Kirk Herbstreit praises Billy Napier for keeping Florida together in 2024
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Kirk Herbstreit went on The Pat McAfee Show on Wednesday and wanted to talk about Florida football.
The longtime ESPN college football analyst knows that big things are expected in Gainesville this fall. But Herbstreit was particularly interested in talking about what Florida accomplished in 2024, and specifically what much-maligned head coach Billy Napier was able to do.
After 2 losing seasons in 2022 and 2023 to start his tenure at UF, Napier looked to be headed toward a 3rd straight losing campaign in 2024. The Gators were steamrolled by Miami, 41-17, in the much-hyped season opener, in Gainesville no less. Another national TV home loss to Texas A&M followed a few weeks later, and then there was a brutal overtime loss at Tennessee. Losses to Georgia and Texas soon followed, and Napier’s team sat at 4-5
Then things changed, because Herbstreit believes Napier helped make them change. Florida got off the canvas and ripped off consecutive home victories over LSU and Ole Miss. Then Florida went to Tallahassee and routed rival Florida State before finishing things off with a blowout of Tulane in the Gasparilla Bowl in Tampa. Suddenly, that 4-5 record became an 8-5 mark, Napier’s first winning season in Gainesville.
“(Napier) rallies them at the end of the year. They win a bunch of games,” said Herbstreit. “I was proud of Florida the way they kept fighting.”
Here is the clip of Herbstreit’s comments on Wednesday:
Sure, Herbstreit also talked plenty about quarterback DJ Lagway and his potential in 2025. But he wanted to stress how impressed he was at how Napier hung in there last season and got the most out of that Florida team.
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
