UF legend Emmitt Smith urges Gator Nation to be patient with Billy Napier

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Florida Gators legend Emmitt Smith appeared on SiriusXM’s SEC Radio recently and preached patience to his alma mater’s fan base after a difficult first year under head coach Billy Napier.

Smith knows it takes a while to make real change at the college level and asked Gator Nation to give Napier time to get his guys on the field. Napier worked hard to establish a culture during Year 1 of his time at Florida, going as far as dismissing starting players if there were behind-the-scenes issues. Smith wants to see what a full Billy Napier team is capable of in the Swamp.

“First and foremost, he has to bring in a top-notch recruiting class and has to convince parents that the University of Florida is the right university for their kid. If he can do that and then allow that to translate onto the football field in terms of execution. That means having a quality quarterback, a disciplined organization, young men that are willing to pour into the university and pour into the system and buy into the system that Billy is bringing to the table that can translate to wins on the football field and a competitive spirit on the football field, then we’ll see where things are …”

When @EmmittSmith22 speaks, you listen!

The Florida legend urged Gators fans to be patient with Billy Napier and let him and his staff do their thing.@GatorsFB | @coach_bnapier | @ChrisDoering pic.twitter.com/1RDLosgBtb

— College Sports on SiriusXM (@SXMCollege) January 12, 2023

“… This is his first offseason truly having a full year to bring — to put his staff in place, to have the recruiting coordinators, the talent pool that he has to go out and pick from. Now, he’s competing against Florida State, who had a great year, he’s competing against Miami and he’s competing against Central Florida and Florida Atlantic. The University of Florida has — the field of competition has grown and the talent pool has dwindled because the field has grown in the state of Florida. Then when you tack on what the University of Alabama and Georgia doing what they’re doing, it’s going to be tough.

“So, we have to be patient with Billy and his staff and give them some runway to actually go out and do what we expect him to do and grow the organization the way it needs to be grown.”

Napier proved himself early with a win over Utah to start the year, but he’ll have to lead his team to a repeat win on the road next season to keep pace. There’s been a lot of movement on the roster during the offseason this year, and it’s no coincidence that most of the guys leaving were not brought in by Napier’s staff.

Smith’s plea might go unheard by most fans, but it’s the right approach to any coaching situation similar to Napier’s. He walked into a situation that was worse than he believed when he signed and hasn’t complained while he fixes it. The fans need to give him time, but he’ll have to get the Gators above .500 in Year 2 to keep off the hot seat in 2024.

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By: David Rosenberg
Title: UF legend Emmitt Smith urges Gator Nation to be patient with Billy Napier
Sourced From: gatorswire.usatoday.com/2023/01/13/florida-football-emmitt-smith-billy-napier-patience/
Published Date: Fri, 13 Jan 2023 20:41:27 +0000

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