Column: Napier Touts Special Teams Boost, Yet Gators Can't Execute the Basics

Billy Napier touted Florida's special teams improvement four weeks through its 2023 season, despite its continual struggle to accomplish the basics.

Photo: Florida head coach Billy Napier; Credit: Alex Shepherd 

GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Florida has committed at least one baffling special teams error in every game this season, and has produced at least four perplexing special teams blunders in three separate games. 

Ask Billy Napier about these issues, though, and he'll find a way to look at them positively. Or he'll act like they aren't real.

Napier took both approaches following Florida's 22-7, Week 4 victory over Charlotte, the latest contest in which UF's special teams woes were on full display.

While Napier propped sophomore Trey Smack up for his debut performance as UF's starting placekicker — Smack made 5-of-5 field goals in place of former starter Adam Mihalek, who is 1-of-3 on field goals and 4-of-5 on extra points this season — he deflected when asked about the Gators' multiple penalties and instances of being undermanned on the field in the third phase of the game. 

Napier first challenged a reporter to name the penalties, even though both were listed in the game book provided to the head coach after the game. Upon receiving an answer, Napier then challenged the game's referees, suggesting Robinson's block in the back flag was "up for debate" before making an egregiously false claim that "there's very rarely an NFL return that doesn't have a penalty." 

Reminded of the fact that Florida twice had 10 men on the field against Charlotte in a follow-up, Napier, who had not yet rewatched the contest, first incorrectly claimed the observation wasn't true pertaining to the 55-yard field goal attempt.

"Not the field goal, we didn't have 10 out there for the field goal," he said at the time. 

Napier then called the absence of an 11th player on his punt return unit "okay," providing context that UF was not prepared for a punt as a third-down sack pushed Charlotte out of field goal range and into fourth-and-long territory.

The excuses don't fly, especially considering how often Florida has made similar mistakes in the first four weeks of its season. 

Count 'em up.

@ Utah

• Punt return holding penalty on tight end Tony Livingston
• Punt return illegal substitution penalty on cornerback Jason Marshall Jr. (two players wearing the same number)
• 31-yard missed field goal by kicker Adam Mihalek
• 21-yard punt by punter Jeremy Crawshaw
• 8-to-9 players on the field for Utah's missed 55-yard field goal

vs. McNeese State

• Missed extra point by Mihalek due to a high snap by long snapper Rocco Underwood 

vs. Tennessee

• Kickoff offsides penalty on wide receiver Ja'Quavion Fraziars (first play of the second half)
• 46-yard blocked field goal for Mihalek
• Blocked extra point for Mihalek
• 10 players on the field for Tennessee's first extra-point attempt

vs. Charlotte 

• Punt return holding penalty on Fraziars
• Punt return illegal block in the back penalty on linebacker Jaden Robinson
• 10 players on the field for Charlotte's missed 55-yard field goal
• 10 players on the field for Charlotte's touchback punt

And after the Gators' underwhelming win over Charlotte, Napier seemed to be more willing to acknowledge some of his team's blunders and walked back some — but not all — of his original responses on Monday.

"I do think we met every goal in special teams in the game outside of the two penalties," Napier opened, before eventually retracting his original comment about Robinson's flag.

"I think the block in the back, Jaden, it is a bang-bang play. It is a technique-choice decision. He's trying to do exactly what he's coached to do, but it's right there in the gray area. Is it a block in the back? Probably from the guy who threw the penalty, he viewed it that way. I would say it was a good call. I do think it's close. Jaden Robinson is very close to doing exactly what he was coached to do. The good thing is later on in the game, he's in a very similar situation, and he did it exactly right. No one's more conscientious than that kid. Look, those things are going to happen." 

Pressed again about failing to put 11 players on the field, Napier continued to avoid the reality that Florida was undermanned on Charlotte's field goal try. Regarding the punt return snafu which he first described as acceptable with context, Napier provided additional — albeit confusing — details.

"Again, it was very similar to another situation we've had this year where significant loss of yardage on the play. So is it the kicker? Is it the punter? The returner is the missing piece there," Napier began before suggesting Florida was prepared for a punt but unsure which coverage to be in. 

"We're in a grouping where we can go safe or rush," he said. "We think it's safe, and then we pull a returner off and it's rush. So, we're one short."

The first half of Napier's answer, unideal as it might be, is at least sensible. Swapping the field goal block team for the punt return unit on a moment's notice creates room for an occasional mistake, sure.

But the second half of Napier's answer veered in another direction, similar to his original responses. The Gators knew they were facing a punt, and in an attempt to establish the coverage unit, they forgot to field an 11th man. 

It took Napier two press conferences and five special teams-based questions from reporters to finally offer the following critical analysis of the unit on Monday. 

"I think we're getting better specialist play. Saturday was a step in the right direction. I thought all the operations were really good ... I think we've got to eliminate some of these communication errors, game day operation errors, much like you guys have talked about," Napier conceded on Monday. 

"But I do think that — I believe it's an area on our team where we have a chance to continue to improve because of the personnel that's out there playing."

Well, improvement only starts when 100% of the required personnel are out there playing. 

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