Napier has no intention of giving up calling plays for Florida's offense

(Photo by Chris Spears)

If the Good Ship Gator is going to sink, the captain is going down with the ship, his hand firmly on the wheel.

That social media outlets are calling for Napier to give up calling the offensive plays is nothing new. Napier has been hearing that since his first season on the job in 2022. The calls to turn the play calling over to someone else have never been as loud, however, as they have been since last Saturday when Florida’s stagnant offense managed only one touchdown in a stunning 18-16 loss to South Florida.

At his Monday press conference, Napier made it abundantly clear he has no thoughts whatsoever of giving play call duties to someone else when the Gators (1-1) take on No. 3 LSU (2-0) at Tiger Stadium Saturday night (7:30 p.m., ABC).

Asked if he plans to remain the play caller and if he has entertained thoughts of handing the responsibility to someone else, Napier responded, “Yes, yes. No, no.”

In the three seasons prior to 2025, Napier has drawn plenty of criticism from fans and media alike for an offense that has yet to crack 30 points per game for an entire season. Napier ran the same offense when he was the head coach and play caller at Louisiana from 2018-21. During those four seasons, the Ragin Cajuns never failed to average at least 31.1 points per game. Those were balanced offenses that averaged more than 200 rushing yards per game in three of four seasons and more than 200 passing yards all four.

That success hasn’t translated to the kind of success that Florida fans have expected from the offense. But, Napier is sticking with his own scheme and his own decision-making when it comes to calling the plays.

Some of the issues with this year’s offense are due to quarterback DJ Lagway missing spring with a shoulder injury and most of August practice with a calf injury. In two games so far, Lagway is 38-51 passing for 342 yards, which is just 6.7 per attempt. He’s thrown four touchdown passes with one interception. A year ago, Lagway threw for 1,915 yards, averaging an even 10 yards per attempt. The explosion in the passing game has been clearly missing.

“I think he's still getting comfortable and you guys can see that, much like he can and we can,” Napier said. “So, but he did a lot of good things in the game. I think he's still getting in a rhythm. This was his third week of practice, you can see that, getting comfortable with some of these skill players. I think he's really close to having a huge day. So, he takes that personal and he's an elite competitor. And the number one motivator for him is being able to execute, perform and do his job for his teammates. That's the thing I respect about the guy is when he doesn't get the results that he wants on a play, his immediate feeling there is about letting the guys down. So, highly motivated to continue to improve. But he definitely did a lot of things better, but there's more -- there is ceiling left there for him to improve. And look, we have to play better around him at times, too. Little more precision across the board in the throw game, and then, you know, I think as a staff we can help him as well."

MCCRAY OUT INDEFINITELY

Edge rusher LJ McCray broke his foot during the South Florida game. He had surgery Sunday and will be out indefinitely.  

BETT ISSUES APOLOGY STATEMENT

Defensive lineman Brendan Bett, who was ejected from the South Florida game late for spitting in the face of USF offensive lineman Cole Skinner, issued an apology Monday evening via his Instagram account.

“I want to sincerely apologize for my actions in the game this past Saturday. I let down my teammates, coaches, family and all of Gator Nation. Our coaches always instill in us the value of sportsmanship and I crossed the line. I also want to apologize to South Florida. That’s not the person or player I strive to be. I made a terrible mistake and it won’t happen again.

“To Cole Skinner #56. There is no excuse for my actions. I’m truly sorry to both you and your family. To my family and friends …I know that my actions didn’t reflect the way I was raised and I regret the disappointment I caused. I take full responsibility. I pray that we can all move forward. Thanks for believing in me and I won’t let you down again.”

Earlier in the day, Napier spoke about the conversation he had in his office with Bett Sunday:

“Brendan, we spent quite a bit of time with him yesterday. I think that the kid is remorseful. I think he feels as if he let the team down. I do think he has, in general, it was out of character for him. He made a mistake and he compromised the team. He made a selfish decision. He misrepresented our fans, our alumni, the university. When a young man comes into your office, and that's his immediate concern is how he didn't represent this place the right way, I think that's a good indication of his attitude towards it. There'll be some internal discipline. Obviously, he was (ejected), and he'll have an opportunity today to apologize to the team and he's going to apologize publicly. We're even having him reach out to the young man on the other team. So no stone unturned here in terms of maximizing this for him to learn and also for our other players to see how to take ownership of a mistake and go about this the right way.”

Asked if Bett would be allowed to play Saturday evening against LSU, Napier responded, “We haven’t made that decision yet.”

SEC FOOTBALL

No. 19 Alabama (1-0): While Alabama awaits the return of injured starting tailback Jam Miller, freshmen AK Dear and Kevin Riley are playing well. In the win over Louisiana-Monroe, Dear had 76 yards on five carries and Riley had 11 carries for 69 yards … Alabama has one sack through two games and it came on a safety blitz … The Crimson Tide is a 20.5-point favorite against Wisconsin. Saturday: Wisconsin (2-0)

Arkansas (2-0): Wide receiver Monte Harrison broke his foot and is likely done for the season. Harrison had one catch for 29 yards in two games … The Razorbacks are 9.5-point underdogs. Saturday: at No. 17 Ole Miss (2-0, 1-0 SEC)

No. 24 Auburn (2-0): Running back Durrell Robinson will miss time due to a freak injury suffered in the win over Ball State. Robinson gained 54 yards and scored a TD against Ball State … Auburn is favored by 24.5 points against South Alabama. Saturday: South Alabama (1-1)

No. 6 Georgia (2-0): Tight end Ethan Barber, who was hurt in the win over Austin Peay, has a significant ankle injury and is expected to miss the rest of the season. Barber suffered what observers called a gruesome injury … The right side of the Georgia O-line – guard Juan Gaston and tackle Earnest Greene – were both injured against Austin Peay. Kirby Smart won’t know until later in the week if either or both of them will be available against Tennessee …  Georgia is a 3.5-point favorite on the road at Tennessee. Saturday: at No. 15 Tennessee (2-0)

Kentucky (1-1, 0-1 SEC): Quarterback Zach Calzada suffered a shoulder injury in the loss to Ole Miss. He didn’t practice Monday leaving the first team reps to Cutter Boley … The loss to Ole Miss was the eighth straight SEC home loss for the Wildcats … The Wildcats are 24.5-point favorites. Saturday: Eastern Michigan (0-2)

No. 3 LSU (2-0): Center Braelin Moore is listed day-to-day after an ankle injury suffered against Louisiana Tech. If Moore can’t go against Florida, the replacement will be DJ Chester … Tight end Trey’dez Green suffered a sprained MCL in the game … The Tigers are 9.5-point favorites. Saturday: FLORIDA (1-1)

Mississippi State (2-0): Linebacker Nick Mitchell, whose tackle at the goal line in the fourth quarter was the key play in Mississippi State’s win over then 12^th-ranked Arizona State, was SEC co-Defensive Player of the Week. Mitchell had nine tackles for the game. Right tackle Albert Reese, who logged 66 snaps and graded at 80.4 percent, was named SEC co-Offensive Lineman of the Week … The Southeastern Conference fined Mississippi State $500,000 for storming the field after the win over Arizona State. Saturday: Alcorn State (2-0)

No. 25 Missouri (2-0): Guard Dominic Giudice, who graded 88 percent against Kansas while helping two Mizzou running backs to more than 100 rushing yards, was named SEC co-Offensive Lineman of the Week … Missouri is favored by 27.5 points against Louisiana Saturday.  Saturday: Louisiana (1-1)

No. 13 Oklahoma (2-0): John Mateer, who completed 21-34 passes for 270 yards and a TD plus ran for two others in the Sooners win over Michigan, was named SEC Offensive Player of Week … The Sooners are 24.5-point favorites for Temple. Saturday: at Temple (2-0)

No. 17 Ole Miss (2-0, 1-0 SEC): Despite leaving the Kentucky game banged up several times, quarterback Austin Simmons is expected to be full speed for Saturday’s game with Arkansas … Lucas Carneiro, who kicked three field goals and three extra points in the win over Kentucky, was named SEC co-Special Teams Player of the Week … The Rebels are 9.5-point favorites.  Saturday: Arkansas (2-0)

No. 11 South Carolina (2-0): Vicarri Swain, who ran back punts of 55 and 42 yards for touchdowns against South Carolina State, was named SEC co-Special Teams Player of the Week … The Gamecocks are 5.5-point favorites against Vanderbilt. Saturday: Vanderbilt (2-0)

No. 15 Tennessee (2-0): The Vols will be without corners Jermod McCoy and Rickey Gibson against Georgia. In their place, the starting corners will be Colton Hood and Ty Redmond … The Vols are 3.5-point underdogs. Saturday: No. 6 Georgia (2-0)

No. 7 Texas (2-0): Wide receiver Parker Livingstone was selected SEC Freshman of the Week after catching four passes for 128 yards and two touchdowns in the win over San Jose State … Texas is a 41.5-point favorite over UTEP. Saturday: UTEP (1-1)

No. 16 Texas A&M (2-0): Defensive end Cashius Howell recorded sacks on three straight plays in the Aggies win over East Texas A&M, was named SEC Defensive Lineman of the Week … The Aggies are 6.5-point underdogs at Notre Dame. Saturday: at No. 8 Notre Dame (0-1)

Vanderbilt (2-0): Linebacker Nick Rinaldi was selected SEC Co-Defensive Player of the Week. Rinaldi had six tackles including 2.5 behind the line of scrimmage in the win over Virginia Tech … Vanderbilt is a 5.5-point underdog on the road at South Carolina. Saturday: at No. 11 South Carolina (2-0)