What Florida HC Billy Napier said about Arkansas
Florida head coach Billy Napier began his second season with the Gators this year after leading his team to a 6-7 overall record last season that included a loss in the Las Vegas Bowl against Oregon State.
After starting the 2023 season off with a loss to Utah, Florida followed that up with three straight wins over McNeese State, Tennessee and Charlotte. The Gators then dropped a game to Kentucky before beating Vanderbilt and South Carolina. Last time out, the Gators suffered a 43-20 loss to No. 1 Georgia.
The Razorbacks and Gators haven't played since Sam Pittman's first year as head coach in 2020. Played in Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, Arkansas did its best to keep up with a dynamic Florida offense but eventually lost 63-35 with interim head coach Barry Odom on the sideline while Pittman recovered from Covid-19.
This season, Florida starting quarterback Graham Mertz has completed 75.9% of his passes for 2,127 yards and 14 touchdowns to just two interceptions. Since the loss to Kentucky, Mertz has completed 85-118 passes (72%) for 907 yards and eight touchdowns with zero interceptions.
Leading wide receiver Ricky Pearsall is a dynamic playmaker that has caught 50 passes for 718 yards and three touchdowns. He had one of the most ridiculous catches of the year against Charlotte, which can be seen here.
Here is everything Billy Napier had to say in his Monday press conference about Arkansas ahead of Saturday's game in Gainesville, Florida, which is slated to kickoff at 11:00 a.m. CT and will be available to watch on ESPN2:
On Arkansas' offensive coordinator change affecting preparation:
Napier: Yeah, I think it's a big part of the story this week relative to the prep. They made a change in the offseason. Obviously Kendal Briles made a move to go to TCU that brought Dan Enos in, and that was a wholesale change.
So I do think that's an element of the game and I do think ultimately for us, we're going to have to find the right balance of prep in terms of what we expose the players to but also what we're able to adjust to in the game.
On Kenny Guiton and Sam Pittman:
Napier: So, Coach (Kenny) Guiton will be calling it this week and he has experience with Kendal in the past. Certainly played quarterback at Ohio State, so what flavor do we get? With an open date, I think that magnifies that a little bit.
But, Coach Pittman is an offensive line coach, his teams are tough. And certainly I think there will be an element of that. He'll have some imprint on the offense.