GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The move from Louisiana to Florida presented Gators head coach
Billy Napier with a pronounced contrast in programs.
However, one similarity between the schools is that both are located in regions susceptible to hurricanes.
This week has barely fazed Napier as he curtailed his team's practice schedule to adjust to the impending arrival of Hurricane Ian on the state's southwest coastline. The Gators host Eastern Washington on Sunday at noon, the game moved from Saturday due to Ian.
A year ago as Hurricane Ida barreled toward Louisiana, Napier's Ragin' Cajuns team stayed put to ride out the storm as the NFL's New Orleans Saints moved operations to Dallas and LSU headed to Houston. Located in Lafayette, the University of Louisiana campus had more natural protection and was not located as directly in Ida's path as New Orleans and Baton Rouge.
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Napier exuded calmness this week as the storm approached, having been through this before. The strangest adjustment comes Saturday when the Gators have the day off.
"The facility, you know, will be somewhat open. The number one thing here is the safety of our players, the families of the staff. We're going to really compartmentalize here, a little bit of work on future opponents, a little bit make up for some of the time maybe that we'll lose on Sunday."
While Hurricane Ian devastated Fort Myers Beach and nearby areas, its impact on Gainesville was minimal. As the storm cut across central Florida on Thursday afternoon, other than for an ominous sky and breezy conditions, a visitor to Ben Hill Griffin Stadium had little evidence of a hurricane crossing the state.
Meanwhile, the Gators are eager to get back on the field after losing 38-33 at Tennessee last week, dropping them to 2-2, 0-2 in the Southeastern Conference.
Here is a Q&A with Napier from his press conferences this week:
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BILLY NAPIER Q&A
Q:Â
Can you take us through your process for the 2-point conversion at Tennessee, trying to go from 38-27 to 38-29?
A: There's two avenues, when you really dig into the numbers, about the approach there. First of all, you start talking about playing for a tie, right? When you're on the road, there's a slight advantage for the home team in overtime, and there's certainly a bigger advantage when you're a two-score favorite. I think it's around 63 percent advantage if you're the home team playing overtime, and you're a two-score favorite. So that goes into your decision-making. Really all you're trying to do is declare the path early in the game. So you go for two there. If you get it, you're at nine, and now you're in a position to win the game with an extra point whereas, if you don't get it now, you still have two scores with an additional opportunity to go for two. So if you kick it, ultimately, the numbers are going to tell you to go for two at the end of the game anyway to win the game. So, you're just declaring the path quicker, and that gives you a chance to adjust your strategy the rest of the game. This is pretty common in this era. Probably the last five years this has happened a number of times. I think it's all well thought out, and really going into the game, we're very aware of all the go-for-two situations and what goes with that.
Q: So the chart is set up long before the game and it changes weekly?
A: Yeah, it's all relative to the dynamic of the game, how much time is left in the game, the matchups going into the game.
Q: What about the venue, road versus home?
A: Absolutely. There's no question.
Q: When you evaluate the third-down defense the past two games — the opponents' success rate is pretty high — what goes into that?
A: We haven't met our objective a couple of weeks in a row here on third down. When we watch the defensive tape, it's simple. It's one player not doing what he's supposed to do quite often. It's a guy busting the coverage. It's a guy not in his pass-rush lane. It's a guy misfitting a run. There's a lot of good on the tape, but I think you talk about playing team defense, you've got to have 11 players doing what they're supposed to do. We gave up explosive plays in the game as a result of mental errors. It's that simple.
Q: What about the changes in the secondary with Jaydon Hill listed as a starting cornerback?
A: I think Jaydon has been very much a work in progress as he's kind of made his return to play. You know, he's done everything that he's been asked to do. He's worked extremely hard. And, you know, I think Jaydon is a guy I've got a ton of respect for. You talk about what he's been through from an injury perspective. He had a knee in high school, had a knee here, had kind of a minor knee issue in the summertime, and then he's been on that path to recovery. So, Jaydon was one of the better players that we had on our team in spring practice in my opinion. I was very impressed with him as a player. It's no surprise to me, you know, he showed pretty quickly here that he's very capable. So, I'm excited to watch him play, I'm excited how he can impact our team.
Gators head coach Billy Napier on the sideline last week at Neyland Stadium. (Photo: Maddie Washburn/UAA Communications)
Q: Four games into the season, what is the big-picture view of your team?
A: I think improvement. We're still at a place where as a team here we're trying to teach better. We're trying to coach better, play better, have more self-discipline. Trying to have more detail, better communication, better fundamentals and techniques. I think, ultimately, what we want from our football at the University of Florida is we want to have an organization that creates a life-changing impact on a player. Creating that type of environment and that type of culture is ultimately what we're trying to do here. The result will come.
Q: Do you see defensive communication improving?
A: I think so. I think we've got some young players at some critical positions. That's part of — one of our issues is that we have Ventrell [Miller] and [Amari] Burney are veteran players. Rashad Torrence obviously is a veteran player. In practice right now,
Shemar James and Scooby [Williams], Kamari [Wilson], Don [
Donovan McMillon],
Miguel Mitchell, a lot of these guys that are at the high communication are young players. I think they continue to learn every day a little something different and new. I don't know that we're ever going to be not learning something relative to communication. I think that that can always improve.
Q: Do you consider simplifying the scheme or do you want your players to work into it?
A: I think we're committed to being pretty versatile. We've always been a team that's multiple and runs a lot. We create a lot of variables for the opponent. Big-picture-wise, we're going to stick with that. We're not far away. We're talking about one player on occasion. We've played really good defense at times on occasion. I think we've gotta have 11 for 11. It's why it's a team game. That's the approach.
Q: What are your initial thoughts on Eastern Washington?
A: We have a tremendous amount of respect for the winning culture and really the history and tradition there. They have been a significant player in the FCS playoffs, certainly in that Big Sky Conference. We have got a ton of respect for the quality football we see on the field.
Q: Following up on the 2-point conversion attempt that failed, do you second-guess yourself on the flight home in any way?
A: I've got no issue with the decision. We got the right play. We made the right decision. This is one of those paths you go down where a lot of people don't understand, but we're going to base our decision-making off of research and evidence and true facts and numbers. So it is what it is.
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