GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The press conferences and soundbites have accumulated for more than a month. They have been disseminated across the internet via stories, X posts and videos since mid-July, when Gators head coach Billy Napier made his talking season debut in Atlanta at SEC Media Days to preview the upcoming season.

Napier has shared his thoughts on dozens of UF players, provided updates on quarterback DJ Lagway’s return from a strained calf, and clarified that he will address injuries, but only after releasing an injury report the week of the LSU game, as required by SEC guidelines.

Of all the statements Napier has made in the run-up to Saturday’s season opener at home against Long Island University, one of the most telling pointed directly at a missing piece of the puzzle during his tenure.

“We are on a mission here to play championship-caliber defense,” Napier said. “It’s one of the things that we have failed to establish here since I’ve been the head coach.”

In truth, Florida lacked a championship-caliber defense for most of Dan Mullen’s four seasons before Napier’s arrival. That is old news, of course, and for Napier to forge a future he envisioned when he took over the program – SEC championships and College Football Playoff berths – the defense must be better.

The Gators showed what that looked like a season ago when they reeled off four consecutive wins for Napier’s first winning season at UF, a stretch that included wins over No. 21 LSU and No. 9 Ole Miss at The Swamp. While Lagway’s emergence during the late-season bloom got fans the most excited, the Gators would not have built the momentum they have entering the 2025 season without their defensive turnaround.

“We have the potential to play championship-caliber defense, but we have to go do that when the time comes,” Napier said. “You gotta prove it on the field, but I do think the makeup of that group, not only from a talent perspective, but also from a mindset, is a positive for our team right now.”

TURNING UP THE D

A look at Florida’s defensive turnaround in the final four games of the 2024 season:

 

Category	Games 1-9	Games 10-13
Scoring defense	27.6	13.0
Yards per game	401.4	321.8
Rushing yards per game	167.3	109.3
Passing yards per game	234.1	212.5
Rushing TDs	16	1
Passing TDs	14	4
Sacks (per game)	20 (2.2)	19 (4.75)
Tackles-for-loss	48 (5.3)	38 (9.5)
Opponent fumbles	12	12
Fumbles recovered	4	7

 
Several factors contributed to Florida’s defensive reversal in the final four games.

Young players improved, organization and execution enhanced, and the results followed once co-defensive coordinator Ron Roberts transitioned from the field to the press box following the first bye week. Roberts, a veteran brought in to assist former protégé Austin Armstrong, is now the defensive coordinator and assisted by co-coordinators Vinnie Sunseri and Robert Bala.

Roberts credited the turnaround to multiple factors, including ramping up the intensity at practice and gaining a deeper understanding of the scheme. However, renewed confidence might have been the most important factor in his view, as the adage “success breeds success” was evident on film.

“We’ve been building on that since then,” Roberts said. “I think our guys have done a tremendous job of that in the offseason, of preparing themselves to get ready.”

As the Gators attempt to take the next step toward being an elite defense, veterans such as Tyreak Sapp, Caleb Banks, George Gumbs Jr. and Devin Moore are leading the way, according to Napier. Napier is optimistic about the defense, thanks to the return of experienced veterans combined with a talented group of underclassmen.

“Number one, we have more competitive depth than we’ve ever had, and we also have some veteran players that I think provide really good leadership,” Napier said. “We also have Coach Roberts going into Year 2, which I think we will benefit from, and a couple of new assistant coaches over there that I think have done a really good job.

“And don’t forget that this is our fourth year in the system. Although we’ve had different coordinators, I think we’ve been able to keep the same system intact, and that’s helped the players develop. But I do see a little bit more maturity on that side of the ball. And I think that in particular, the secondary group has grown up quite a bit over the last couple of years.”

Enough so that Napier has challenged the unit to reclaim the DBU title it touted less than a decade ago. Napier’s message has apparently resonated. The Gators showed significant improvement in the secondary over the second half of the season.

With Moore, Dijon Johnson and sophomore Cormani McClain the top cornerbacks, the safety group is led by projected starters Jordan Castell and Bryce Thornton, with Sharif Denson and Aaron Gates splitting turns at nickelback (STAR), and newcomers Micheal Caraway Jr. and Lagonza Hayward providing depth and versatility.

“I feel like all the DBs take it like a chip on our shoulders,” said Denson, a junior from Jacksonville. “We haven’t put that on film this year. That was us last year. We’ve got to showcase that again.”

Gumbs sounds ready to do his part on the edge. His list of goals is short after tasting success as a unit.

“I want to win. That’s my big thing. I really want to win,” Gumbs said. “Some guys definitely learned the importance of last year, like, guys in that locker room going through the losses and wins, really [understanding] the details and how to win games.”

As for Napier, he wants to win, too. And he has more confidence in the defense to help make it happen.

“We have players that we played as really young players, and we all remember those tough days,” he said. “They’ve been here for a number of years now, so I think there’s experience there. I know that this group has been a little up-and-down since we’ve been here, but I do like that in all three levels of the defense, we got some presence there.”