ESPN’s grade for Florida’s Billy Napier at the season’s midway point
The Billy Napier era at the University of Florida began with a bang when the Gators upset the Utah Utes in Week 1, but up-and-down performances since that game have the folks at ESPN skeptical of the first-year Power Five coach. On Thursday, ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg gave Florida a C- grade for the Napier hire based on the early returns.
Rittenberg admits that Napier didn’t walk into the best situation at Florida, but he contests that there should be enough talent on the roster for the team to have found more success. Anthony Richardson entered the year as one of the most interesting draft prospects in college football, but he’s looking more like a two-year project at this point. Veteran defenders have also come up short, aside from Ventrell Miller, who is holding Florida’s defense together like Gorilla Glue while essentially standing on one leg.
At 4-3 overall (and 1-3 against the SEC), things aren’t going great in Napier’s first year, but they certainly could be worse. Florida is currently on a bye week and using it to take two weeks of prep for the top-ranked team in the country, Georgia. That will be a tough battle, and so will Texas A&M in College Station the next week.
Beating South Carolina, Vanderbilt and Florida State will be the big test for Napier. Florida still has a shot at bowl eligibility this year, even with one loss during that final stretch, but a six-win season would almost guarantee Napier’s grade to be lower than a C- at year’s end.
Florida just isn’t a very cohesive team yet and doesn’t have much on its profile other than the Utah victory. The concern for Napier is beating a rival, as Florida faces Georgia and Florida State in the second half of the schedule.
Florida needs to finish strong to help keep public opinion high regarding Napier. Most fans are patient enough to give a new coach some time to implement his system and turn over the personnel, but others demand instant gratification.
Napier knew the pressure he’d face when he took the job, and the school isn’t looking to part ways with him anytime soon. A C- isn’t great, but there’s as much room to improve in the second half of the season as there is to fail.
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