Billy Napier compares how close to game-ready Florida is vs. teams in the past

Florida head coach Billy Napier is headed into his fourth season at the helm in Gainesville. The first two seasons of his tenure were disappointing, as the Gators posted an 11-14 record and were thrust completely out of the national spotlight.

Last season however, Florida started the 2024 campaign 4-5 but finished with an 8-5 record after winning its final four games of the season. This included two wins over Top 25-ranked teams (No. 22 LSU and No. 9 Ole Miss), rival Florida State and Tulane in the Gasparilla Bowl. The Gators won their final four games by an average of 15.8 points.

It now opens this upcoming season ranked No. 15 in the AP Poll (highest since 2021) and has a chance to immediately improve that number thanks to games against LIU and South Florida to open the 2025 season. To say that this is the program’s most anticipated season in years would be an understatement.

During a media opportunity on Monday, Napier revealed how close to game-ready Florida is this season compared to past teams.

“We probably have more players that I think are game ready,” Napier said. “Coming out of the second scrimmage, we’ve got a pretty good group of ones that we can run out there. I think our focus this week is focusing on contingency plans. It’s working on the rotational players. We have players that need to grow in the special teams area so that we can build depth and build roles for more players on the team. That’s ultimately what we’re focused on.

“Obviously we’re changing gears to afternoon practice this week because school starts Thursday but in general, we have to make a big jump here over the next couple of weeks with that second tier group of players on our team.”

Florida has aspirations to be a Playoff team, Napier said

Florida will line up against SEC juggernauts Texas, Georgia and Tennessee this season, but all three games will be played in Gainesville. It will, however, have to travel to LSU, Miami, Texas A&M, Ole Miss and Kentucky (where it has lost back-to-back road games for the first time since 1974-1976). It will play the 12th hardest schedule in the country, according to Phil Steele.

“We absolutely have aspirations to be a Playoff team,” Napier said last week. “That’s the intention to come here and win championships. Now what do we know about that? It’s about the work we do and it’s about today. It’s not about yesterday or tomorrow… it’s about today. A good today leads to a good week, which leads to a good month, which leads to a good season.”

The Gators open their 2025 campaign at home on Aug. 30 against LIU. Kick-off is scheduled for 7:00 PM on SEC Network+/ESPN+.