Last season wasn’t the year anyone was hoping for despite opening the season with a win against Utah. Both sides of the football had dug themselves into deep holes that were nearly impossible to escape from after failing to execute in multiple games.
In 2022, the Gators lost a total of four one-score games in the fourth quarter after rallying back.
Billy Napier made it clear that this team would be hit with adversity multiple times throughout his first season as head coach. How well you respond as a team to those setbacks goes a long way in terms of growth.
Coming up short so many times might have been exactly what this group needed to make drastic improvements in every executional aspect of the game this season.
“I think when you have adversity, I think it presents opportunity,” Napier said. “I think the key here is that we grow through struggle. Anything that’s been built that’s accomplished anything significant went through some adversity. I think it’s all about how you respond to that.”
There was a lot this team needed to clean up on and off the football field following Napier’s inaugural season. Everyone in this program made it a priority this offseason to correct the things that held them back last year.
“I think if we are more concerned with the people in our building that are part of our team and how we’re going to do our job and not let them down, I think it gives us a better chance. I think there’s lots of areas where we had work to do,” Napier said on how the team and himself have evolved. “There was a long list of issues to resolve, to come with better systems, better strategies, rebuilding the player experience, getting accustomed to the recruiting calendar, getting really strategic plans for the portal, for NIL. All parts of our organization are in a much better place from an execution standpoint. Ultimately, that’s my job is to get each part of our organization executing at a really high level. I think hopefully I’ll be better because we’ve had a year to work on everything.”
Specifically on defense, the Gators have added two interior defensive linemen from the portal in Caleb Banks and Cam’Ron Jackson. With a potential improved pass rush, I see the secondary and defense as a whole unit improving drastically.
“Yeah, I will say as a whole, we are tighter, as one. We’re all on the same page to an extent. We’re all one to an extent,” Jaydon Hill said on Raymond taking over the secondary. “There’s no separation. We communicate well, and I feel like our communication on the field has gotten way better.”
It appears the Gators potentially solved a few issues that held them back in 2022. With fall camp beginning this upcoming week, the Gators will look to continue to improve with week 1 right around the corner.