Top takeaways, key quotes from Florida’s final Week 4 presser
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Following a 29-16 win over rival Tennessee, Florida is back in The Swamp on Saturday for another sold-out night game. The No. 25 Gators (2-1) and the Charlotte 49ers (1-2) will meet for the first time ever.
Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. on ESPN+/SECN+. The Gators had their final press conference of the week on Wednesday night as Billy Napier, junior EDGE Princely Umanmielen and sophomore safety Miguel Mitchell met with the media.
Gators Online shares our top takeaways and key quotes below.
Top takeaways
UF culture still a work in progress
Napier’s culture is the foundation of his program. One of his favorite quotes is a comment from Bill Walsh on this topic.
“The culture precedes positive results. Champions behave like champions before they’re champions; they have a winning standard of performance before they are winners.”
Napier inherited an unhealthy culture that lacked accountability and consistency, contributing significantly to Florida’s 6-7 record the past two seasons.
The team culture under Napier is in a much better place this year but remains a work in progress. That’s been apparent this week with UF’s subpar practices.
“There is a humility that is required within the week in how you prepare,” Napier said. “We’ve worked hard on the Sunday to Saturday routine, I do think this is physical. There’s a ton of work done in particular Tuesday, and Wednesday.
“And then there’s a mental aspect to this that I think is really important to self-discipline, in terms of how we live our life, and we have work to do and we have more to prove. … That’s a culture and we’re working on that.”
Napier harped on “inconsistent” week by the Gators, and he wasn’t alone. Junior defensive lineman Cam Jackson and redshirt senior linebacker Teradja Mitchell both addressed the players on Wednesday night after what Jackson called an “unacceptable” practice.
“It’s not where we want it to be right now but I think we’re getting closer,” Napier said of his team’s culture. “I think it’s week-to-week. When you get into this time of year, it’s week-to-week. We’re a 2-1 football team. We played average to below average (at Utah), played McNeese and played pretty good against Tennessee. Next. What’s next?”
Napier reacts to player suspensions
The Gators will be without three players for the first half against Charlotte.
Florida redshirt sophomore offensive lineman Damieon George Jr., junior offensive lineman Micah Mazzccua and redshirt senior tight end Dante Zanders were suspended on Monday by the SEC for flagrant unsportsmanlike actions in the Tennessee game last Saturday.
Vols defensive lineman Omarr Norman-Lott was also suspended for the first half of their game against UTSA this weekend.
Napier commented on the suspensions for the first time Wednesday night.
“I think it was to be expected, you know,” he said. “Regardless, there would have been in-house discipline. So I think we landed about where we should have landed, truth be known. So, and they’ve done more besides just what the SEC has offered, so, it is what it is.
“It’s no different than an injury. I think you gotta put yourself in position to win the game, and we’ve got guys that are gonna be — this is an opportunity. I think sometimes injuries, suspensions, if you want to live in that world, they create opportunities for other players, ones that have been working hard and will be looking forward to Saturday.”
Napier confirmed in a follow-up question that George, Mazzccua and Zanders also faced internal discipline. Gators Online has learned their punishment involved a lot of running.
“Those three players did some in-house work as well,” Napier said.
Gators without three O-line starters
With George and Mazzccua sidelined, Florida’s offensive line will be down three starters on Saturday night. Redshirt junior Kingsley Eguakun has also been ruled out for Charlotte due to a lower body injury.
He missed the first two games with a sprained ankle before making his season debut against Tennessee.
“He finished the game. I think he’s had some setbacks. I don’t necessarily think it’s a long-term issue. He just wasn’t quite ready to practice today, yesterday. He was a little closer today but not quite ready to go,” Napier said of Eguakun said. “And typically if a guy doesn’t practice Tuesday, Wednesday for us, he doesn’t play. Not a drastic setback, but not quite where he needed to be to compete and play. And the position he plays is obviously part of that.”
Redshirt sophomore center Jake Slaughter makes his third career start on Saturday, while redshirt senior right tackle Lyndell Hudson II and true freshman right guard Knijeah Harris will both be in the Gators’ starting lineup for the first time.
“All those guys play most every game,” Napier said. “But I think the percentage of reps, we practice the way we’re going to start the game. And then obviously we rep two units the entire day. There’s an allocation of reps. In each position group, you’ve got a certain amount of reps in each practice.
“And we literally say, by the rep, ‘Hey, this guy’s gonna get 40 plays today. He’s gonna get 25. He’s gonna get whatever the case may be.’ So, we just reallocated the reps. One of the good things is going against the first defense in the good-on-good periods, which I think is helpful for them.”
Quotes of note
Princely Umanmielen on the defensive turnaround:
“I think it’s a combination of play-calling, the personnel. You know, I think [DC Austin] Armstrong just really trust his players. Like, he really shows us that he trusts us. He’s not gonna go out there and rely on his scheme. He relies on the player. He tells us all the time, ‘Good players make good defenses.’ So, when he’s calling plays, he’s calling plays based off the players he’s got and trying to do it to their strengths. He’s not calling plays relying on the scheme. You know, he really has a lot of trust in us. And he shows that in his play-calling.”
Umanmielen on handling Tennessee’s tempo:
“[Armstrong]’s just really intense. Last week, you know, Tennessee goes tempo like the whole game. His tempo that we were doing in practice was way faster, it was like an unrealistic tempo. So, he was just doing that to get us ready for Tennessee. And you know, Tennessee, I think there was only one play where we weren’t lined up. And we were ready because we went through it in practice. And in the middle of the game he walked up to us, he was like, ‘Is Tennessee’s tempo faster than mine?’ And we were all like, ‘No,’ because he just did it to a point in practice where it was unrealistic. But we were able to line up and practice, so we know if we can line up when he’s going unrealistically fast in practice, we were able to do it against Tennessee.”
Miguel Mitchell on Corey Raymond’s impact:
“He’s big on harping on, if we don’t know it, get it worked out before the game. And if we mess up in the game, don’t let it happen again. We go to the sideline after every drive, we talk it out and we fix it. Like that first drive (against) Tennessee. We had a big play right there and we ended up going back to the drawing board and fixing it up. And that’s just staying poised throughout the game. Because stuff is going to happen, but just staying poised and working it out is pretty much what he’s big on.”
Napier on Kahleil Jackson‘s sideline catch:
“I mean, in the history of the Florida-Tennessee rivalry, that play in general will be one of significance, I think. Great throw, great catch and just the drill that you work on as a receiver coach, that might happen one time every five years. Good example of a guy, former walk-on, all he does is work. He’s tough, durable and he’s got good skill level. He’s tough and plays because he earned it and makes a play when it counted.”
Napier on starting so many young players:
“I talk with the staff all the time about, ‘Hey, you got to keep hope.’ Hope’s a very powerful thing. I think when hope is removed, that’s when you see different levels of motivation and obviously it creates issues. Competition is important. I think one of the things we benefitted from, in my opinion, is we have more competition. Almost every position group we have, every week there’s competition relative to who’s going to play and what the ratio of plays basically will be. And you can’t fool players. They’re much like the coaches. They’re watching, they’re evaluating, they’re in the film room. They know who the better players are. So, there’s a certain level of integrity there. Look, we got to do what’s in the best interest of the team. Look, you keep some of those guys engaged. We play a lot of players. It benefits the overall culture of the team.”
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