Billy Napier Trusts Patrick Toney's Process Amid Gators' Defensive Struggles

Photo: Patrick Toney; Credit: Alex Shepherd

Billy Napier has made it staunchly clear that he's a process-oriented head coach. He was that way in his four years rebuilding the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns and remains the same now in charge of the Florida Gators.

Through thick and through thin, Napier is confident that his vision for rebuilding Florida football is sound and will do exactly that, return UF to championship-caliber play.

He's a believer in his assistant coaches sticking to their process, as well. That's why Patrick Toney, the Gators' defensive coordinator who spent two seasons in the same role under Napier at Louisiana, has Napier's full support despite his unit's shortcomings seven games into the 2022 season.

"He had a lot to do with our defensive turnaround at our previous stop. So, he’s doing what he does," Napier said of Toney during the SEC coaches teleconference on Wednesday. "He’s extremely bright and he’s evaluating things objectively, technically and making the necessary adjustments."

Florida fans have made their demands for adjustments — more specifically, fixes — abundantly clear for a defense that ranks No. 11 in the SEC in points allowed per game, No. 12 in the conference in yards allowed per game and dead last in the FBS on third downs.

A passionate fanbase not known to be overly patient, Toney's job has already been called for by a chunk of the group seven games into his tenure as the Gators' defensive coordinator.

That isn't going to happen anytime soon. Napier, asked how Toney is handling the adversity that comes with his unit underperforming, offered assurance that his defensive coordinator is making a concerted effort to improve the defense's consistency as its offered promising flashes to pair with its disappointing results.

"I think there’s this perception out there, like, no one cares more than we do. No one cares more than our players do, no one cares more than our staff does, and certainly no one cares more than Patrick," Napier proclaimed.

"I think, ultimately, very professional. Patrick, I’ve been around for a number of years and absolutely one of the best coaches I’ve ever been on staff with, and I’ve been around some of the elite coaches."

To Toney's credit, Napier is correct, there have been some adjustments to Florida's defense made along the way during the coaching duo's first season in Gainesville, at least in terms of personnel.

UF's defensive depth chart has seen numerous tweaks throughout the first seven weeks of the campaign, although some cases were due to injury. When linebacker Ventrell Miller was ruled out in Week 3, redshirt freshman Scooby Williams was named his replacement, although it was true freshman Shemar James who took the first snap at linebacker next to Amari Burney in that game.

The freshmen linebacker tandem has continued to play despite Miller's return, although James has carved out a more significant role, earning 215 defensive snaps to Williams' 99 this season. His immediate utilization, while James has flashed talent and was a high-caliber recruit, speaks to the depth Toney inherited at the linebacker position upon taking the job.

At nose tackle, sophomore Desmond Watson unseated third-year sophomore Jalen Lee as the starter in Week 4 and has held onto the role. Redshirt freshman Justus Boone notably earned a start over third-year sophomore Princely Umanmielen at defensive end in Week 5, but Umanmielen recaptured the gig in Week 6 after posting a sack and forced fumble in his rotational role against Eastern Washington.

Sophomore Donovan McMillon and freshman Kamari Wilson saw their roles expand in fifth-year senior Trey Dean III's absence at safety in Week 5 as the veteran was out with an injury. Dean, who has struggled in coverage this season, resumed his starting job the following week and has maintained a strong snap share since, although Wilson logged the second-most snaps in a game in his young career with 22 against LSU in Week 7.

True freshman Miguel Mitchell has also taken on a meaningful role at safety and STAR nickel corner in recent weeks with 49 defensive snaps over the last three games. Fourth-year redshirt sophomore Jaydon Hill took over for third-year sophomore Avery Helm at starting cornerback in Week 5 upon clearance from his most recent knee injury.

Some of the lineup changes have been beneficial.

James, Wilson and Mitchell have each made positive impacts at times this season despite their previous inexperience. Umanmielen's temporary downgrade on the depth chart appeared to motivate him, as he tallied four tackles for loss in his next two games. Hill memorably intercepted two passes against Missouri and returned one for a touchdown, arguably securing a win for Florida when it was all said and done.

While these changes may appear somewhat extensive and individually productive, however, the results haven't improved. In fact, they've become worse in instances such as third-down defense.

TeamRankings.com only takes FBS games into account, which would remove the Eastern Washington matchup from the Gators' results. By its measure entering Week 4, Florida dipped from No. 106 in the country on third downs with a season-long conversion rate allowed of 48.8 percent, to No. 131 — last in the country — following Week 7 with a conversion rate allowed of 54.4 percent.

Asked specifically about third downs on Wednesday, certainly not for the first time, Napier repeated that he believes the issues are correctable and that Toney is addressing the matters across the unit.

"I think that we're learning that it's very fixable, and I've said this multiple times, and I think that it's not one specific area," said Napier. "You know, it’s not like you can say ‘Hey let’s go watch all the third downs and just pick one thing that we can...' you know, there’s no magic pill or secret potion here. I think there’s a lot of contributing factors, and we’re in the middle of trying to make some adjustments there.”

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