Florida Gators, Billy Napier Course Correct on Not-So-Special Special Teams

The Florida Gators special teams were anything but last season, and head coach Billy Napier took steps to make corrections.

Florida Gators kicker Trey Smack will be a key part of an improved special teams unit in 2024. / Matt Pendleton/Gainesville Sun / USA TODAY NETWORK

The special teams unit for the Florida Gators in 2023 struggled heavily last season and received a ton of criticism throughout the year from fans and media alike. They were constantly finding themselves not having enough players or too many on the field, a pair of players on the field having the same number or just failed plays overall.  

It just looked as if they were unprepared, under-coached or had little focus. 

To combat these issues, head coach Billy Napier hired an experienced special teams coach from the NFL ranks. After spending four seasons with the New England Patriots as a special team’s assistant, Joe Houston decided to make the move to Gainesville and take up the role of Senior Analyst GameChanger heading into this 2024 season. 

And we are already seeing him implement something new to a unit that is clearly looking for ways to improve. 

Houston mentioned during his media availability on Tuesday that the Gators are going to be using a launchpad moving forward, which is something they didn’t use last season. 

A launchpad is designed to help special teams with substitutions and communications across punt, block and field goal teams. It is a mat that has 10 circles and one additional spot for the specialist and functions as a “sideline huddle” Houston said. 

Joe Houston says the Gators will use a special teams mat on the sideline this season. https://t.co/YhU9ldXmVq pic.twitter.com/P48Xtbnm5j

— Nick de la Torre (@delatorre) July 30, 2024

Now, this is something that will be very useful for the Gators, but the players themselves are vital as well and the Gators have a good one returning for next season. The Gators will see punter Jeremy Crawshaw (named to preseason All-SEC third team) back in the Orange & Blue in 2024, which is something Houston is happy about. 

“Jeremy Crawshaw is as good of a human as we have in our locker room,” Houston said. “He’s hardworking, competitive and he’s a weapon. His statistics from last year speak volumes to the player he is. You don't lead the conference in net punting on accident. He has the unique ability to flip the field.”

Additionally, it looks as if Crawshaw is happy with the new coaching arrivals as well. 

“Honestly, the more areas we can bring in, the better,” Crawshaw said. “We've come up with some new schemes and new ways to get better on punt so already it's been really good. We've honestly made a really sound punt unit, which I'm really excited for this year."

Furthermore, with analysts now being allowed more coaching duties, the communication between players and the coaches should be more fluid. 

“I was very excited about that because you know the whole job titles and some people could coach and some people couldn’t so it made it very hard to communicate,” Crawshaw said. “It's so easy now. Everyone can just say whatever they need to, when they need to. It's been a very good leap in the right direction."

Along with Crawshaw coming back, the Gators will also have preseason All-SEC kicker Trey Smack for 2024. 

So, it’s clear that the Gators have talent on special teams, but now they have improved coaching to help put it all together.