Everything Billy Napier said on the SEC teleconference for Texas A&M week

Each week the SEC holds a teleconference for all 16 head coaches in the league. Billy Napier took his turn Wednesday to discuss Saturday’s matchup against No. 5 Texas A&M, recruiting against the Aggies for DJ Lagway and more.

Here’s everything Napier said on the SEC Teleconference.

Billy Napier’s opening statement

BILLY NAPIER: “Okay. Great opportunity in front of our team. Obviously, great venue, one of the awesome places in college football, College Station and Kyle Field. Just the pageantry around A&M I think is impressive. Good football team, coach Elko is a heck of a coach and he’s got explosive players in all three parts of the team. So, this is going to be a great challenge, and then you’ve got to go in there at night and play on the road. In this league, we all know the challenges that come with that. So, it’s going to be critical that we continue to prepare the right way. So far so good, our guys are locked in and getting a little bit better. We gotta continue on the detail, the quality of the execution will be really important here. So what type of focus can we get out of our group here as we continue to prepare? It’s been healthy for our football team to get some reward. I do think that — a ton of respect for our players in terms of continuing to fight, continuing to battle, and then we’ll see if we can handle a little bit of success here by how we play this weekend.”

On the recruiting battle with Texas A&M for DJ Lagway:

BILLY NAPIER: “Yeah, a lot of hearsay. You know, I think that they made a great effort there at the end when coach Elko got hired. But in general, I think we felt great about everything. And the kid — they were one of many teams that continued to recruit him that entire, kind of that senior year when he started to blow up. Clemson was very much in that mix, Southern Cal was very much in that conversation, A&M and then the Gators. So, if I’m correct, I think those were the teams that were a factor.”

On how difficult it is to get a recruit out of Texas:

BILLY NAPIER: “I think that in general, kids are more apt to travel. I think the days of regional recruiting are getting minimized just due to the ease of travel, the familiarity with travel, and then certainly all the compensation that comes with the game now. So you know, college football has become a very national recruiting stage – kids are going all the way across the country. So I think in general, people are more comfortable, they have the resources now with NIL and rev share to make the trips to see their family, all those things I think, have been lifted. That used to be a burden, the cost of travel. So the regional, staying at home was much more financially conducive. And then I think obviously the information era has led to a much longer process, so kids are traveling, they’re going all over the country and seeing different places. So they build more connections with people, and I think that’s why you see the diversity on each roster. So we deal with the same things in the state of Florida, people come in here. Everybody recruits Texas, everybody recruits Florida. California is no different. Georgia is no different. Some of these states where there’s a huge population of players, those four states I mentioned have the most I think. Everybody recruits those states pretty heavily.”

On Florida’s bye week blueprint:

BILLY NAPIER: “Ultimately, I think we adapted our practice plan relative to what we felt our team needed to work on. And then I think we went to work on detail of the football, in particular on the offensive side of the ball. And then I think the mentality around the understanding that at this level, everybody has ability and talent. It’s really about a long list of things that you control that are all about your mindset and your approach. And then we really challenged the connection of the group. You know, I think when you’re going through struggle, you gotta narrow your focus and that circle becomes smaller. And I think that this group has good chemistry, they have good connection, and they played for each other this past week. So, we got good people. I think that’s the No. 1 ingredient to be able to handle adversity and turn things around is you gotta have quality people and you have to have invested in each other and build good relationships throughout the offseason.”

On how much last year’s experience helped:

BILLY NAPIER: “I think that their confidence didn’t waver because they’ve experienced success. They played against these teams. We’ve been really close against some of the best teams in the country. We’ve won a few and then we’ve lost a couple close ones. And I think we were able to stay objective and identify the issues and ultimately build a plan and collaborate together to come up with solutions to improve. So I think the issues are when you lack confidence or you are subjective and you’re listening to narratives that are not not reality. So I think the players are smart. I think that they understood why we were getting the results that we were getting. We tried to keep it technical and then go to work and collaborate on ways to improve the technical things we need to do better.”

On Michai Boireau’s development this season:

BILLY NAPIER: “I think he got good experience last season as a rookie. He significantly changed his body composition in this past offseason. He lost a ton of fat mass, he gained a ton of lean mass. Bigger, stronger, and the best condition he’s been in as a player. Michai’s a very smart young man and he has good football acumen, he’s a good communicator, he makes players around him better, and I think he comes from a winning program and he knows what it should look like. So he’s got some leadership traits and he’s got a little edge to him that I like, but he plays with a motor on game day, and to be that big, to see him pursue, to see the extra effort plays on tape and the energy, I think it’s why he’s a difference maker for us.”

On what kind of challenge the Texas A&M offense brings: 

BILLY NAPIER: “I think they’ve got a tall, long, heavy, powerful OL. The tight ends are blue collar, do a nice job on the edges of the formations, and then the two backs, not just Moss but Owens, both those two guys, I mean I had those two guys at the top of our board here, we know who they are, they were two of the best backs in the country. You pair that with the quarterback being able to run and the two receivers from the portal, they got a great combination of weapons here. It’s definitely a challenge to defend this group.”