Billy Napier goes in-depth into how he's evolved over the past year at Florida

A lot can change in a year. On Sunday, a reporter asked Florida head coach Billy Napier if he’s improved since his first year leading the Gators. Napier’s answer was optimistic.

“I think so. I think you’re much more aware of the arena, right? Like there is — I hate to say it, but you’re probably calloused a little bit, if that makes sense. I mean, I think there’s an element to like, ‘It is what it is.’ I joke around with my brothers all the time and say, ‘Hey, look, it doesn’t matter if you’re coaching at LaGrange High School. If you don’t win, there’s going to be tough dynamics that come with that, right?'” Napier said.

Napier certainly isn’t coaching at the high school level. Florida hired the 44-year-old head coach on Nov. 28, 2021. In his first season with the Gators, Napier led the team to a 6-7 record and a 3-5 mark in the SEC.

While the 2022 campaign wasn’t a glaring success, spectators can see Napier’s potential. Napier focused on building a foundation of discipline. Consequently, the Gators ranked fourth in the SEC in total penalty yards (584), penalty yards per game (48.7) and eighth in total penalties (78).

Napier believes that better people create a better team.

“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 that there are lots of areas where we had work to do.

“There was a long list of issues to resolve: to come up with better systems, better strategies, rebuilding the player experience, getting accustomed to the recruiting calendar, getting really strategic plans for the portal, for NIL,” Napier said.

Napier obviously crossed a few issues off of this long list. Florida swiped Wisconsin’s Graham Mertz in the transfer portal this offseason. Last year, Mertz started every regular season game for his third-straight season, throwing for 2,136 yards and 19 touchdowns.

Florida’s $85 million new football facility certainly didn’t hinder Napier’s recruiting efforts, either. With cryotherapy chambers, a sauna, a barber shop, a basketball court and a virtual reality room all under one roof, the player experience has certainly improved.

Now, it’s time for Florida’s win column to follow suit.

“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. Hopefully, I’ll be better because we’ve had a year to work on everything,” Napier said.

Fans will see how just how much the Gators have improved when the team kicks off the 2023 campaign against Utah on Aug. 31.