Florida and Kentucky meet for the 75th time this Saturday when the Gators travel to Lexington to in week five. The Gators wield a 53-20 record against the Wildcats including a 22-11 mark on the road. The Orange and Blue have won 33 of the last 36 meetings in the series including wins in 16 of the last 17 games in Lexington.
Gator Country previews this matchup by providing you with everything Head Coach Billy Napier had to say on Kentucky leading up to their week five matchup.
Opening Statement from Monday’s press conference:
BILLY NAPIER: “I think this is a big week. Obviously Kentucky has a really good football team. We’ve got a ton of respect for Coach Stoops and the program that he’s built there, the consistency in which they play and the brand of football that they play — the fundamentals, the philosophy.
It’s a tough place to go play. We’ve got to go up there and play at 12:00 noon. Our players are well aware of the program Kentucky has. They’ve beaten us two years in a row. I do think there are challenges that come with going on the road and playing in this league, and certainly Kentucky is one of those.”
Q. A couple of Kentucky skill guys, obviously Devin Leary, the quarterback, and then Ray Davis, the guy you were familiar with last year at Vanderbilt?
BILLY NAPIER: “Yeah, they’re transfer heavy on offense. They’ve got a good group of skill players. Running back, primarily the player you’re talking about is the featured back. The quarterback was fantastic at NC State, he’s had a terrific career. He’s off to a good start.
I think they’ve got skill players at receiver, at least two true freshmen that played last year, a back, a sophomore that transferred from Virginia Tech, and then the tight end, I feel like this one guy, he’s been there forever.
They’ve got a good group. I think up front is where they made some progress. In general, I do think they have a good complementary group of players on offense for sure.”
Q. What do you see in Kentucky’s defense? It’s pretty impressive, but what have you seen?
BILLY NAPIER: “Kentucky, that’s one of the reasons why they’ve been able to be very consistent as a program and as a team is because they play really good defense. They’ve got an identity. They understand who they are and how they play. It’s a veteran group, and I think they’ve added a couple transfers also that have provided depth at certain positions.
But they’ve got a good group of defensive coaches. Obviously the head coach is defensive background. They’re systematic in what they do, and they do a really good job, play well at all levels of the defense, in my opinion.”
Q. On Devin Leary:
BILLY NAPIER: “Yeah, no. Devin is a fantastic player, man. He had a great career at NC State, thrived under multiple coordinators. I think that he’s got arm talent, you know, and he’s an above average athlete. He can escape, he can extend and I see no drop off. I know he had the surgery on his pec, you know, in the offseason, but I think he’s, he’s done a really nice job. And certainly Liam’s done a good job. He’s in his first year in the new system, and I think he’s gotten a little bit better each week.”
Q. On Kentucky’s vertical attack:
BILLY NAPIER: “Yeah, that’s a big part of the game. I think explosives will be important in this game, in particular when you’re defending Kentucky, a lot of their explosives come when the ball gets to the second level in the run game and then also you got to survive the three-level vertical pass game, the shots off play action. I think the receiver group is talented. The two kids who played as rookies last year that are in year two, the Virginia Tech transfer gives them some diversity of players in all three areas but it’s a huge part of this matchup for sure.”
Q: Four WRs with 50+ yard catches. You guys have limited explosives for the most part. What do you see there?
BILLY NAPIER: “Yeah. Well, I think, you know, I think the big thing is you’ve got some veteran players at corner that have played. I mean, everybody’s in year two in the system, I can’t emphasize that enough. And I continue to harp on this, but I think the teachers are in year two. They’re teaching material for the second time. You know, Austin’s new, but ultimately he’s put his spin on our system, you know. And we have continuity there, and I think that’s helped the players and it’s helped the coaches. And look, this is a team game, right? The rush and the coverage must work together, right? So I think we’re doing a better job affecting the quarterback. And then obviously, if we can make him hold it a little bit, we’ve got capable rushers and vice versa, right? If we can rush then we don’t have to cover them as long, right? So, I think we’re benefiting both sides. And again, this is one of the more challenging groups that we’ve played. There’s no doubt about that.”