Napier Updates Gators' Plans in the Midst of Hurricane Milton

With Hurricane Milton set to make landfall in the state of Florida, Gators' head coach Billy Napier shared his plans for the team's prep for Saturday's game against Tennessee.

Oct 5, 2024; Gainesville, Florida, USA; Florida Gators head coach Billy Napier gestures against the UCF Knights during the first half at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images / Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images

GAINESVILLE, Fla.-- With Hurricane Milton set to make landfall in the state of Florida, and much of the West coast, central portion and some of the southern part of the state to be directly impacted, Gators' head coach Billy Napier updated his team's plans for the week.

"Obviously, our thoughts and prayers for all involved with the hurricane," Napier said to open his portion of Wednesday's SEC coaches' teleconference. "Our team, obviously we have a number of players and families that are going to be right in the middle of this thing. So, we certainly are thinking about all involved here. Our team is excited about the opportunity to go play this historic game. We're right in the middle of preparation here. Our schedule will be slightly different over the next few days, but overall, excited about our team, their attitude."

A dangerous Category 4 storm, Milton has caused a mass evacuation of the West Coast of the state, especially the Tampa-area, ahead of its expected arrival late Wednesday or early Thursday. Many of Florida's players come from areas expected to be impacted by the storm.

"We've been touching base with them throughout the entire week, trying to provide them with the most up-to-date information," Napier said. "We have done quite a bit of planning in terms of what they need to be doing here to anticipate what's coming. And then, we'll be there as an organization and athletic department to fully support the players and any family situations that maybe come up. But, there's no question that we'll have a lot of people that will be significantly affected by this hurricane."

Although not expected to directly hit the Gainesville-area as the storm is currently trending south, the University of Florida has taken precautions by canceled classes and closing its offices on Wednesday and Thursday. Napier's Wednesday evening press conference was also canceled, and his Thursday appearance on Gator Talk will not be held in-venue in front of fans.

As a result of the changing university schedule, Napier, who is now dealing with his fourth hurricane in his almost three years as UF's head football coach, has also updated his practice schedule for this week.

"We moved the schedule up today to try to get everyone here sheltered before the arrival of the storm," Napier said. "Tomorrow is a little bit of to-be-determined based off of what time of situation we have when we wake up in the morning. Overall, just moving things up today and then tomorrow, I think we anticipate sliding things back slightly."

With the storm trending towards the southern side of the state, Gainesville has become a quick evacuation destination for those leaving the expected impact area. Napier explained how that has caused hotels to fill up.

"We just got quite a bit of people that are evacuating or coming north here," he said. "Right now, we're outside the eye of the storm, and we're anticipating more tropical storm-type weather."

Napier did not indicate whether Florida's travel plans to Knoxville, Tennessee for its matchup against the eighth-ranked Volunteers will be affected. Kickoff is schedule for 7 p.m. on Saturday. Television coverage can be found on ESPN.