Billy Napier: Florida will prove better people make better football players in 2024 (2024)

FLORIDA

Derek Peterson| 7 days ago

Billy Napier mentioned it multiple times during his more than 20 minutes in front of local media on Tuesday. As the Florida Gators open their third training camp under Napier’s stewardship, the head coach believes a deeper, more experienced roster will pay dividends.

“We’ve been really close. We have experience. We’ve got a core group of players that are coming back, they’ve tasted it, they’ve been right there in those fourth-quarter games back-to-back years, down the stretch we haven’t quite finished the way we’d like to,” Napier said. “And I think ultimately that’s the motivation behind this. They know it’s just right there.”

Florida went 5-7 last year and it posted a third consecutive losing record in SEC play — a first for the program in the last 7 decades. Napier has had his posterior warmed by the seat in his office all offseason, but the Gators lost by 3 points, 2 points, and 9 points throughout the skid to close the season.

Their point differential said they were a 6-win team. Their inability to finish made them a postseason-less team for the first time since 2017. That was Jim McElwain’s last year. Napier’s critics believe he shouldn’t have gotten a third at Florida.

And maybe the Gators’ schedule in 2024 — the toughest in the FBS, according to ESPN’s FPI — will ensure he doesn’t get a fourth. But Napier isn’t concerning himself with hypotheticals as camp dawns.

“I think every good movie, every good story has challenges. We’re right in the middle of this one. I’m hopeful that the things we’ve done to make change will help us perform better,” Napier said. “But I’m going to tell you, I’m a firm believer that sometimes you need to go through struggle, and we’ve done that, and I’m hopeful that it will be rewarding when we do accomplish some things of significance.”

Napier fired his secondary coach and his defensive line after the 2023 season ended. He lost his linebackers coach to Mike Elko at Texas A&M. He re-assigned the team’s strength coach to a player development role and brought in 2 new faces to reinvent the operation.

The offseason has seemingly brought some growth for the Gators’ physical profile.

He also mentioned speed has increased. Said a few guys are running 23 mph (I cannot relate), and many are running 22 mph, more than at his previous stops. Miles said #Gators have really bought in to new program. https://t.co/d9oj4c7U9O
— Scott Carter (@GatorsScott) July 30, 2024

And Napier said Tuesday he hopes the physical changes within his team will lead to more belief within the locker room and on the field on Saturdays. Napier claimed this fall camp will be the most competitive in his tenure at Florida. The Gators have better competitive depth, he said, more experience, and a challenge in front of them.

Seventeen starters are back from last year’s team. Per Bill Connelly’s calculations (which factor in incoming transfers), the Gators are among the top 4 in the SEC in returning production. Napier said there are more than 41,000 snaps coming back.

“I think we went through a little bit of a youth movement in Year 2 in certain parts of our team and we’re reaping the rewards of some of that now,” he said. “We’re really close, and I think we’ve got a core group of veterans that know that. Finish is a word that has been used quite a bit this summer, and I think that element is one of the areas where we can pursue that difference. I think how we train might just be the difference.”

Rather than spending fall camp in a hotel, as they did in previous years, Napier had his team move into Tolbert Hall. He said the staff is trying to create “crossover” relationships with “unique” roommates and build a team.

“I think it’s good for our guys to experience something different. I think it provides an opportunity to be around your teammates during training camp. I think it provides an opportunity to build some character, to some degree, and maybe create some gratitude,” Napier said. “We’re trying to create an old-school feel to training camp.”

The end goal? A group that fights for each other.

“I’m a firm believer that better people are better football players,” Napier said. “We’ll prove that this fall.”

Florida is alongshot to win the conference in 2024. FanDuel has the Gators +10000 to win the SEC, right next to Kentucky on the board. The win total is 4.5, though most of the action there is on the over. The Gators open the season with Miami, they’ll play UCF at home in October, and they’ll play the annual game against Florida State in November. The conference slate features Texas A&M, Tennessee, Georgia, Texas, LSU, and Ole Miss — all teams that currently reside in the FPI top 16.

At FanDuel, Miami is a 2.5-point favorite in the opener. Georgia is a 20.5-point favorite. And Florida State, despite all it lost from last year’s team, is an 11.5-point favorite. The Gators have the same odds as Colorado (+2000) to make the CFP.

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But UF can author a successful season in other ways. At least, Napier can derive success from other areas.

Be more sound. Don’t give away games. Don’t spot Kentucky 23 first-half points. Don’t give Arkansas 10 points in the final 5 minutes of regulation. Florida was within 3 points of LSU in the fourth. It had a lead over Missouri late in the fourth. It took a lead on Florida State into the fourth. But the Gators were awful last season when the offense faced a third down. The defense gave away points like candy in the red zone. Only Temple produced fewer takeaways. No one was worse at preventing explosive plays.

“We’ve gotta go execute our formula. We haven’t quite done that in all parts of our team,” Napier said. “We’d like to work hard and become situation experts. … I do think having veteran players who have been in that system will help in that area.

“I think we need to be aggressive and try to overwhelm people in how we play, with the number of variables that we present and the aggressive approach — how we call the game and how we play the game. And then we need to finish. That’s the last part of the formula is how we finish. That’s what we’re going to focus on over the next month.”

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Derek Peterson

Derek Peterson comes to the Pac-12 after years of serving as a college football beat writer at Oklahoma and Nebraska. He's a firm believer that teams should never punt. Follow on Twitter.

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Gabriel_RTR7 days ago
The Gators suck more than Cojones at a truckstop
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- gatorfan81157 days ago
  Are you giving advice Gabriel ? Sounds like you would be an expert on the subject
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  - docgator6 days ago
    Sure sounds like it, -8115. Classic that the posts immediately above and below your observation rely exclusively on the same meaningless theme, the only difference being that one can spell and the other can’t. Kind of reminds me of how shallow trolls are, whether in-house or from the out-house.
    Regardless, this is the year. Floor of 8-5 and ceiling of 9-4, otherwise we start all over again. The bleeding always stops, just a matter of how and when.
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    - Dawgs20216 days ago
      Where, pray tell do you see 8 wins?
    - StLGator6 days ago
      At a minimum:
      1. Miami
      2. Samford
      3. aTm
      4. at MSU
      5. UCF
      6. Kentucky
      7. LSU
      8. at FSU
      Note that 6 of those 8 games will be played in The Swamp and one of the 2 road games will be vs. MSU, which is starting over with near Vandy’s level of talent.
    - docgator6 days ago
      Emilio, this edition of the Gators is ripe for maturation. So are the coaching missteps of the last two seasons. The talent is there and more on deck. From what I understand, so is the cohesiveness that should translate to turning the corner. Of course, the enemy (referring to opposing teams) always has something to say about all this. That’s life in the fast lane.
      See Also
      Tyler Miles details Florida offseason improvement, strength gains ahead of fall camp 'Media Boys' Pat Dooley, Robbie Andreu take opposite retirement approaches.
      If one is not a Florida fan, one has no reason to be aware of this and still rely on convenient stereotypes owing to it not being in their best interests for the Gators to do so. The time is here: No whining, just winning. No excuses, just execution. Napier is either retained as a hero or goes out as a zero. About as simple as it gets, and I can’t wait. Go Gators!
    - Dawgs20216 days ago
      4 of those I see as sure wins. Kentucky is a probably but certainly not a sure thing. Miami is a who knows and LSU and FSU would be upsets. Take off the orange glasses
    - StLGator6 days ago
      Dawgs21, as the old saying goes, “Nothing in this life is sure other than death and taxes.” However, I believe my forecast above is realistic, given a few facts that are now public knowledge:
      1. 6 of the 8 wins I forecast are at home. Even LY’s lousy Gators were 4-2 at home. This year they’re much better and The Swamp is a real home field advantage, especially vs. a team like Miami, that plays in a half empty stadium.
      2. Based on Phil Steele’s power rankings, UF (at #19) ranks well ahead of Samford, MSU, UCF and UK. They rank roughly equal with aTm, LSU and FSU and behind Miami, who they get in the Swamp, before Cam Ward really gets going.
      3. LY, the Gators had leads on both LSU and FSU going into the 4th quarter, with a squad that was #109 of 134 in returning experience. This year, the Gators rise to #52. LSU is #99 and FSU is #73. Advantage UF.
      If Gator coaches can keep from making bonehead in-game decisions, my 8-win forecast may actually be quite conservative.
      We’ll soon see how it plays out.
  - Dawgs20215 days ago
    Sorry man, 8 wins is not your “floor” and by your logic Kentucky whipped you last year so they’ss probably win this year. The Gators are just not very good anymore lol. 43-20
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    - StLGator5 days ago
      If there’s one thing I’ve learned following college football for 50 years is that every game is its own game and every season is its own season. Past performance is not always indicative of future results.
      BTW, 8 wins is Napier’s floor with Gator boosters IF he wants to hold onto the Gator HC job.
    - Dawgs20215 days ago
      Well he better polish up his resume. And while past performance isn’r always indicative of anything it often gives some pretty strong clues. Bottom Line, the Gators ain’t winning 8 but I do love that they are such now where this would be a successful season for them.
      It was only a few years back that Cojones was on here crowing about Dan Mullen being the second best coach in the conference and yelling abot OMG WE ALMOST BEAT BAMA!!!.
      And Now…
      2008
TDOWTheGreat7 days ago
Ah, to be staring down a $30,000,000.00+ payday and waxing poetically
Napier is the personification of peeked
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- gagatorlakelife6 days ago
  I noticed the Athens Clarke County / UGA Funded Felony Release Program was activated again today. Your resident child beater was the recipient of the Kirby Pay Their Way Out catch and release system.
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  - gatorfan81156 days ago
    Don’t even try fake life .. Td wow may have his ways we don’t agree on, but we all know he is genuine, that would be the total opposite of you .
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  - TrueGrit6 days ago
    No doubt…
    Kirby, the teacher of life, teaching life without, the necessity of experiencing, the hard knocks. There are better things to do, championships to win… your empty soul will understand, trust me.
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    - TrueGrit6 days ago
      Nothing empties one’s soul better than taking a knee…
      to appease the SEC!
Bama Bengal7 days ago
I do believe that they’ll be better than last year, the experience gained by the underclassmen will pay dividends. The week one game will answer a ton of questions we all have, win that one and the season gets pretty interesting
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- mrtruth6 days ago
  There is a bit more intrigue there in terms of Billy’s future going up against another coach on the hot seat. If he starts season three with yet another loss at home, I have to wonder about the mindset of the team. There have to be some doubts creeping in on whether Billy will be back, and if he manages to lose his sixth straight game, those doubts will only grow, as will any faith they have in “the process.”
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  - StLGator6 days ago
    That Miami game is looking more and more like the 2022 home opener vs. then 7th ranked Utah. The spring opening line was Utah by 7. By game time, the line had dropped to Utah by 1. The Gators won that one by 3.
    This year, Miami opens up at #10 in Phil Steel’s power poll. The spring opening line was Miami by 4. Today, the line is down to Miami by 2.5. Who knows what it’ll be by game time a month from now? However, the smart money has been bet on the Gators.
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    - NashvilleGator6 days ago
      StL, as you no doubt know, you have to take ACC contender power rankings with a grain of salt, because the ranking takes into account all the games they’re probably going to win in their soft conference.
      Miami’s projected starting roster is heavy with seniors, and they’re talented on paper, but they were 7-6 last season. Their strength is their offensive line.
      All I can say at this point is that I would rather have our roster than Miami’s. Couple that with the game being in the Swamp and I like the Gators. Both teams will start rusty, adjusting to game speed, but Cam Ward will be in a packed SEC stadium for the first time, with a new team and a new offense.
    - StLGator6 days ago
      I get what you’re saying Nash, but Steele’s preseason power ranking (1-134) is based strictly on 2024 raw squad talent and experience, without considering last year’s W/L record or this year’s schedule. In that power ranking, UGA is #1, tOSU is #2, Miami is #10 and UF is #19.
      I’ve been following Phil Steele since the late 90’s. He’s rarely wrong in his talent evaluations and forecasts.
    - Marshgator895 days ago
      StL, experience and 2-3 years in a collegiate S&C program is a great indicator of the team’s potential. A few outstanding players and solid coaching is the hallmark of bowl and playoff teams. Steele is going with the odds those factors matter more than anything. I have no idea what his success rate is but I would be willing to bet he hits 75+
    - NashvilleGator5 days ago
      I understand Steele’s ranking; it more or less mirrors the 247 Team Talent Composite.
      We’ll be able to see better when the 247 Team Talent Composite comes out, but the 2023 Miami roster was unbalanced with the better talent skewed to the offensive line… much like Florida’s roster was unbalanced with a talent skew to the defense under Muschamp.
      I think our roster talent is quite balanced now.
JKJ7 days ago
“He said the staff is trying to create “crossover” relationships with “unique” roommates and build a team.” What the heck does that even mean?
“I think we need to be aggressive and try to overwhelm people in how we play, with the number of variables that we present and the aggressive approach — how we call the game and how we play the game. And then we need to finish.
Wow. That’s brilliant. I’m sure no coach has ever thought of those things before.
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- gagatorlakelife6 days ago
  It’s called The Process
  Never forget that….The Process
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- mrtruth6 days ago
  Billy is notorious for word salad. As for the overwhelming people with variables, it makes me think of Matt Canada’s weird offense where he would have all this motion before every play and then call a fullback plunge that gained one yard. It got to the point LSU fans were booing LSU’s pre snap motion, which I didn’t blame them for.
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  - Bama Bengal6 days ago
    Matt Canada was one of the first of Coach O’s numerous bad staff hires, O could recruit with the best but whiffed on half of the people brought in to coach and develop.
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- AU Tville6 days ago
  “He said the staff is trying to create “crossover” relationships with “unique” roommates and build a team.”
  Reminds me of the roommate scene from Remember the Titans.
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- Dawgs20216 days ago
  He is trying to recreate the dynamic that existed back when Tim Tebow and Aaron Hernandez were roomates
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  - StLGator6 days ago
    That relationship worked out OK for both guys… while it lasted.
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gagatorlakelife6 days ago
“Finish is a word that has been used quite a bit this summer”
Finished will be a word used quite a bit this fall as another losing season will mean Billy is finished at Florida.
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- gatorfan81156 days ago
  Finished is what you should be fake life . Again how is life in your pop up
  Camper in the Tallahassee trailer park with the rest of your garnet and gold buddies . You are one pathetic piece of work .
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wolfman6 days ago
Celebrated high school football players, when removed from that successful group , can continue to excel in college or they can show how much support they had at home and fall on their butt in college. . AND a college football team is a big group difficult to size up in a few days, especialy in a peer class of 17-18 year olds.
If I was a Florida fan, I’d be encouraged to hear Napier say this but it’s only a first step toward moderate success.
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- docgator6 days ago
  I think you’re exactly right, Wolfman. Star ratings always need to be proven in the new arena – we forget sometimes that at the end of the day they are an estimate of potential based on a sample from a different environment which does not always translate. That they inform little about the intangibles such as “heart”, “attitude”, “maturity” or “character” is one thing, but the new level of competition is the real deal. None of this says in the least that HS ratings aren’t valuable – just that they are not the only proof in the pudding.
  It is what it is for Florida right now. Lots of variables have gone into where we are as a result of cumulative decisions made over the last 12 years, something Mizzou fans are pretty familiar with themselves. For me, it is the length of the draught that portends it possibly becoming an institutional default setting. First step towards moderate success? We’ll take it. The thing is, though, is that something better has to happen around the next corner – or else we start all over again.
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  - StLGator6 days ago
    Neal, there are very few things in life that a 17-18 year-old can be cursed with than a loud proclamation of “high potential” coming out of HS. Talk about something that really messes with their heads. Nick Saban rightfully referred to it as “rat poison.”
    That said, the star rating system is a well established measure of very specific physical attributes that correlate well to football playing potential. As such, it does nothing at all to measure what’s between an athletes’ ears. So, it’s that latter trait that separates the successful blue chippers from the washouts. Napier’s talent evaluation system attempts to ferret out what’s inside a recruit’s head and give it recruiting value.
    That said, over 80% of NFL players were either 4 or 5-star rated coming out of HS and no CFB team ranked lower than 14th in composite star rating has EVER won a NC. So, the star rating system’s excellent performance over the years is not really arguable, on a macro basis.
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    - NashvilleGator6 days ago
      Yup, Bud Elliott’s 50% Blue Chip Ratio rule to win an NC is pretty inviolable. Clemson was at 46% in 2016 but had a generational quarterback and elite receivers.
      Interestingly, though, the percentage of 5-stars who make it to the NFL is about 60%. So 40% are misses.
    - docgator6 days ago
      Emilio: Concur, strongly and with great conviction. I definitely see value in the Star-Rating system and would be hard pressed to suggest a better way as the first tool for evaluation. That said, I also think you nailed it on (a) the potential for a high rating to influence an already immature 18-year-old mind negatively, and (b) the difficulty in knowing “what’s between the ears” until you can test it yourself.
      You’d think I’d be able to predict future behavior a little bit better than most owing to my background – but you’d be as wrong as a left shoe. Forensic science aside, it’s a black box – a 50-50 proposition. Best I’ve ever been able to come up with is an individual’s default setting for autonomic reactivity under various levels of stress, personal background context, and a good old coin toss. Oy vey! For this they paid me money? :)
GatorFanAlways6 days ago
Can’t wait for the season to begin. I have good memories at Tolbert. :)
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ThePalmettoPig6 days ago
Better people better football? That ain’t the UGA recipe and it seems to be working for them!…
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- StLGator6 days ago
  No, it’s not. The UGA formula is to stockpile blue chippers on top of blue chippers, like cordwood, and let them sort themselves out on the practice and playing fields.
  What you’ll find if you dig into the numbers is that the vast majority of the “worse people” at UGA end up washing out and transferring elsewhere.
  However, you must have a documented track record of getting LOTS of talented players to the NFL before you can stack blue chip classes on top of each other, like cordwood. Smart has such a documented record.
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mrtruth6 days ago
“But UF can author a successful season in other ways. At least, Napier can derive success from other areas.”
I truly hope this is not true.
I am concerned, though, at the news Billy has brought back Will E. Coyote as the Game Changer Gadget Game Coordinator. A truckload of wooden crates marked ACME was seen being unloaded at Billy’s office. On the side of the truck, the company motto: “Use Acme brand gadget plays to overwhelm people with the number of variables. 76 percent more effective than actual blocking and tackling!”
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boxster3556 days ago
I think this year’s Florida team has the potential to be good. If they can avoid early, deflating losses then I think Florida might have a good year even with their tough schedule. I wonder, however, about team morale and general program buy-in if they suffer tough losses in Sept and early Oct.
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- NashvilleGator6 days ago
  Box, you are indeed wise.
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  - boxster3555 days ago
    Appreciate it, Nash. The sentiment is definitely mutual.
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- StLGator6 days ago
  The way the Gators’ schedule lays out this season, it’s extremely unlikely for them to have a bad September and still win 6 or more games. I’m pretty sure CBN is aware of that fact. So, if he values his job, he better have those boys ready to roar out of the gate on August 31st.
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GgatorG6 days ago
Too bad we can’t get a better coach
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- docgator6 days ago
  So who would you nominate?
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  - JTF5 days ago
    Didn’t ask me, but Kiffin would be my choice.
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    - docgator5 days ago
      I keep hearing that name as a replacement if it comes to that, JTF – and it sure would be in Kiffin’s best interest to flip to Florida. I even think there would be immediate gains. However,……
      I’d hate to see that, since IMO his liabilities clearly outweigh his assets and it doesn’t appear to me, at least, that there’s been any significant degree of maturation. Were that to happen, I don’t think he’d be there very long in any case – which is the last thing Florida would need at that hypothetical juncture.
      I have no idea what factors were in play for Georgia to hire Kirby Smart to begin with, particularly in the context of having Mark Richt already in place. Doesn’t matter though, since it was probably the best hire any major program has made in the last 35 years since the advent of SOS. Too bad he can’t be cloned, but I would suggest that absent that, he’s the model for what we need if Napier doesn’t turn the corner this year.
    - StLGator5 days ago
      Kiffin may get a call from UF in November IF Napier has another sloppy, losing season this year. The tough schedule he has to play against won’t save him.
    - JTF5 days ago
      IDK DOC, I think he would be very successful.
      Coach Smart was ready to become his own man. Richt had been there 15 pretty fine years. UGA couldn’t let Smart go somewhere else.
    - docgator5 days ago
      Precisely, Emilio. Should that be the case, and if it is indeed Kiffin … most of us will surely support as well. I will too, of course, despite the fact that I simply have reservations about him. Any road let’s all hope for November to roll around with cause for optimism evident to even the most corroded among us.
    - StLGator4 days ago
      For what it’s worth Neal, I believe the Gators have a much better squad this year, top to bottom. Whether that translates into more wins than LY truly depends on the success the new coaches have at improving the overall play of the defense and special teams.
      We’ll have a good idea of which way things are headed by 7 pm on August 31st. So, we don’t have too much longer to wait.
    - Marshgator894 days ago
      30 more days until the weekends of Gator football. I’m excited to see what this season brings for Gatornation.
    - docgator4 days ago
      Thanks for the reminder, Marsh – been so busy cutting trees this last week that I forgot to order cigars! Two boxes of 6×60 La Gloria maduro puros ought to get me though the season and be cured up in time for the Miami game, although I’ll probably smoke half of them the first day just having to put up with the obnoxious Longhorn fans I made the mistake of allowing into the NIL Den last year. Talk about insufferable trolls, give ’em an inch and they make Negan look like a choir boy!
cenflvol5 days ago
Better people make better football players sounds like Better ingredients make better pizza…papa johns. He is starting to sound like butch jones
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Billy Napier: Florida will prove better people make better football players in 2024 (2024)

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