Good Morning Gators: Billy Napier embraces expectations; new mailbag
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Florida coach Billy Napier is no stranger to high expectations in the SEC.
He spent five years with Nick Saban at Alabama, where the standard every season is championship or bust. Gainesville was last dubbed Titletown more than a decade ago, but Gator Nation hasn’t lost its appetite for success.
With fertile recruiting ground in Florida and UAA resources, fans expect the football program to be contending for and winning championships on a regular basis. Napier doesn’t disagree.
“We’ve got an incredible product,” Napier said prior to his speech in Pensacola. “The big thing is you gotta embrace those expectations. For me, I think it’s important to. I’ve always played off the concept that my standards and expectations are far greater than any other person out there. So, hopefully that’s going to lead to success.
“There’s great pride here and that’s the way it should be. It’s one of the reasons why Florida is one of the best jobs in the entire country. So, we’ve got a lot of potential, and this is a very capable place. It’s our job to get it going. We gotta go perform and we’ve got a great team working hard to do just that.”
In other Florida football news
- New Gators mailbag: Florida’s chances of a 1,000-yard back, QB recruiting, how UF compares to other NIL powers, the partnership between Gator Guard and Gator Collective, and more.
- Florida athletic director Scott Stricklin reveals why he thinks first-year coach Billy Napier will be a successful Nick Saban disciple, a question he had during the hiring process.
- Former UF coach Dan Mullen has found his landing spot for 2022: Lake Oconee Academy. However, he will not serve as the offensive coordinator despite initial reports.
- Former Gators cornerback Kaiir Elam signs his first NFL contract with the Buffalo Bills.
- Can former UF starting quarterback Kyle Trask win the backup job in Tampa Bay?
UF recruiting roundup
- Gators Online’s Corey Bender highlights five committed prospects the Gators would love to flip in the 2023 class.
- Florida is scheduled to see a priority offensive lineman to kick off the week of recruiting visits.
- Gators cornerbacks coach Corey Raymond will visit a pair of five-star targets at the same school.
- A top-rated Texas A&M commitment is receiving a visit from the Gators on Monday.
- An On300 running back with a recent a UF offer is also on Monday’s visit itinerary.
- Florida is set to return to the Lone Star State this week for a priority tight end target.
Gators sports roundup
- The Florida women’s track and field team won its seventh SEC Outdoor Championship and first since 2018, and the men’s 4×400 relay team also won gold.
- New men’s basketball coach Todd Golden landed his fourth transfer Friday when guard Kyle Lofton signed with the Gators.
- Florida baseball took the series against Missouri on Sunday, clinching an SEC Tournament berth. UF won its sixth straight in Friday’s opener before Mizzou ended a 16-game losing streak to the Gators on Saturday.
- The Florida men’s tennis team is heading to the Elite 8 for the fourth-straight year after sweeping No. 15 North Carolina, 4-0, on Friday.
- UF lacrosse advanced to its seventh NCAA Quarterfinal in 13 years as a program with a 15-10 win over Jacksonville on Sunday.
- Florida received a No. 14-seed in the NCAA Softball Tournament and will host Wisconsin, Georgia Tech and Canisius May 20-22 in the Gainesville Regional.
Let’s keep talking
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Gators Twitter updates
- Florida track and field coach Mike Holloway discusses winning the 2022 SEC Outdoor Championship:
