Billy Napier Articles - Page 2

The Florida football program took on one of its most challenging matchups of the 2024 season against the No. 22-ranked LSU Tigers on Saturday. Florida entered the game with a worse record, but head coach Billy Napier’s squad fought hard and came away with the 27-16 win. Gator fans on social media had a lot […]

Florida football quarterback DJ Lagway is pumped up after his team defeated LSU on Saturday. Lagway says he and head coach Billy Napier are going to work together to change the culture at the school. “That means a lot, man, you know, just being the second year in the offense, you know, is huge,” Lagway […]

Florida football head coach Billy Napier just revealed the status of quarterback DJ Lagway ahead of the LSU game. The talented freshman quarterback has not played since suffering a scary hamstring injury against Georgia on November 2nd. Napier, whose name is off the hot seat for 2024, confirmed to Gainesville Sun reporter Kevin Brockway that […]

Earlier in the season, calls for highly-touted freshman quarterback DJ Lagway to see the field were mostly out of curiosity. The Florida Gators had a returning veteran starter in Graham Mertz, but the promise of Lagway couldn’t be ignored. Not long after Mertz was sidelined with a season-ending knee injury and Lagway had begun to […]

It was a big announcement when the Florida football team said that Billy Napier would remain the head coach, as there was massive speculation about his job security due to lackluster performances. While Florida football fans will debate if that was a good decision or not, Napier would react to the news after the Gators […]

As the calendar page turns to November and the weather around the country begins to cool, it’s officially the time of the year where the seats of many head coaches around the nation begin to get hotter. It was widely assumed, really since the beginning of the 2024 season, that Florida Gators head coach Billy […]

In what may be the most surprising news of the day, the University of Florida has decided to retain head football coach Billy Napier. The third-year coach will officially enter the 2025 season as the Gators’ head coach, according to the university’s athletic director, Scott Stricklin. The announcement comes at an unusual time, with Florida […]

The Florida football program announced its commitment to head coach Billy Napier for beyond the 2024 season, and quarterback DJ Lagway was happy to hear the news, posting on his Instagram story in celebration after the announcement. DJ Lagway approves of Billy Napier being back in 2025 👀 pic.twitter.com/nWNhWXtbX9 — Florida Gators 🐊🔥 (@gatorsszn) November […]

Florida football head coach Billy Napier will remain in his position, UF athletic director Scott Stricklin announced today. In a statement via X, formerly Twitter, Stricklin expressed confidence in Napier’s ability to “meet the challenges and opportunities ahead.” Additionally, Stricklin, who has been Florida’s athletic director since 2016, called on “Gator Nation to continue standing […]

Florida football head coach Billy Napier got honest about his relationship with Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian ahead of the teams’ first meeting since 1940. Napier, who has been on the hot seat all year, has a history with Sarkisian at Alabama under then-head coach Nick Saban. The Florida football head coach gave a light […]

Florida football just received some crushing news on one of their best offensive players. In a hit to the Florida offense and head coach Billy Napier, who sits squarely on the hot seat, the Gators’ wide receiving core is set to lose a key piece. Sophomore wideout Eugene Wilson III is expected to be out […]

The Florida football program found some encouraging news from head coach Billy Napier about freshman quarterback, DJ Lagway. “The good news is we have positive information on that front,” Napier said via Graham Hall of 247Sports. “We do think that the injury is less significant, we do think there’s a pathway for recovery and a […]

Florida football legend Rex Grossman got honest on what makes the Florida-Georgia rivalry so special. “The World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail” is set to have its 102nd iteration on Saturday with Kirby Smart’s dominant Bulldogs taking on an embattled Billy Napier and his unranked Gators. Despite Georgia football’s recent dominance of this matchup, having won three […]

Rece Davis took some subtle shots at head coach Billy Napier and the Florida football program by giving a new name to the Florida-Georgia football rivalry. Known as the “World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party,” Davis offered a new take on the rivalry using its famous moniker. This matchup has been recently dominated Georgia, as Kirby […]

Florida football has been in rumors that head coach Billy Napier is on the hot seat since Week 1. While the rumors are fair, considering the Gators record (4-3), it hasn’t all been on the head coach. He’s dealt with a variety of injuries across both sides of the ball. “If they are competitive through […]

Georgia football head coach Kirby Smart gave an honest opinion on the future location changes to the Georgia-Florida rivalry. Smart and the No. 2 ranked Bulldogs are set to face embattled coach Billy Napier and the Gators on Saturday in the rivalry’s 103rd meeting. Since 1996, the “World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party” has been played […]

Two days after an overtime loss last Saturday to the Tennessee Volunteers, Florida football coach Billy Napier noted that the injury that knocked Gators running back Montrell Johnson Jr. out of the game was not, “a long-term issue.” But as promising as that prognosis may sound, it was at least a little vague, because nearly a […]

Florida football coach Billy Napier is in the position every coach dreads: on the hot seat. The Gators are 3-3 to start the 2024 season, Napier’s third year in Gainesville, and with a tough Southeastern Conference (SEC) schedule ahead and without his starting quarterback, Napier’s time as Florida’s coach may be coming to a close. […]

Billy Napier and Florida football have been trying to get the best of both worlds from their quarterback situation over the first four games of the season. Graham Mertz gives the Gators experience as a pocket passer, while freshman DJ Lagway offers some of the explosiveness and playmaking that Mertz lacks. Since Mertz returned from […]

Florida football legend Emmitt Smith isn’t holding back — he knows the team is off to a rough start and head coach Billy Napier’s future is in clear doubt. The Gators are off to a 1-2 start, fresh off home losses to their in-state rival Miami and most recently SEC rival Texas A&M. The Gators […]

It appears that Florida football could be making a significant change soon. Head coach Billy Napier has the Gators sitting at 1-2, on pace for their third consecutive losing season. Rumors have circulated recently about potential coaching replacements for Napier, and a recent development suggests that a plan is in place for the program. The […]

It’s no secret that Florida football has been “down bad” for a while now, as the kids say. The Gators suffered convincing losses to both No. 8 Miami and Texas A&M at home and yet head coach Billy Napier claims he’s not worried about his job. Former Florida running back Emmitt Smith is skeptical, though, […]

In a bit of surprising news on Wednesday, former Las Vegas Raiders head coach Jon Gruden expressed interest in returning to the sidelines—but this time, potentially as a college football coach, according to Brando Marcello of CBS Sports. “Yeah, I’m interested in coaching,” Gruden said during a recent interview. “My dad was a college coach, I […]

The Florida football team has gotten off to a dreadful 1-2 start this season, and there are a lot of Gators fans that wanted head Billy Napier fired. There’s no doubt about it, Napier is on the hot seat, and he needs to do something to figure things out if he wants to keep his […]

The Florida football team has not gotten off to a good start this season, and because of that, head coach Billy Napier is on the hot seat. This was a crucial season for him and the Gators as his seat was already hot coming into the season. Now, after a disastrous 1-2 start, Napier is […]

We’re just now out of Week 3 of the season, and already are some college football coaches on the hot seat. Of course, this isn’t uncommon. After all, some coaches, like Florida’s Billy Napier, entered the season on the hot seat after finishing with a losing record last season. Now sitting at 1-2 with lopsided […]

The Florida football team lost their second game of the season on Saturday, falling to 1-2 on the campaign. The Texas A&M Aggies came into the Swamp and tamed the Gators, winning 33-20 over the home team. The score looks better than it actually was for UF, as the Aggies dominated the game behind backup […]

Florida football had another humbling outing on Saturday, as Texas A&M came into The Swamp and controlled the Gators from start to finish in a 33-20 win. The loss was the latest in a series of disheartening losses for Florida under Billy Napier as the head coach’s seat continues to get hotter in Gainesville. The […]

It was the legend John Madden who once wisely declared, “If you have two quarterbacks, you have none,” and history has taught us that one of the game’s greatest ambassadors is correct more often than not. However, folks in Gainesville are hoping that their Florida Gators are the exception to this long-held football rule, because […]

Leave it to the ol’ ball coach to stir the Florida football pot. With Graham Mertz still recovering from a concussion, DJ Lagway played and made an impression on Steve Spurrier. His latest quote, via Pat Dooley of ESPN WRUF, about Gators’ true freshman DJ Lagway is sure to have a ripple effect that will […]

Florida football head coach Billy Napier and his Gators will be looking to get over the .500 mark for the first time this season on Saturday with a home game vs the Texas A&M Aggies. Napier’s squad opened this season with a dismal home loss to the Miami Hurricanes, but Florida bounced back last week […]

The Florida football team has a couple good options at quarterback this year as they have returner Graham Mertz and five-star freshman DJ Lagway. In week one against Miami, Mertz got the start, but he went down with an injury. Lagway came in to finish the game, and then he got the start in week […]

Florida football is going through a difficult season, but there does seem to be a silver lining in their dark cloud. Florida’s young quarterback DJ Lagway set a first start school record with 456 passing yards on Saturday against Samford. That impressive statistic made his coach Billy Napier quite happy. “He is what we thought […]

Legendary football coach Nick Saban is giving some advice to Florida football’s leader Billy Napier. Napier and the Gators lost their Week 1 matchup to Miami Florida, 41-17. Saban says Napier has some things to fix moving forward. “Well, I think he’s gotta change the culture,” Saban said on the ESPN College GameDay show, and […]

The Florida football team is reeling after a 41-17 loss in The Swamp to rival Miami football, a game that has cast major doubt on the status of head coach Billy Napier. Now, the Gators are in for more challenges after it was announced that a contributing wideout from last Saturday’s game has gone down […]

The Florida football team will be starting true freshman five-star quarterback DJ Lagway this weekend when the Gators take on Samford. Graham Mertz got the start last Saturday against Miami, but he is currently in concussion protocol. The Gators didn’t look good in their 41-17 loss to the Hurricanes, and it is now Lagway’s job […]

The state of Florida is the breeding ground for most college football stars. When they grow up and eventually choose to play close to home, they are faced with a tough decision. These blue chips can either join Mario Cristobal’s Miami football program or suit up for the Florida football team led by Billy Napier. […]

Florida football head coach Billy Napier told ESPN about freshman DJ Lagway possibly playing in Week 2 against Samford.  “We would play a brand of football that reflects his experience and his strengths, no different than we do each week,” Napier said. “But I’ve got a ton of confidence in DJ. We’ve had him [on […]

Not all Week 1 matchups in college football are created equal. Some teams get the benefit of starting the season with lower-level, out-of-conference “cupcake” opponents to ease into the new season. The Florida Gators (0-1) weren’t afforded such luxury for their season opener this year. The Gators hosted longtime, though rarely faced, rival Miami Hurricanes […]