GAINESVILLE, Fla. — As preseason camp comes to a close, the Gators have begun to turn a corner.

Quarterback DJ Lagway is on the mend, the safety room is tightening up, and young receivers are showing consistent flashes of promise. Even a visit from Patriots legend Matthew Slater has nudged UF toward a strong identity by teaching (preaching?) the importance of vision, intentional planning and operating out of gratitude.

 

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DJ LAGWAY, QB2 COMPETITION

Despite the calf injury suffered by Lagway before camp, Napier is optimistic about the sophomore’s recovery and is confident Lagway can make his return as August comes to a close.

“He’s feeling much better, and he’s moving around well,” Napier said after Lagway took live reps Monday in an 11-on-11 setting after missing Florida’s two scrimmages.

Additionally, Napier isn’t worried about the talent at the backup quarterback position. With the combination of senior Bailey Harrison, sophomore Aidan Warner and the highly-touted freshman Tramell Jones Jr., it has been made clear that Florida is backed by a deep quarterback room, fully capable of backing up Lagway.

However, the tight competition has made it a difficult decision for Napier and the coaching staff to decide whose name will be called should a worst-case scenario present itself.

“It’s still very much a battle,” Napier said. “We’ll continue to work with that group this week, and hopefully the closer we get to game week, the more clarity we’ll have.”

 

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NO MORE ‘MY BAD’
 
With a solid core of leaders prepared for the season, the Gators are looking to improve their depth by giving more experience to supporting players. With the intensity, physicality and effort greatly improved in Florida’s second scrimmage of fall camp on Saturday, younger players have responded to the opportunity to define roles for themselves ahead of the season.

“We got a pretty good group of ones that we can run out there,” Napier said. “Our focus this week is working on contingency plans, it’s working on the rotational players we have, players that need to grow into special teams.”

With Florida set to kick off on Aug. 30 against Long Island University, the team has been pushed toward a culture of increased consistency and accountability. In a team sport where one person’s mistake can swing a tight game, Napier is determined to eliminate individual miscues to create a reliable and disciplined team that can execute under pressure.

“The games are coming, there’s no more ‘my bad’,” he said. “The consequence of ‘my bad’ affects the entire team, so we have to play with more consistency.”

As a grueling schedule approaches, the Gators are aware that the outside noise matters very little. Despite the roar of buzzing expectations this fall, Napier was adamant about emphasizing the importance of the team staying focused, shutting out outside distractions and concentrating on its growth. Moreover, the coach doesn’t want people buying into shifting narratives, explaining that he wants to give his team a chance to define themselves.

“We’re not going to connect any outside opinion to our confidence or how we prepare,” he said. “We have to get consumed with improvement in our process and being our best.”

 

 

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RECEIVER, SAFETY DEPTH

With injuries plaguing Florida’s receiving corps, some of these rotational players have gotten a chance to step up in camp and make themselves worthy of a Napier mention to the media.

New faces at UF, like senior J. Michael Sturdivant and freshmen TJ Abrams and Vernell Brown III, have continued to make the most of their opportunities in practice, with Napier explaining that there is intense competition for playing time.

The Florida coach highlighted the improving consistency of Abrams and the physicality of Sturdivant, while making sure to touch on Brown III’s impressive attention to detail and fast playing style.

“Vernell Brown III is taking full advantage of the opportunities he’s got. He’s proven to me that he’s ready to play,” Napier said. “Others have flashes — we’ve got a lot of guys that flash — but I’m looking for consistency.”

On the other side of the ball, defensive backs senior Micheal Caraway Jr. and freshman Lagonza Heyward are two players who Napier highlighted as emerging players who are durable and capable at safety.

With a heavy load of injuries across the entirety of UF’s defense, Caraway Jr. and Heyward have seized the opportunity as rotational players to show flashes of promise at an unforgiving position where lapses in coverage and misreads are killers. Although he wants to see more progress from the two, Napier thinks they can both play some snaps for the Gators this season.

“We have four players at safety that we would consider starters. After that, those two guys have stepped up,” Napier said. “We need both players to be good special-teams players. We need more out of them. We need more consistency.”

 

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PATRIOT SPEAKER
 
Looking to drive his core beliefs of vision and intentionality into his team, Napier had three-time Super Bowl-winning wide receiver Matthew Slater join the Gators for a fall camp practice on Friday. The Patriots legend’s visit to Gainesville was nothing short of inspirational for the young team of aspiring talents, as he exemplified the results of being intentional with planning, setting a vision, and working hard.

“He talked to us about vision, being intentional with everything we do, and remembering your ‘why?’, remembering your teammates’ ‘why?’, so you can hold them accountable,” sophomore linebacker Myles Graham said. “I learned he was intentional with everything he did. He was a great role model.”

This led Napier to harp on the impressive nature of Slater’s message, referring to the 10-time Pro Bowler as a leader and “glue guy” who played a significant role in the Patriots’ organizational culture. Napier also piggybacked on the importance of Slater’s contributions to fall camp, urging the team to treat every opportunity to play as a blessing and to operate with gratitude.