The Florida Gators wasted no time in their offseason to tighten up the team’s core values: work ethic and culture. While efforts stay prioritized on improving the Gators’ physical attributions, head coach Billy Napier is excited about the intrinsic factors.
“You have a motivated group coming back,” Napier said. “They came back with purpose. I think we've added some really good pieces, not only talent, but I think leadership and character.”
UF’s roster is a blend of veteran and rookie talent in 2024. With older players such as redshirt senior quarterback Graham Mertz and senior running back Montrell Johnson Jr. returning, the coaching staff is looking toward them to guide younger players.
The emphasis on leadership and character is highly valued to foster the team’s culture. Goals are focused on establishing a promising foundation to create overall growth as a team for success on the field.
“We’re forcing the player to make a decision every day,” Napier said. “‘Am I going to do what’s right? Am I gonna do what’s asked of me?’ We’ve got some credible leadership at the player level, and that’s [getting] some things done.”
The coaching staff hopes to zoom out of the sport and instill these values within them as individual players. Napier wants to highlight the intangibles because every player comes with talent, he said.
“It’s our effort to teach a sense of responsibility,” Napier said. “To have some self discipline, to take care of your stuff, to appreciate what you have, to build in some gratitude. We’re trying to combat entitlement.”
Florida enters 2024 on a three-year losing skid, a trend the Gators have avoided since 1945-1947. Napier holds a 6-10 record in SEC play and 1-5 against Florida’s biggest rivals — Georgia, FSU and Tennessee.
In his first season at the helm, he led UF to a 6-7 record with six regular season game losses. His season offered the Gators a loss to Vanderbilt for just the second time in the century. Last season, Napier delivered a 5-7 record to hold the Gators from postseason plans with a notable fall to four-win Arkansas.
With a series of flagging seasons behind him, Napier is determined more than ever to improve his practice and produce a winning campaign. His efforts begin with improvement within independent players in the offseason rather than a holistic approach.
“I’m a firm believer that a player that lacks character, at some point, he’s gonna let you down,” Napier said. “My history in coaching will tell you that. The more we can kind of create that through the offseason, I think there’s a chance it will carry over.”
The team’s offseason progress will be put to the test as a daunting SEC slate looms near for the Gators. Florida is slated to play eight teams ranked inside the top 20, according to CBS Sports’ latest preseason rankings, with six of them being SEC opponents.
Co-offensive coordinator and tight ends coach Russ Callaway will be stepping into a bigger role for Florida’s offense this season. His mentality toward the challenging schedule ahead is to affirm a quality work ethic within the program.
“I looked at a couple of our coaches, and I said this is the difference in the team this year.” Callaway said. “They want it. They got that Gator in them, and that's kind of what we've been preaching. To have that mentality and what we're looking for, the work ethic on and off the field, I really think this group has it.”
Florida’s coaching staff has continuously talked about the “extra work” the team has voluntarily done on its own time during offseason weekends.
Callaway is pushing this narrative by renewing Florida’s emphasis on dedication and drive. He’s encouraged by the players’ commitment and accountability, and the team’s promise to go above and beyond.
“They're going to do everything that you ask them, but this group has proven to do extra on a consistent basis, and to me that's been great to see,” Callaway said.
Senior cornerback Jason Marshall Jr. will have a major influence on this year’s team both on and off the field. There was a time last season where he lost his confidence, he said.
However, after being at the forefront of the program’s improved culture, it allowed Marshall Jr. to recognize his opportunity to come back as a veteran leader allowing him to get back on his feet in the spring.
“Just the brotherhood that we have going on,” Marshall Jr. said. “Everybody came together [and] that’s the biggest thing, the brotherhood. Everybody loves each other, it’s a different feeling now.”
In the end, the fate of Florida’s win-loss record in 2024 won’t be determined by any “RaRa speech” given by the coaching staff. Player accountability has been a focus point for the Gators this year, and sophomore wide receiver Eugene Wilson III sees the vision.
“It’s a different confidence, it’s a different standard,” Wilson III said. “We hold each other accountable, and it’s definitely a player-led team.”
With Wilson being the most productive returning player at the wideout position for the Gators, his experience has allowed him to gain a more thorough understanding of the self-motivated mindset this team has for getting the program back to a place of prominence.
“At the end of the day, we [are] the ones in the facility every day spending, shoot, 10-12 hours in the facility,” Wilson III said. “We see all the blood, sweat and tears that we pour into this game, we see the look in each other’s eyes.”
Contact Krisha and Max at ksanghavi@alligator.org and mtucker@alligator.org. Follow them on Twitter at @krishasang and @max_tuckr1.
Krisha Sanghavi is a third-year public relations and economics major. In her free time, she loves cheering on Miami sports teams and spending time with her friends.
Max Tucker is a junior transfer student at UF. After obtaining his A.A. in Journalism from Santa Fe College in 2023, he chose further his education at Florida's College of Journalism and Communications. Max is currently pursuing his Bachelor of Science in Journalism with a specialization in sports and media. He enjoys golfing and going to the beach with his friends in his free time.
