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Florida caught with 10 men on special teams play as recurring issue under Billy Napier resurfaces

FaceProfileby: Thomas Goldkamp09/21/25
Billy-Napier-Florida-Gators
Florida Gators head coach Billy Napier looks on before a game against the South Florida Bulls at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. (Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images)

Florida has been plagued by special teams errors throughout coach Billy Napier‘s tenure. And a popular problem has been not having enough players on the field on special teams.

It appears that one has reared its ugly head yet again. Early in the second quarter in a game against rival Miami, reporters noticed that Florida only had 10 men on the field for a field goal attempt.

The Athletic’s Matt Baker pointed out the gaffe on Twitter. You can see the issue below.

The issue getting the correct number of players on special teams plays was big enough early in Napier’s tenure that Florida went to extreme measures to correct it. The team ordered a custom mat with 11 places on it for players to stand on on the sidelines.

In theory, that would solve the problem of not having 11 guys ready to run out onto the field. In practice, results have been … wanting.

And it sure looks like Florida fans will have another instance to point to after Saturday night’s game. Napier is fighting for his life, and that won’t help.

Miami dominates first quarter against Florida

Miami sure looked like the better team to start the game against Florida. The Hurricanes dominated the first quarter. Thoroughly.

Florida netted only five yards of total offense in the opening stanza, while Miami had 116. The Hurricanes were also a perfect 5-of-5 on third down in the frame.

Quarterback Carson Beck looked to be in a pretty good rhythm, going 5-of-8 passing for 56 yards. Miami sported a 7-0 lead in the first quarter, but it would bump that up to 10-0 with the aforementioned field goal.

For Florida, all the pressure is on Napier at this point. He enters today’s contest with a 20-21 overall record, looking to get back to .500. But it’ll be an uphill climb if the start of Saturday’s game is any indication.