By: Gentry Hawk -- July 30, 2023 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. Gators look to improve from an executional standpoint in year two | GatorCountry.com
In year one there are TWO sides trying to learn... the football players and the football coaches. Let's hope they both learned how to better execute their positions in the football program. The players, I think, did get better and we upgraded most every position with the Transfer Portal and the 2023 recruiting class is a huge part of the talent upgrade. And even Napier upgraded his staff with 3 key new position coaches with a new DC that I think are a decisive upgrades to their positions as coaches. I like that Napier is a growing thinking coach and not one of those old school coaches that never once tries to upgrade or to innovate. Napier will continue to grow with his experience and knowledge, and that's the kind of coach I always wanted in Gainesville... like Meyer and SOS, Napier can and will grow. I saw many good/great coaches struggle with the minutia in the past... with game clock... play clock... and timeouts. Even Urban Meyer chased 2 point conversions in his first year. All of this should be fixed by year two. The players had one full year to get the plays right, the workouts the rest of Napier's routine down. Now we see if that and new infusion of depth will help our team to more wins that we Gator fans are used to seeing. Wins against teams that we took for granted for so many years, like beating Vandy... Kentucky...USCe... and Tennessee. It all starts with the off-season... did our team/coaches/ players grow? Did they grow enough to get us over the top? Did we get the right players at the right positions to overcome a complete overhaul of our program? We have the right man for the head coaching job, so lets see if he can work miracles. Not that our team needed a miracle to compete this year, but we do need to be far better then the team that played in Gator uniforms last year. Some of those players were uninspiring and undisciplined. I just hope we practice... not just until we get the plays and our assignments right, but I hope we practice 'till The Gator players, and coaches, can't get the plays and their assignments wrong.
Solid 3rd down defense and better red zone offensive success will make us a whole new team. I just hope to see fundamental improvements in all areas and start looking like a solid program again.
I am most psyched about our defense... The more I hear Austin Armstrong talk about his schemes and style of defense the more I feel good about our chances to surprise some teams this year.
Expecting some spectacular plays and a lot of inconsistency in first year and still rebuilding roster. Hopefully producing when it counts.
There will be mistakes made, but aggressiveness will not be one of those mistakes. Effort is welcomed, but I do expect some growing pains... football is a game of mistakes. The team that makes the fewest mistakes has a huge advantage, if the talent is close to equal. We got a ton of proven college talent in the portal that will compete for the Gators at a higher level than last year's team. I think this is the season that the Gators surprise the conference and the Gator fans.
