Gators aim to better handle success after Tennessee win
As the game clock struck 0:00 Saturday night in the Swamp, the messages poured into the iPhone of Florida coach Billy Napier.
When Napier began reading through a pile of texts, he quickly realized the only course of action.
“Try to do it as fast as possible,” he said. “Try to delete them all. Got work to do.”
Bigger forces than rival Tennessee awaited the 44-year-old coach after the UF’s 29-16 upset of the then-No. 11 Vols.
Radio silence, self-reflection, averted glances followed a sloppy Week 1 loss to Utah, yet Napier’s squad responded. The Gators now must handle the adulation, Top 25 ranking and recalibrated expectations following their biggest SEC win in Napier’s two seasons.
“Ultimately when you get beat and you go to the locker room and you’re on the bus after the game, you got zero text messages,” Napier said. “When you win and you play on national TV, you’ve got 268 text messages. All of a sudden, everywhere you go, somebody wants to compliment you rather than looking at the ground, kind of going the other way.”
The Gators (2-1, 1-0 SEC) struggled to stay the course in 2022, following up big wins immediately with crushing defeats.
UF went from a season-opening upset of Utah with a 10-point loss to Kentucky. After rolling to a 38-6 win against South Carolina on Senior Day, the Gators lost at Vanderbilt for the first time since 1988 to start a four-game skid against Power 5 foes until beating Tennessee.
“Last year’s team couldn’t handle momentum,” Napier said. “This group has the right approach.”
Wisconsin transfer quarterback Graham Mertz quickly emerged as a leader whose consistent play and steady demeanor set the tone on offense.
“He acts like a quarterback, walks like a quarterback, talks like a quarterback,” left guard Richie Leonard IV said. “It’s great to have him back there. He’s one of the smarter players I’ve ever been around.
“Up or down, he’s always got the same level of energy or focus.”
A youth movement led by sophomore tailback Trevor Etienne and true freshman safety Jordan Castell of Orlando has infused Napier’s squad with playmakers and brought a new attitude to a program picked to finish fifth in the SEC East division.
Etienne rushed for a career-high 172 yards against Tennessee, the most by a Florida player since 2014, and Castell recorded 10 tackles and a pass break-up to earn SEC freshman of the week.
Castell, 19, showed his maturity after Vols veteran receiver Bru McCoy caught a 55-yard touchdown against freshman cornerback Ja’Keem Jackson. Castell went over and encouraged Jackson, another former Orlando high school standout.
“For him being so young to just showcase that skill, that leadership, let Ja’Keem know he’s still a great player, we going to get this back … that’s a great trait to have,” sophomore cornerback Devin Moore said. “That just showcases the standard that the older guys set.”
Napier plans to rely on his veterans for what he terms “principle-centered leadership,” striving for consistency.
A Saturday night visit from Charlotte (1-2) provides UF a final tune-up before one of the nation’s toughest schedules resumes Sept. 30 at Kentucky (3-0). The Wildcats are winners of three of five in the series, a tough out at home and sure to test the Gators’ ability to handle newfound success.
The even-keeled Napier said a key, perhaps the biggest one to future success, is his players remember what it felt like to lose, ignored and counted out just one week into the season.
“We were frustrated. We were angry. We were embarrassed,” Napier said. “That allowed us to have an edge and certainly affected the way we prepared for Tennessee and helped us play the way we played.
“It’s important that we keep that.”