Gators HC Billy Napier Named Dodd Trophy Coach of the Week

Gators head coach Billy Napier earns Coach of the Week honors from The Dodd Trophy following Florida's upset victory over Utah.

The Dodd Trophy, annually awarded to the FBS football coach that "best embodies the three pillars of success: scholarship, leadership and integrity," tabbed Florida Gators head coach Billy Napier as the Coach of the Week for week one on Tuesday.

The honor comes just days after the Gators' football program reset under Napier got off to a fast start in week one as Florida knocked off the seventh-ranked team in the country.

✅ Upset No. 7 Utah in front of the largest opening crowd in @GatorsFB history
✅ Extend UF’s home season-opener win streak to 33
✅ In your first game as head coach@coach_bnapier is our Week 1 #DoddTrophy Coach of the Week! 🐊@PNCBank

📰: https://t.co/ETg39XMkOZ pic.twitter.com/QqYt6QaMea

— The Dodd Trophy (@thedoddtrophy) September 6, 2022

Coming into the season expected to stumble out of the gate due to the rapid turnover, relative lack of great talent and continuing discipline issues as the staff implements their plan to overcome the habits that warrant self-inflicted wounds. 

While the former Lousiana-Lafayette coach called attention to the sloppiness on film, the unit showed significant strides in overcoming those issues that resulted in a 6-7 record in 2021. It led to the monumental 29-26 victory over Utah. In the process, Napier improved his overall head coaching record to 41-12, 35-0 when leading at halftime and 17-3 in one-score games.

The efforts not only resulted in Napier earning the impressive award following his first game day on the job but aided Florida to its largest jump in the rankings in the program's modern history, moving from unranked to No. 12 in the latest AP Top 25 Poll.

The Gators will now shift focus to conference play as they host No. 20 Kentucky on Saturday. The matchup with the Wildcats gives Napier the potential to tackle the rare feat of taking down two ranked opponents in the first two contests of his head coaching tenure.

That game will kickoff at 7 pm ET on ESPN. 

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