Ad Disclosure
O’Gara: Sorry, Florida. You deserve all the preseason skepticism you get
Published:
DALLAS — Billy Napier said the word “different” 6 times Wednesday in the main media room at SEC Media Days.
That was used to describe the likes of decorated freshman quarterback DJ Lagway, the “overhauled” nutrition program (more on that in a bit) and just his team as a whole. “Different” was the word Napier used to describe Florida, which has 35 new players. Napier also heralded his team’s No. 4 ranking in the SEC in percentage of returning production.
Different? I’ll wait and see. A program that has 3 consecutive losing seasons (the past 2 with Napier) with a 2-7 record in post-October games under Napier hasn’t earned blind faith, even if it vows that things are going to be different as it faces a schedule that appears to be historically daunting.
Things were supposed to be different when Florida came back and beat South Carolina to end a skid of 5 consecutive losses away from The Swamp (that dated back to November 2022). Then, of course, the Gators lost 5 in a row and missed out on bowl eligibility.
So why wasn’t that game the turning point?
“That’s a good question,” Florida defensive end Shemar James said. “We’re still figuring that out now.”
James and Napier talked about not finishing games (Napier also said that Florida played in a lot of close games even though it had just 3 1-score games). That prompted Napier to “overhaul” Florida’s nutrition program. That included firing the team’s strength and conditioning coach and bringing in a new director of nutrition.
Now, players meet with the team nutritionists monthly to map out a plan. Daily breakfast and lunch check-ins are mandatory under new team nutritionist Jake Sankal, who came in from the Washington Commanders. Combined with the addition of new strength and conditioning coach Tyler Miles, Napier noted how “different” his team looked coming out of spring.
“I think we made a philosophy change there. Tyler Miles has been phenomenal. If you ask each one of the players that are here today, and really it would be the consensus amongst our team, the change in approach there, the whole strength and conditioning and sports science, nutrition, training room team, the discipline, the accountability,” Napier said. “Just in January to April — we do DEXA scans at the beginning of a training block, and then at the end we gained 500 pounds of lean muscle, and we were 500 pounds leaner, as well.
“We made significant progress. Our team looks different. All the numbers, the metrics, the speeds, the strength improvement, not to mention the culture.”
Ah, the culture is different.
If you’re not a Florida skeptic, perhaps you’re nodding your head along with that and saying that Dan Mullen’s stench still lingered over the program. After all, Mullen is partially why the Gators are 10-23 in their past 33 games against Power 5 competition.
But entering Year 3 of the Napier era, it’s time to stop using Mullen as any sort of crutch. In this era of the transfer portal, you can’t default to that.
In Napier’s defense, “different” hasn’t just been limited to the overhauled nutrition program. He brought in a new co-defensive coordinator Ron Roberts to work alongside Austin Armstrong after the Gators were No. 122 in FBS in yards/play allowed. Napier added Joe Houston from the New England Patriots to be a “GameChanger” analyst, which will allow him to have control of the special teams unit after the recent NCAA ruling that analysts can have on-field roles.
But also different is a schedule that’s no longer aided by being in the more forgiving SEC East. The Gators face 11 teams that are in Power Conferences, and the final 5 opponents all finished in the top 12 of the AP Poll.
You know, in case you haven’t heard.
Florida players certainly have heard about the skepticism.
“We hear it,” James said. “We’re just out here in 2024 to prove ourselves right and show the world what we can do.”
To be clear, it would be strange if James said anything but that. It’s not surprising that Graham Mertz, who was a bright spot last season, said “it’s just chatter.”
The chatter is that getting to 7 wins would be quite the feat, and that an 8-4 season would undoubtedly quiet the noise surrounding Napier’s future. That would be different.
Unfortunately for Florida, there’s a world in which 2024 closes with more of the same. Since Steve Spurrier left after the 2001 season, Urban Meyer is the only Florida coach who got a Year 5. Dan Mullen, Jim McElwain, Will Muschamp and Ron Zook all entered their final season with preseason chatter about their future (I suppose McElwain’s ominous chatter before 2017 was less about his performance and more about his shark-mounting doppelganger and the credit card fraud case).
Napier overcoming preseason pressure and getting a Year 4 would be different. Easier said than done.
“Ignore the noise, don’t believe the hype, erase the board, start over, and every person in that building has got to prepare the same way,” Napier said. “So we’re going to do that. We’re going to focus on the work that’s ahead. Then we’ll look up at the end of the season and we’ll see what that earns.”
For now, though, all Florida has earned is skepticism.
Connor O'Gara is the senior national columnist for Saturday Down South. He's a member of the Football Writers Association of America. After spending his entire life living in B1G country, he moved to the South in 2015.
