Is Florida football making progress? Players, coaches insist yes

As the final seconds ticked on Saturday at EverBank Stadium in Jacksonville, the scoreboard read, Georgia 43, Florida 20.

In 2022, on the same field against another elite-level Georgia team, the Florida Gators lost 42-20.

Fans aren't entitled to championships, but they are entitled to progress. Which begs to question whether Florida football is moving in a positive direction in year two under Billy Napier or stuck in mediocrity.

Perhaps Florida fans should have been warned by an assessment from an anonymous SEC coach in Athlon Magazine over the summer, which read: "This season is going to test a lot of people's patience, Napier was never going to be Steve Spurrier and he inherited probably the least talented overall roster in 20-some-odd years at Florida ... this roster doesn't look like it's from the state of Florida, and you can't fix that in two offseasons when you play in the SEC."

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The talent gap between Florida and Georgia was apparent on Saturday, on the line of scrimmage and in one-on-one matchups. Even one of UF's best and most experienced players, preseason All-SEC cornerback Jason Marshall was burned consistently by Georgia wide receiver Ladd McConkey.

Overall, Florida is 5-3 going into November, better than the 4-4 it was a season ago. Last season, UF upset Utah at The Swamp in September. This season, Florida posted a home upset against Tennessee. In both seasons, Florida suffered a loss to Kentucky before November, with the 33-14 road loss to the Wildcats this season worse by margin than the 26-16 home loss to The Swamp.

But Florida could be headed to another 6-6 regular season, or worse if it gets upset at home Saturday against Arkansas. After the Razorbacks, Florida closes with three straight games against ranked teams — at No. 13 LSU (Nov. 11), at No. 14 Missouri (Nov. 18) and at home against No, 4 Florida State.

"There's areas we've gotten better," Napier said. "There's still areas where we need to play with more consistency. Overall, I think we're operating at a little bit more efficient rate. I think there's good processes in place. We're getting better at what we do.

"We haven't necessarily got the results we wanted a couple times this year, but I do think there's improvement in the big picture."

Tighter bonds among Florida football teammates

Players and coaches will tell you the progress being made is more off the field than on it. Florida is a tighter unit than a season ago, which could help it navigate through a challenging November stretch out of SEC title contention.

"The biggest difference would be the makeup of our roster relative to who's gaining experience," Napier said. "Who's been productive, the leadership that we see at the player level, the level of discipline that we observe every day, the camaraderie, the chemistry of the group."

Last season Florida fielded an older team, which resulted in starting positions opening during the offseason. Of Florida's three TDs against Georgia, two were scored by freshmen — true freshman WR Eugene Wilson III (A 25-yard TD catch) and redshirt freshman tight end Hayden Hansen (A 5-yard TD catch). Wilson showed he could stand out against an elite level Georgia secondary with 11 catches for 75 yards and 1 TD, which bodes well for the future.

Florida defensive lineman Princely Umanmielen said the mood in the locker room at halftime against Georgia was different this season, when Florida trailed 26-7, compared to last season, when UF was down 28-3.

"The characters of the players on the team, everybody stays positive," Umanmielen said. "When we went down big at halftime ... in the locker room, everybody was still staying positive. I think it's the brotherhood of the team. Everybody is close together. We stick together."

Florida football building process still ongoing

An important date will come less than a month after UF's final game against Florida State. Early signing day is December 20th. The goal for Napier and his staff is to keep together a top-three 2024 national recruiting class, led by five-star quarterback D.J. Lagway.

That makes November critical as well. Any sense that the UF football program is slipping could lead to potential de-commitments. Napier has sold playing time and 12 true freshmen have played in at least six games this season. They've taken some lumps, but Wilson and true freshman safety Jordan Castell have also stood out.

Napier said the Georgia result caused him to double down on his beliefs in how to build the UF program.

"From an evaluation standpoint, recruitment standpoint, having continuity in system relative to the concepts that you run, scheme, adjustments," Napier said. "I do think there's a development component to that, as well."

Time will tell if Napier can build Florida into an elite program with staying power. But it's clear plenty of work still needs to be done.

This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Is Florida Gators football making progress in year two under Billy Napier