Napier, Raymond discuss working with Billy Gonzales
It’s been just over two weeks since the Florida Gators brought Billy Gonzales back to Gainesville to coach the wide receivers.
Gonzales is back for his third stint as UF’s wide receivers coach as he coached under both Urban Meyer and Dan Mullen. He replaced Keary Colbert, who left Florida in February to become the Denver Broncos wide receivers coach.
After just one season away from the Florida program, Gonzales is back on the field coaching the Gators pass catchers. It’s safe to say the head man himself, Billy Napier, is pleased thus far.
“Yeah, always respected Billy G,” Napier told Gators Online and others Tuesday. “I was a former receiver coach, had a ton of respect for Billy G as a young coach. You know, I thought his guys always really played well, very fundamentally sound, played well without the ball. Did a good job evaluating in recruiting and then did a good job with any talent in this room. So, Billy G has been an absolute professional since the day he arrived.
“He’s a good man; he’s got character. I think he cares about the players and he’s certainly an expert at what he does. So, and he works in recruiting. So it’s been a great fit. And there’s a lot that we can learn from him and his experience here. He’s been here and been a part of some really successful teams and knows this place well.”
Corey Raymond on Gonzales
A pretty sweet under the radar rivalry brewed when Florida secondary coach and assistant head coach Corey Raymond was coaching the secondary at LSU while Gonzales spent time at UF and Mississippi State.
As both were sending players in their position group to the NFL such as Kadarius Toney and Derek Stingley Jr., they were also seeing the talent they recruited and worked with compete on an annual basis.
“Oh yeah that’s good,” Raymond said. “Been going against him since he’s been here, you know what I’m saying. Since that I’ve been going against Billy. It’s back to the old getting after it like it’s a Saturday night during the day. It’s about competing; it’s making each other better.”
Gonzales also spent time at LSU, but the two never worked on the Tigers staff together. Now, their players get to work against each other in practice
Stay tuned to Gators Online.
![Florida Gators head coach Billy Napier celebrates with Florida Gators wide receiver Aidan Mizell (11) after a touchdown during the first half at the Orange and Blue spring football game at Steve Spurrier Field at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville, FL on Saturday, April 13, 2024. [Matt Pendleton/Gainesville Sun]](https://on3static.com/cdn-cgi/image/height=215,width=393,quality=90,fit=cover,gravity=0.5x0.5/uploads/dev/assets/cms/2024/04/13155133/Untitled-design-65-2.png)
