Billy Napier has been a busy man since he took over as UF’s head coach in early December. He assembled a large staff filled with people with NFL and major college experience, scrambled to fill out the roster via the two signing periods and the transfer portal, and improved the quality of life for the athletes.
After all of that, Napier’s Gators finally took the practice field for the first time on Tuesday afternoon. As could be expected for a team adjusting to new ways of doing things, the Gators weren’t anywhere near as crisp as they’ll need to be for this program to win the championships that Napier came here to win.
It’s simply going to take some time for them to perform at the level that Napier expects.
In the meantime, Napier is looking for everyone involved with the program to approach every practice with a positive attitude and a drive to get better. In that regard, Tuesday’s practice was a success.
“If we want championship results, we have to have championship practices,” Napier said. “The intensity in terms of how we prepare in practice should reflect the same urgency that we have on a gameday. Each one of the people in our organization, certainly the players, will want to win when we get to the games in the fall. We have to replicate those conditions for the players that practice.
“I think we did a lot of good today. I was extremely proud of the effort, a lot of bright spots. We all understand we’re learning new systems. I think the big thing for me is we want to have a practice environment where we’re working together to create as many teachable reps as possible. I thought the staff did a good job today. You learn by doing. You learn with repetition. I think we’ll get better as we go forward here.”
From a logistical standpoint, Napier thought that they did a good job of being efficient. Between the players, coaches, support staffers and managers, he estimated that there were about 200 people involved in practice. With many of them having never operated a Napier practice before, there were certain to be some hiccups. The managers might not have known how to set up a certain drill, for example.
The next step is to keep the effort level high but to steadily improve the execution, and not just for the players.
“Everybody out there made some mistakes today,” Napier said. “There’s no question. From the managers that work with the quarterbacks all the way up to the head coach, nobody was perfect. The key is that we’re committed to trying to do our best. Everybody’s got a role. I think that’s part of the culture that we want to try to create. Every person in that building contributes to our team.
“That’s the cool thing about football. It’s not just the players. You get to know the managers, the student trainers, the video crew. We’ve got a lot of people that make up the team. You want each one of those people to take pride in their role.”
Jones committed to the program, competing for starting job
Quarterback Emory Jones’ career at Florida had come to an end. He had announced his intention to enter the transfer portal and use his final two years of eligibility elsewhere. The Gasparilla Bowl against UCF was going to be his final game.
And then it wasn’t.
As the start of the spring semester drew near at universities around the country, Jones hadn’t announced his transfer destination or even announced visits to any schools. When UF released the spring roster in January, his name was still on it.
But that didn’t end the drama. Shortly thereafter, several reports came out that Jones planned to graduate from UF in April and then transfer somewhere over the summer.
That turned out to not be true. He was on the field Tuesday trying to learn a new offense and compete for the starting job.
Jones said that he had his mind made up on transferring until Napier, offensive analyst Ryan O’Hara and some other coaches broke down the film and explained how they were going to help him improve. In a sense, Jones was their first quarterback commit at UF.
“I honestly went in telling them I didn’t want to be here,” Jones said. “They watched the film, went over everything, and they said that I am very talented and they can do a lot to change how I played in the past. And I watched film on their quarterback last year, [Levi Lewis]. He’s very talented, and he did a lot of great things. That definitely sold me.
“Basically, things went on last year that I wasn’t really comfortable with, and I didn’t want to be around that anymore. I kind of wanted a new environment to start with, but he kind of preached to me that what was happening here, they were planning a new environment, a new culture. I just trusted him and bought into it.”
Jones isn’t the popular pick to be the starting quarterback among the fans. He threw 13 interceptions in 2021 and had some major issues with decision-making. Too often, he stared down a covered receiver while someone else ran wide open on the other side of the field. At other times, he made the correct read but didn’t get the ball out quickly enough.
Anthony Richardson showed signs of superstardom early in the season, and Ohio State transfer Jack Miller figures to get a lot of love because of Ohio State’s track record of churning out excellent quarterbacks.
Even Jalen Kitna figures to be higher up on fans’ pecking order despite not playing in a game last year. His background as a lightly recruited pocket-passer from Texas is sure to warrant some really unfair Kyle Trask comparisons.
But none of that has deterred Jones. He’s trying to make the most of the fresh start that’s been afforded to all of the players with the coaching change.
“I’m committed,” he said. “I’m here. I’ve been working my butt off since the offseason, trying to get closer to a lot of guys around here and for this team.”
Richardson not limited
One of the biggest storylines entering this spring was Richardson’s health. In early December, he had surgery to repair a meniscus injury in his right knee that he initially suffered in high school. Because right-handed quarterbacks use their right knee to push off and get power behind their throws, that surgery kept him from throwing a football until the middle of February.
Once he was cleared to start throwing again, he traveled up to Jacksonville and did some work with Denny Thompson, a private quarterback coach.
He seemed perfectly fine at Tuesday’s practice. He didn’t have a brace on his knee, and he went through every drill.
“After I had my surgery, they said I’d be out a couple of months,” Richardson said. “But I rehabbed really hard, and they told me [on Monday] I was cleared to go, so that put a spark in me, and I felt good out there. I’m just excited to be back.”
Napier added that while Richardson has been fully cleared by the medical personnel, they’re still going to be a bit careful with him. They’re going to have him run plays that will limit his movement, and they’ll have a bit of a quicker whistle for him when he scrambles than for the other quarterbacks.
Even with those minor restrictions and some rustiness from his two-plus months without throwing, Napier liked what he saw.
“His attitude has been good,” Napier said. “I think he’s impressed me with how he retains information, his attention to detail. Today, to be honest with you, is the first time I’ve seen him throw the ball live. We didn’t get a chance to see him throw it in bowl practice because he was injured.
“It certainly comes out of his hand really well. There’s a reason why people think that he has an opportunity to be a good player. It’s our job to help him become the best player he can be. That’s what we’re going to do.”
Richardson said that he feels more comfortable with a full season of playing – minus some injury absences – under his belt, and the biggest challenge he’s facing this spring is learning the new terminology.
“[Napier’s offense is] different,” he said. “Before we even started installing plays, we would meet up a little just to understand the terminology and understand how they process things. They’re coaching us hard. They’re moving fast, so we have to pick up things like this.”