Jr. to SEC Media Days, the annual event where coaches and players provide insight into the upcoming season.
“I like our team. I believe in our team,” Napier told the reporters. “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.”
Napier’s putting a lot of stock in the return of QB Mertz whose stats include 43 starts, 8,300 yards, 58 touchdowns.
“Graham Mertz, the biggest, the No. 1 storyline and the biggest decision that was made to affect our team is when Graham Mertz decided to come back and play quarterback for the Gators,” said Napier. “He’s primed to have a breakout year here. It’s a big deal for Graham to be back to play quarterback for our team.”
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All week, SEC coaches have talked about the difficulty of building a team from season to season due the transfer portal and recruiting struggles related to the big business of name, image and likeness (NIL). Napier said every team in the league has about 25 to 30 percent new players on their roster this season.
“College football, more than any time in our game, has become one year at a time. I think you start a process in January, you build momentum to the fall, and you do the best you can,” said Napier.
In addition to experience and leadership, Napier pointed to philosophical changes in how to build a better athlete. He says they’ve focused on the sports science of strength, conditioning, and nutrition.
“Just in January to April — we do DEXA scans at the beginning of a training block, and then at the end we gained 500 pounds of lean muscle, and we were 500 pounds leaner, as well,” shared Napier.
Napier says the team has purpose and he believes in the squad because they’ve been hard at work developing the fight and the mentality. He also gives some credit to conviction referencing a passage from Hebrews in the Bible.
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“Faith is the assurance of things hoped for. I’ve got all the faith in the world in the people in our building. They’re prepared to represent our institution, our fans, our great tradition, our state in a first-class manner,” said Napier.
The Gators season begins on Saturday, Aug. 31, with a home game against the Miami Hurricanes. Their SEC conference opener is on Saturday, September 7, against Texas A&M.