Penalties a thorn in side of Florida football in 2023. How will it be addressed in 2024?

When Florida football hired Billy Napier as coach two years ago, one of his directives was to clean up mental mistakes that resulted in the Gators being among the most penalized teams in the SEC in 2021.

But those issues cropped up again in UF's emotional game last Saturday against rival Florida State. The Florida Gators were flagged eight times for 90 yards and had two players ejected — defensive lineman Jamari Lyons for spitting at a player in the second quarter and defensive back Jaydon Hill for targeting in the fourth quarter.

Two more penalties in the game proved crucial as well — a holding call on offensive lineman Dameion George Jr. that backed UF up 10 yards in the closing seconds of the first half. Instead of a more makeable field goal attempt, Florida kicker Trey Smack was forced to try to 52-yard attempt, which sailed wide.

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Late in the third quarter, Florida freshman defensive back Sharif Denson was whistled for illegally blocking a player out of bounds on a punt return, a 15-yard penalty which pushed UF back from its own 45 yard to the 30-yard line.

"Penalties obviously, those are things that we need to address," Florida football coach Billy Napier said. "There's no excuse for those. I think some of those were technical and some of those were decision-making. So, yeah, I think a lot of things contribute to the result."

Costly penalties hindered Florida football throughout the 2023 season

Florida's 6.6 penalties per game ranked 10th out of 14 teams in the SEC. Georgia was the fewest penalized team in the SEC at 4.3 per game.

In Napier's first year in 2022, Florida averaged slightly more penalties at 6.8 per game, which ranked 9th in the SEC.

But penalties proved costly in four of UF's losses in 2023.

Against Utah, the Gators had several procedural issues in the red zone and never recovered in a 24-11 loss.

At Kentucky, Florida was flagged 10 times for 86 yards, with more procedural issues on the offensive line in short-yardage situations.

At home against Arkansas, Florida had a critical illegal substitution penalty in the closing seconds when its field goal team ran out onto the field while its offense was on the field. The penalty moved back Trey Smack's field goal attempt five yards, and he missed the 44-yard attempt that would have won the game in regulation.

Against Florida State, Hill's targeting ejection came on a play in which Florida quarterback Tate Rodemaker was sliding, which would have set up a 4th-and-2 play. Hill was going for a tackle on the bang-bang play.

"It was definitely a tough moment," Florida linebacker Teradja Mitchell said. "I think it was a tough call. As a defensive player, you're fighting and you're scratching to make sure the offensive player doesn't get the first down. It's unfortunate that was the call. Obviously, that's momentum that takes away from us as a defense, but it was a tough call. "

With Hill, one of UF's best tacklers, out of the game, Florida State took advantage. On the same drive, FSU running back Trey Benson scored his third TD game, a 26-yard run with 2:48 left that extended FSU's lead to 24-15 and put the game away.

"Football is a game of inches," Mitchell said. "Small errors that we make sometimes, and it's unfortunate. But that's the way the game is, and I understand they're trying to keep players safe. But in those moments, it's a game of inches.

"Obviously, you don't want the offensive player to get the first down, but targeting is targeting."

This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Florida Gators football endured penalty problems again in 2023