re: Game 6 Discussion Thread: Florida vs Vanderbilt (Saturday October 5, 2023 @ 4:00pm EST

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GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Each week the SEC holds a teleconference for all 14 head coaches in the league. Billy Napier took his turn Wednesday to address Florida’s loss to Kentucky and look ahead to the next game against Vanderbilt.
Here’s everything Billy Napier said on the SEC Teleconference.

Opening Statement
Napier: “Yeah so, really been impressed with, I think we’ve got a really good group of kids. Our players have responded well. You know, we’re right in the middle of preparing for Vanderbilt. I do think that the focus is on the quality of the execution, and then the content of our thinking, right. Our actions, our attitude, really have moved forward, total focus on the next opportunity to compete and one day at a time.
You know I think sometimes as coaches, we have to look in the mirror and say ‘hey if the student hasn’t learned that the teacher hasn’t taught’, you know, and that’s the way that I view it. I think each one of our coaches can view it the same way, so I do think yesterday there was a lot of good on the practice field and we’re excited about getting back out there today. But total focus on what we can do to be well-prepared Saturday.”

On wearing Guardian Caps in practice:
Napier: “Yeah we’ve been, we’ve kind of subscribed to that theory for several years now. Obviously the NFL has done tremendous research there, it’s been effective. Each one of our players is wearing them in a practice setting now, and I do think we’ve seen some benefit there. Player-safety’s a big deal. I think we’re, our game continues to be popular and it’s important that, you know, we protect our game, and certainly the player-safety element – as we get more information and continue to learn, you know, via technology that maybe we have access to that we didn’t have even 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 years ago. I know for me personally, I could have benefitted from a Guardian Cap in my day, so it’s been great. It’s a great equipment, a great product, and it’s made our players more safe.”

On injuries to the offensive line and how that has affected continuity
Napier: “I do think continuity is important in that unit. If you can have the same five in the same roles and there can be chemistry ­— there’s a lot of communication. There’s a ton of work relative to the combination blocks, things happen fast in there. One of the things that we’ve lacked so far this year is continuity up front. We do have some tough guys that have been banged up, maybe been limited throughout the week but have played and showed some toughness and grit. We’re hopeful that at some point here we can settle in and these guys can get healthy and we can have some continuity up front. I do think that can benefit our team.”

On how the passing game has progressed
Napier: “I think each week you’re designing a plan to attack the concepts that you’re seeing on the other side. There’s always a balance of featuring the players that at available that week. You want to get your best players the ball. Formations and concepts and try to create those opportunities and matchups and certainly you mix the runs with the perimeter attacks. I think each week is a little bit different.”

On what stands out about Vanderbilt and Will Shepherd
Napier: “Yeah, Will, first of all, anyone that knows Clark knows that his team is going to be motivated. They’re going to play extremely hard. They’re tough. It’s a group that plays smart. They’ve got a good scheme and they understand their scheme. They’ve got height and length up front, which has created issues for the opponent. I think offensively, like you mentioned before, a pretty good group of skill players. The Shepherd kid, having known him from his high school days, they did everything they can do to put him in position, inside and outside and get him the ball. They’ve done a good job of that so far. He has some height and length, he’s got good ball skills, he’s heavy-handed, tough to tackle, wins a lot of 50-50 balls. He’s definitely a focal part of their offense.”

On Will Sheppard and recruiting him at Louisiana
Napier: “Yeah, he was down there in Louisiana when we were down there at the University of Louisiana.”

On fixing the issues that caused the loss to Kentucky
Napier: “I think that when we watched the film, a lot of areas where we need to do better. I think ultimately we spent Sunday and parts of Monday looking at that, and we have turned the page. Much like every week, maybe you play well, you have to put it behind you and move on to the next opportunity. That’s the approach we’ve taken this week. 4 o’clock Saturday we played Vanderbilt. New set of variables, new personnel, new schemes and certainly the next opportunity.”

On Vanderbilt’s defense
Napier: “They do a good job of mixing it up with their base concept, and they have a good mix of pressure and coverage on the back end. They do a good job of playing a lot of situational football. You got to be prepared given the field zone, given the D and D, so there is a lot of variables, although maybe the base defense it what it is and you get to certain down and distances and certain field zones and it’s a wholesale change. So causes you to be ready to go in all the field zones and all the situations.”

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University of Louisiana

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Hopefully he plays.

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