{"id":76057,"date":"2024-11-21T15:30:58","date_gmt":"2024-11-21T21:30:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/shemar-james-explains-why-florida-plays-so-hard-for-billy-napier-we-love-coach-napier\/"},"modified":"2024-11-21T15:30:58","modified_gmt":"2024-11-21T21:30:58","slug":"shemar-james-explains-why-florida-plays-so-hard-for-billy-napier-we-love-coach-napier","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/shemar-james-explains-why-florida-plays-so-hard-for-billy-napier-we-love-coach-napier\/","title":{"rendered":"Shemar James explains why Florida plays so hard for Billy Napier: \u2018We love Coach Napier\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

After the first three games of the 2024 season, it looked like Billy Napier\u2019s<\/a><\/strong> time at Florida<\/a><\/strong> was running out. But some strong showings against a tough schedule \u2013 including an upset win over LSU<\/a><\/strong> \u2013 helped keep Napier in Gainesville beyond this year, and Shemar James<\/a><\/strong> explained why the Gators play so hard for their coach.<\/p>\n

UF had an up-and-down first two years under Napier after he replaced Dan Mullen<\/a><\/strong>. The Gators went 6-7 in 2022 and 5-7 in 2023, and he entered 2024 on the hot seat. Florida also had the toughest schedule in the country, which added to the pressure.<\/p>\n

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Home blowout losses to Miami<\/a><\/strong> and Texas A&M<\/a><\/strong> could\u2019ve spelled the end for Napier\u2019s run. But close games against Tennessee<\/a><\/strong> and Georgia<\/a><\/strong> \u2013 prior to DJ Lagway\u2019s<\/a><\/strong> injury \u2013 and wins over Kentucky<\/a><\/strong> and LSU helped him earn another year. It became clear the Gators play hard for their coach, and James said it\u2019s all about buying in to Napier\u2019s process.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI’d be lying if we said we weren’t seeing the tweets and the blogs and all the rumors.\u201d<\/p>\n

Florida LB @Shemarjames06<\/a> tells @ChrisDoering<\/a> & @ESPNDari<\/a> why the team is playing so hard for @coach_bnapier<\/a>.@GatorsFB<\/a> | #GoGators<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/e8If5f1aEC<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 College Sports on SiriusXM (@SXMCollege) November 21, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/span>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve kind of seen it in ourselves first, knowing that we can compete with some of the best in the country,\u201d James said on SiriusXM College<\/a>. \u201cWe love Coach Napier. We love the job that he\u2019s doing here, and we ultimately believe in him. I\u2019d be lying if I said we weren\u2019t seeing the tweets and the blogs and all the rumors.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI would say, just wanting Coach [Napier] to be here and just playing hard for a coach that you can stand behind. I would say that\u2019s why we play so hard and just wanting to keep Coach Napier.\u201d<\/p>\n

James was part of Billy Napier\u2019s first recruiting class after arriving at Florida from Louisiana<\/a><\/strong>. The Gators have a slew of young players on the roster, as well, as they build up in Year 3 of his tenure. The decision to keep Napier could also have an impact on the recruiting trial as UF sits at No. 25 in the On3 Industry Team Recruiting Ranking<\/a><\/strong>, but is in pursuit of some flips<\/a><\/strong> ahead of National Signing Day<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

On the field, Florida will look to finish the year strong after the upset win over LSU at The Swamp. Ole Miss<\/a><\/strong> awaits this week in Gainesville for Senior Day before next week\u2019s season finale at struggling in-state rival Florida State<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The post Shemar James explains why Florida plays so hard for Billy Napier: \u2018We love Coach Napier\u2019<\/a> appeared first on On3<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

After the first three games of the 2024 season, it looked like Billy Napier\u2019s time…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-76057","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76057","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=76057"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76057\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=76057"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=76057"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=76057"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}