Storylines to Follow During Billy Napier's First Florida Gators Spring Camp

Photo: Billy Napier; Credit: University of Florida athletic association

Billy Napier's first spring camp as the Florida Gators head coach officially kicks off on Tuesday, and if a coaching transition didn't create enough intrigue in the first bit of football activity ahead of the upcoming season, the roster itself offers plenty of questions that could be answered over the next month.

Beloe are the five biggest storylines AllGators will be following as Gators spring camp gets underway.

Where is Anthony Richardson in his injury recovery process?

If observing the new coaching staff and how it operates wasn't the No. 1 focus, quarterback Anthony Richardson's recovery from knee surgery would be, far and away, the biggest storyline of Florida's spring camp, much less its entire offseason.

Richardson, widely presumed as the Gators' next starting signal-caller, underwent a procedure on a torn meniscus in the late November-to-early December 2021 time frame after a nagging injury took a turn for the worse against Florida State last season. At this time, he is not expected to partake in spring camp as he recovers from the wound, however, he was seen doing quarterback training without a brace over the weekend, suggesting he could be ready to practice sooner rather than later,

All eyes will be on the group of quarterbacks during spring camp to see if Richardson is able to strap up his pads and practice with the team. If he isn't available to practice, you can bet that one of the first questions asked in Napier's Tuesday press conference will be about Richardson's surgical recovery.

What will the offensive and defensive schemes look like?

Based on Napier's, the Gators' new offensive play-caller, and Patrick Toney's, Florida's co-defensive coordinator, history at Louisiana, Florida fans and onlookers already have an idea as to what UF's new schemes will look like.

That being said, we've yet to truly see how the Gators' offense and defense will operate under the new coaching staff. Nothing will be exposed fully in spring camp, but surely, some hints will be provided over the next month.

Napier has often utilized a 12-personnel (one running back, two tight ends) offense in the past, and so long as that philosophy carries over to UF as expected, the Gators will be moving away from a heavy 11-personnel (one running back, one tight end) offense as run under former head coach Dan Mullen moving forward.

On the other side of the ball, Florida's defense is expected to remain multiple with its fronts. Yet, Toney has deployed a four defensive lineman front quite a bit throughout his young career as a coordinator, which would present a change from former coordinator Todd Grantham's three-lineman scheme seen over the last four years. You can expect the Gators to continue operating out of a five defensive back secondary, though.

Could an RB1 emerge?

With Dameon Pierce and Malik Davis off to the NFL, the Gators are in need of a new faces in the running back rotation — especially when you consider Napier has run, roughly, a 59-percent run to 41 percent-pass offense as a head coach.

Nay'Quan Wright, Florida's most experienced back, continues to recover from a lower body injury suffered against Florida State, and it remains to be seen if he'll be available in spring camp.

That leaves Louisiana transfer Montrell Johnson, redshirt sophomore and former Clemson transfer Demarkcus Bowman, and redshirt senior Lorenzo Lingard as the members of one of Florida's top position battles entering spring camp, assuming Wright can't go quite yet.

Johnson is most familiar with the offensive system as the reigning Sun Belt Freshman of the Year with Napier's Ragin Cajuns, having rushed for 828 yards and 12 touchdowns in 2021. Bowman, meanwhile, was a prized Gators recruit out of high school who eventually made it to UF, considered the No. 47 running back prospect of all time per the 247Sports Composite.

We've got our eyes on these two backs in particular to snap first and second team reps and perhaps make a name for themselves in the coming weeks.

Although, Lingard was a former highly-rated recruit too, who averaged eight yards per carry and scored two touchdowns as a true freshman at Miami before a major knee injury that in part led to his transfer. He could factor into the competition quite a bit as well.

Who will get first-team reps opposite of Jason Marshall Jr. at cornerback?

After a stellar freshman season in 2021, Jason Marshall Jr. is all but locked into a starting spot at cornerback. Per Pro Football Focus, he ranked No. 2 among the nation's qualifying cornerbacks with a completion percentage of 36.8 allowed in coverage, while tallying 23 tackles, with two for loss, an interception and three defended passes.

The question is, who will start at cornerback opposite of Marshall? That may not be answered until fall camp, but spring camp will mark the opening of a competition between redshirt junior Jaydon Hill, redshirt sophomore Avery Helm, and redshirt junior and Georgia transfer Jalen Kimber for the gig.

Hill was on track to start in 2021 before suffering a major knee injury in fall camp that kept him sidelined for the entire year. Helm filled in opposite of Kaiir Elam and had a solid campaign with 22 tackles and four pass breakups, but ultimately ended up splitting time with Marshall as the campaign went on.

Kimber was projected to start at cornerback for the Bulldogs as a redshirt freshman in 2021 but underwent surgery on a shoulder injury before the season began, forcing him out for the year. He was a top ten cornerback recruit in the class of 2020 per the 247Sports Composite.

Another player to watch at outside corner is redshirt sophomore and former highly-rated recruit Ethan Pouncey, who missed time at the beginning of his college career due to a hip surgery but impressed the former coaching staff last offseason.

How quickly will players embrace the new Gators culture?

Players and onlookers of Florida football have praised Napier and his staff aplenty already before pads have been strapped up, for recruiting efforts to close out the 2022 cycle and daily life improvements such as parking and nutrition for student-athletes. But how quickly will the newfound off-the-field culture translate to the gridiron?

As hinted in the quarterback storyline, this will be the most important aspect of spring camp and the remainder of the offseason to monitor.

Things got rough at the end of Dan Mullen's tenure when Florida lost games it simply shouldn't have lost, and a barrier of sorts arose in between members of the team and the former head coach. Recruits, current and even former players have already noticed a different approach from Napier and have shared their appreciation for it.

"He’s just a people person. He just wants to know you personally," Pierce said in December after meeting Napier. "That means a lot, seeing that a coach is taking extra effort to know you personally, to know your background, to get a vibe of you. You know he’s probably going to take that from what he learned about you and apply that to his coaching style. It’s really important to me ...

"As a leader, you’ve got to be someone that you want to follow. You’ve got to be someone that someone wants to follow. Starting with the interpersonal relationships with everyone on the team is a great way to start – a great way to establish his role as a future leader of the Gators.”

If Pierce's theory proves correct and Napier's people-oriented approach will lead to success, good things are in store for Florida football. Spring camp will offer the first glimpse at how much the players have bought into Napier's vision and culture.

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