Gators tighten up for Georgia during bye week

Billy Napier works to resolve self-plagued mistakes in time off

The Florida Gators caught a breather in their schedule last weekend, but there was no rest in sight. With a well-timed bye week, UF head football coach Billy Napier took the time to gear up for UF’s annual rivalry match against the No.1 Georgia Bulldogs.

Napier made the most of the brief time to clean up the Gators’ performance across the board, addressing issues on offense, defense and tackling the persistent penalty problem.

“One of the things the open date exposed is we’ve had issues everywhere we played, truth be known,” Napier said Monday.

On the defensive front, Napier focused on creating takeaways and more tackles.  His vision includes improved gap integrity, and strengthened fundamentals at the line of scrimmage and on the edges, he said.

The Gators recorded two sacks in their last matchup against South Carolina. While they held off the Gamecocks successfully, UF’s current defense will be challenged with Georgia’s top-ranked offense.

“I think they do a fantastic job,” he said about Georgia’s lineup. “[We’re] going to have to earn everything.”

Penalties continue to be problematic for the Gators as they fall prey to false starts, offsides and holding calls, especially on the road. Napier prioritized more precision in his players this week to address the issue.

“I don’t care who you play, where you play them, I think you can’t afford to give the opponent anything,” he said. “Certainly undisciplined penalties are in that category.”

Offensively, Napier emphasized the team’s success goes beyond UF redshirt junior quarterback Graham Mertz’s performance and relies on a high-performing support system.

“I think the key is going to be that we play well around the quarterback,” he said. “If you’re going to move the ball in this league, every position’s got to do their part.”

Mertz took the opportunity during the bye week to revisit the basics. He focused on footwork and timing to grasp his approach to the position.

“You [have] got to really dive back into the fundamentals of what you’re doing,” he said. “How you’re doing it because you can lose that in the season because it’s just constantly going.”