It’s been about a month since the Gators added three new coaches to its staff. Coach Russ Callaway, however, was already very familiar with the roster while being a defensive analyst at Florida just last season.
Callaway speaks very highly of Billy Napier as a head football coach and is excited about the opportunity to lead the tight ends this season.
“It’s extremely exciting,” Callaway said on his promotion. “I had the chance to work with Coach Napier at Alabama in 2011, 2012. We’ve kind of carried our relationship over and that was a big reason why I chose to come down here after leaving the Giants. I wanted to be with a good person that knew ball, knew people and was a joy to be around and work for. I’m thankful for the opportunity and look forward to doing some good things.”
Callaway has worked with many other great coaches in the past but had higher praise for Napier and the way he runs his program.
“I would say it’s similar that — the thing that separates Coach Napier from all those guys, Kirby I’ve worked with, Jeremy Pruitt, Coach Saban, all those guys I was with that were there that have been on and done a great job and they are really good coaches,” Callaway said. “They’re all really good at, you know, different things. I would say Coach Napier is truly a cut from all of it. Like recruiting, system, person, coach, scheme, like he is the perfect blend of all the good things that those guys bring to the table. I think it’s just a matter of time. In Year 2, we’re going to see some growth.”
The tight end position at Florida is a position Gators fans would like to see get heavily utilized after the recent success of Kyle Pitts and many others in the past.
One thing Callaway puts an emphasis on was the fact that Coach Napier and himself are going to find ways to get tight ends the football. Once the passing attack gets going for the Gators, you’ll see tight ends get utilized more and more.
“The way I look at it is the reason why I think Coach Napier’s so good is he’s always going to scheme up the the best players on the team to get the ball,” Callaway said. “So, we have ways to get tight ends the ball, we have ways to get the running backs, the receivers, so forth. Too many people just see what they see on Saturday, and they just assume they don’t involve the tight end, or they don’t have all the receivers, whatever. Coach Napier’s a great coach, he’s a great scheme guy, great fundamentals and everything. He’s going to get the best players the ball, the ones that give us the best chance to win.”
Callaway has seen some growth in second-year players and likes what he’s seen so far. The position is becoming more natural for specific players, and it hasn’t gone unnoticed.
“Particularly Arlis and Hayden, Scott Isacks. The young guys are Andrew Savaiinaea and then Tony Livingston, are still kind of picking it up a little bit. But Hayden, Arlis and Scott have done a tremendous job in Year 2. You can see the recall and the ability to go out there and think and play fast,” Callaway said.
With Hayden Hansen being a former quarterback in high school, he has great overall knowledge of the game. The athleticism that Hansen brings to the table at his size makes him a key threat in the passing game.
“Really all the way around. He’s done a tremendous job,” Callaway said on Hansen. “He’s, like you said, a former quarterback. He’s a very bright young man. Being a quarterback, you wouldn’t think he’d be as physical as he is. But he is extremely physical, does a really nice job in the run. To be a bigger guy that has smooth and soft hands and can make plays in the pass game. So really, just all the way around with him. He was kind of in a backseat role last year. Now he’s been kind of thrust forward and I’ve been really impressed with Hayden, I really have.”
With Keon Zipperer going down with a lower leg injury just a couple weeks ago, redshirt freshman Arlis Boardingham has a chance to make a name for himself this season.
Boardingham is young but possesses all the traits and tools you want out of a second-year tight end.
“With Arlis he’s extremely gifted. He’s a unique player that can do a lot of different things,” Callaway said on Boardingham. “He can run block, he can pass block, he can run routes, he can catch the ball, he can make plays with the ball in his hand. The big thing with Arlis, and I was telling somebody earlier, is he’s in a position and a role now that we want to be a junior or senior, but in reality he’s a redshirt freshman. It’s our job as coaches to move him along as fast as we can. The most improvement though has been in the meeting room. Just from a maturity standpoint on the field he has taken more of a leadership role at a young age. But I think that speaks to the type of person that he is and the type of competitor that he is. So I would say really more from that standpoint, I’ve seen his growth.“
Not only has Boardingham responded well to his expected role, but so has the entire tight end room.
The structure of how Coach Napier runs practice suits young players and their ability to grow, prepare and learn as a football player.
“I’ll tell you, they’ve done a lot better than I anticipated. And I think that speaks to, you know, the coaches we have on this staff at every position. It’s not just me, it’s all the other position coaches we have. They do a great job of motivating, bringing guys along. We do a great job with our structure at practice with meetings, walk-throughs. It’s, before we get on the field and rep one play, you know, they get it probably five times before they get to the practice field. Whether it be a meeting room, a walk-through, a video clip, a playbook picture and then we go execute it. So, I think that speaks volumes for Coach Napier’s structure and the way he has this thing built. It’s really built for that. It’s built for, you know, bringing guys along, making sure there is no stone unturned.”
The spring game will give us a great look at what we can expect from the group this upcoming season. For a unit that’s received high praise from Callaway, I’d expect several different players to have a big impact at the position in 2023.