Despite falling to FSU, Billy Napier is proud of the fight his team put up
Florida’s 2022 regular season came to an end on Friday night with a 45-38 loss to Florida State, but Billy Napier didn’t hang his head at the conclusion of what has been a disappointing season by most Florida fans’ standards.
“I think probably what I’m most proud of is how hard the players played in the game,” Napier opened his post-game press conference. “They put it on the line, I think across the board. It wasn’t always pretty, but you’re talking about a group that I’m on the sideline, I watched it with my own two eyes, and they played the game of football the right way.
“I’ve got nothing but respect and admiration for our players. The effort, the physicality, the mental toughness. This is a group that’s made a ton of progress as people. Relative to making up a team, having a team, having a group that cares for each other, there’s a legitimate brotherhood, right? Like I would do anything for a teammate in that locker room, and I think that showed up tonight.”
Napier admitted that a few key plays could’ve won Florida the game and that the team simply wasn’t good enough on Friday to win, but he didn’t forget to mention the good he saw from the team, specifically “the intangibles.” Clearly emotional, Napier admitted that plenty of the players were taking the loss just as hard in the locker room. For returning players, internalizing this experience and remembering it to fuel next year’s contest is paramount.
“A tough one to swallow, but we’re going to get better,” he said. “We’re going to improve. We’re going to use that experience.”
Ricky Pearsall received some praise from his head coach during the post-game presser. Napier said they liked the matchup in the slot and went to it a few times. That might be a bit of an understatement. Pearsall finished with a game-high 148 receiving yards and two touchdowns on five receptions and nine targets. In fact, Pearsall was the only receiver that Richardson connected with over the course of the game. Tight ends Jonathan Odom and Dante Zanders brought in the other four receptions on the day.
“(Pearsall) passed the final test on Friday,” he said. “He was moving through protocal during the week, he felt fine, but obviously we are going to dot all the Is and cross all the Ts. He was able to play and certainly made an impact in the game. He’s a great competitor and certainly a guy that’s made our team better.”
Napier certainly wasn’t upset with his team’s 460 offensive yards, but he did acknowledge Florida’s struggles containing Jordan Travis. Still, the message remained positive. Napier closed the press conference by talking about Florida’s resiliency and ability to come back in the second half.
“I really believe it speaks to the progress we made.” he said. “There have been a lot times in the season where they could have just laid done and started pointing fingers and making excuses. That’s probably what I’m most proud of is the toughness that this group has shown, the resiliency as competitors. This game requires you to stick together when it gets thick. This is a cut-throat game.”
There are plenty of fans in Gator Nation that are unhappy with a 6-6 finish, but Florida’s first-year head coach closed the regular season by repeating the phrase he had clung to all night. “I’m proud of the way those kids competed in the game,” he said as he slammed his fist down on the table to make a point.
Rebuilding and changing the culture at a university takes time, and Napier proved that he has the team on the right path even if the season didn’t go the way anyone wanted it to. Let’s see what he can do in year two with Florida.
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