Billy Napier provides in-depth assessment of Florida quarterback room
After a few days of fall camp practices and film sessions, Florida head coach Billy Napier provided his first in-depth assessment of his quarterback room. Led by dual-threat star Anthony Richardson, the Florida quarterback room also contains Ohio State transfer Jack Miller, 2022 signee Max Brown and several more gun-slingers.
“We’ve had a chance to watch these guys for five days, Anthony, there’s no question that his confidence and comfort level with the verbiage, communication, he’s more concise, we’ve seen him be much more accurate,” Napier said. “The old adage of being on the same page, we’re almost on the same sentence, if that makes sense. His feet are in the right place because he’s processing quicker. Very pleased with him and where he’s at.”
Napier concluded that he believes he has not one, but two quarterbacks that can play “winning football.” He says the staff is working hard to get a third QB ready to win some games, if necessary. Behind Richardson is Jack Miller who Napier believes is “very capable.”
Napier assess quarterbacks behind Anthony Richardson
“Jack Miller has also done extremely well,” Napier continued in his assessment. “Yesterday, in particular, we gave him a few reps with the first group as a healthy experience for him and I thought he did some really good things. In this setting, at quarterback, you’re depending on the players around you … executing, Jack’s very capable. He’s consistently made the right decision … and he’s the right athlete. Really good decision there … He has four years to play.
“(Jalen) Kitna is probably the player I saw the most growth in from the spring practices. Just to see him take another step fundamentally, he’s throwing the ball much more consistency, more accuracy.
“Max (Brown) is a rookie player and he’s going through the growing pains that most rookie quarterbacks go through. Everybody’s a bit bigger, a bit faster, lot of information, a lot to process. He’s a reflection of most of the rookies on our team.
Napier also noted the offseason work of Kyle Engel. Engel was a walk-on but he received a scholarship for the spring and summer semesters.
The Gators start the season with a top-25 matchup versus Utah on Sept. 3.