Florida Gators

  By Hays Carlyon GAINESVILLE – Billy Napier is now onto Year 3. His tenure as the Florida coach will largely be shaped by what he does over the next month. Napier showed, once again, that his program has potential but ultimately can’t deliver results. The Gators took a lead into the fourth quarter against rival Florida State only to lose 24-15 Saturday in the Swamp. Florida (5-7) closed the […]

  By Hays Carlyon GAINESVILLE – Florida coach Billy Napier appears to be an excellent recruiter. He certainly seems like an excellent individual and leader of young men. But he can’t coach. At least, not at the highest level of college football. There have been many hints that Napier is overmatched on the sidelines in his previous 21 games at UF. The greatest example occurred at the end of regulation […]

  By Hays Carlyon Florida coach Billy Napier got the perfect start to Saturday’s rivalry game against No. 1 Georgia at EverBank Stadium. The Gators went 66 yards on seven plays, scoring a touchdown to open the game on a 25-yard pass from quarterback Graham Mertz to receiver Tre Wilson. The Gators led 7-0. A Georgia field goal still left the Gators with a 7-3 lead late in the first […]

  By Hays Carlyon Florida fans should be thankful for Billy Napier. You would barely have a competitive football team without him. Napier is midway through his second season at 5-2. Is it fair to ask him to supply nearly all of the best talent the roster has so soon in his tenure? That’s what he has been forced into thanks to the dismal recruiting of former coach Dan Mullen. […]

  By Hays Carlyon GAINESVILLE – Florida quarterback Graham Mertz made a detour before running to the end zone. He had a give his head coach Billy Napier an emphatic high five. The two obviously needed a good night through the air. They got it in a 38-14 win over Vanderbilt on Saturday in The Swamp. Mertz connected with tight end Arlis Boardingham on a 15-yard touchdown pass midway through […]

FSU goes to the air to snap Clemson's dominance   By Hays Carlyon The San Antonio Spurs had Tim Duncan and David Robinson. Florida State has Keon Coleman and Johnny Wilson. The Seminoles leaned on their pair of huge receivers to get a gigantic 31-24 road victory against rival Clemson on Saturday. The win snapped a seven-game losing streak in the series and kept No. 4 Florida State in prime […]

Gators regain control of season by upsetting Vols   By Hays Carlyon Presented by Woolsey Morcom GAINESVILLE – Billy Napier didn’t want to leave the field after beating No. 11 Tennessee. He was too busy recruiting the best players in the country. An hour after pulling off the best win of his Florida career, the second-year Gators coach was at the 22-yard line talking to many of the blue-chip prospects […]

Gators are young but Napier looks like the rookie   By Hays Carlyon Presented by Woolsey Morcom   Florida was certainly relying on several freshmen and first-year players in Thursday night’s opening game at No. 14 Utah. So, why did its head coach look like the rookie? Billy Napier was leading his 66th career game as a head coach. There was simply no excuse for his lousy performance in a […]