Watching his basketball counterpart cut down the nets at the Alamodome was a moment of euphoria Billy Napier wouldn’t mind experiencing himself in January.
National championship might not have been on the Napier bingo card on Wednesday at SEC Media Days, but the embattled Florida coach didn’t mind leveling up the vision for the Gators in 2025.
“There’s a little something different in the air right now in Gainesville,” Napier said, referring to his team as a “special group.”
“This group believes in what we do. I think that’s where we really took a big step in the right direction last year is we found a level of confidence that we could go toe to toe with any team in the country any place, anytime.”
Napier said there’s in-house evidence the developmental process is working in overdrive. The Gators will be asked to present evidence he’s right with a gauntlet of a schedule that includes this six-game stretch: Sept. 13, at LSU, Sept. 20 at Miami, Oct. 4 vs. Texas, Oct. 11 at Texas A&M, Oct. 18 vs. Mississippi State and Nov. 1 vs. Georgia.
The Gators are counting on quarterback DJ Lagway to lift the offense after a breakout 2024 season.
“Just the competitor on game day is really unique. I think his ability to block out all the external factors and really get consumed with leading the team, playing winning football, executing,” Napier said of what makes Lagway a winner. “And we’ve built around the guy. There’s no question. Players want to play with DJ. We’ve built his class around that and certainly some of these guys that are in the rookie group were a part of that as well.”
Outside expectations are higher for Florida, but not many are starting their SEC Championship winner projections with Napier’s crew given the proven contender status of some of teams standing in the way. Napier’s coaching life cycle in Gainesville has advanced rapidly, even if not always in the direction he would like.
As Todd Golden and the Gators’ basketball team were starting the 2024-25 regular season in November as fringe contenders, Napier was being spared his job by athletic director Scott Stricklin.
At the time, Gator Nation was champing at the bit to have Stricklin swing the other way and take the reported offer from boosters to buy out Napier’s contract. Florida was 4-4 and still had Texas, LSU, Ole Miss and the Florida State rivalry game to get through.
Napier had reason to celebrate when the Gators finished 8-5 and 4-4 in the SEC, defying expectations for a nosedive or worse. He has a 19-19 record in three seasons in Gainesville.
In the process, Napier has a bit more support and a lot bigger expectations.
“I think the important part is what we expect from each other. I think we’ve learned that, right? I think it’s not only — not only do you need to block out noise, but it’s absolutely necessary that you do it,” Napier said. “So I think we’ve got to have high expectations for each other. We see each other every day. I think this is player to player; it’s coach to player, coach to coach, all parts of our organization.”
–Field Level Media
