Billy Napier Talks First SEC Media Days, State of the Florida Gators
Photo: Billy Napier; Credit: Zach Goodall
ATLANTA - The first SEC Media Days for Florida Gators head coach Billy Napier is in the books as he looks forward to success in his first year as an SEC head coach, his first year as the Florida Gators head coach after being hired by the program in Dec. 2021.
"Very humbled and honored to be here to represent the University of Florida, and all the Gators throughout the entire world, all across this great country that we live in," said as part of his opening statement earlier today at the College Football Hall of Fame.
Napier has taken a long road back to the SEC, starting his coaching career in the ACC with Clemson, before transitioning to the MEAC at South Carolina State, going back to Clemson, and finally his first post in the SEC with the Alabama Crimson Tide.
Napier has also coached in the Mountain West Conference (Colorado State) and the Pac-12 (Arizona State) before becoming a head coach for the first time in his career in the Sun Belt Conference with Louisiana.
Now, the seasoned coach is in the heart of the college football landscape, coaching at one of the most prestigious universities in the country at the University of Florida. It's at this program, and in this conference, where Napier will ultimately look to make his mark.
"This is the SEC," he would later say. "It is the league. Quality personnel, quality coaching, the footprint, the passion. It is the standard, it sets the bar. There's so much momentum. The credibility and the stability. One of the greatest slogans of all time is, It just means more, right? I think that explains it very well."
With the Gators this season, Napier has already begun laying the groundwork for his program, heading into fall camp with the offseason program, which includes lifting and other weight training/conditioning with strength and conditioning coach Mark Hocke.
"This group has embraced the work. I'm proud of our team. This team is not scared. They're tough, they love to compete. When you put the ball down, they're about it. I'm excited about training camp."
When the football program hits the practice fields with coaches this fall, they'll do so in the program's new state-of-the-art football facility, the Heavener Football Training facility, an $85 million complex that is 140,000 squarer feet.
"I think if not one of the best it may be the best in the entire country. It will help us as we move forward building the program."
So far, so good, during Napier's tenure at Florida. The head coach has been impressed by UF's willingness to provide the program with everything he and his staff needs to create his vision of what the Gators should represent.
"They [UF leadership] were committed to our vision and our plan, right? I think we're 20% bigger as an organization. We've modernized the approach. We have an incredible product. I mean, we have history, we have tradition, we have an elite degree. We have one of the best experiences for scholar-athletes in the country.
That comes from the investment into the practice facility, along with recruiting and other factors within the football program. Napier was specifically asked why he feels he could be successful, lasting longer than the previous three coaches at Florida (Dan Mullen, Jim McElwain and Will Muschamp) did during their tenures.
"It's been done before, and they're passionate about doing it again, right?" Napier said of the leadership at Florida. "I think they understand maybe why there's a struggle. I think they're working hard to address those things.
"But I love a challenge, and this is a challenge. I think we can get caught up in all that or we can see an unbelievable opportunity, and that's exactly what I see."
Napier will coach his first game at Florida on Sept. 3 at home against Utah, a game that will be challenging, but will spark the beginning of what he hopes will be a fruitful tenure at the University of Florida.
Perhaps at next year's SEC Media Days Napier will be speaking about why he had success in 2022 and how he looks to improve further from there.
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