Florida football players regrouped over the weekend following Saturday's bitter loss to rival Georgia in Jacksonville.
The Florida Gators resembled a MASH unit as the closing seconds tickets off its 34-20 loss to the No. 2 Bulldogs at Everbank Stadium. Freshman quarterback DJ Lagway was on crutches, leg wrapped, after pulling his hamstring in the second quarter. Starting cornerback Devin Moore, who intercepted a Carson Beck pass in the second quarter, also was on crutches with a brace on his knee.
Florida was already down quarterback Graham Mertz (torn ACL), top cover cornerback Jason Marshall (shoulder), receiver Eugene Wilson III (knee) and starting running back Montrell Johnson (knee) entering the game. Yet the 14.5-point underdog Gators kept the score even until two TDs in the final 7:29 of the fourth quarter allowed the Bulldogs to escape with a 34-20 win.
"A very unique group in that regard," Napier said. "Wouldn't have been able to continue to play with the type of effort if we didn't have pretty unique character."
That character will be tested again when Florida continues in the second game of its brutal four-game November stretch on Saturday at No. 5 Texas (noon, ABC). It could get ugly for UF in Austin if a number of players are unable to return.
Napier said players showed up for treatment and voluntary film study at the Heavener Center on Sunday, still intent on wanting to improve and finish off the season on the positive note.
"It's next man up," Napier said. "I mean, we proved that Saturday, and I think it presents an opportunity for some of these guys that haven't maybe got to play as much as they would like to play, and I think ultimately you've got to view it that way.
"I do think in this league with the level of talent, the physicality, the explosive plays it's always going to be that way. You've got to have a deep team, and now in the 12-team playoff it's even more than important than ever."
Last season, when Florida lost 43-20 to Georgia, it sent UF on a five-game tailspin to close the 2023 season. Florida wound up 5-7, failing to make a bowl for the first time since 2017, which put Napier squarely on the hot seat entering the 2024 season.
The seat grew scalding when Florida started the season 1-2 with double-digit losses at home to Miami and Texas A&M. But Florida has shown growth in improving to 4-4 with losses to Tennessee and Georgia going down to the wire.
"The frustrating part throughout the season is we have proven over and over again that we can hang with the best of the best," Florida tight end Hayden Hansen said. "We consistently come up a little short. We have to finish."
Florida received good news on the injury front in that Lagway's hamstring injury is not as severe as initially feared, and that there's a "pathway" for him to return before the end of the 2024 season. Injuries to Wilson and running back Treyaun Webb are more perplexing, given that both were healthy before the bye week against Kentucky and scratched Saturday against the Bulldogs. Both Webb and Wilson have appeared in four games this season, the maximum a player can appear in if they want to be granted a redshirt.
"Tre (Wilson's) injury has been lingering," Napier said. "It's been an issue that he's had for quite a while that we've been navigating. I think at times he's been able to produce and then there will be setbacks. Then Treyaun, obviously we'll have a little bit more specific details for you later this week, but in general it was kind of unforeseen situations there that contributed to both."
Florida may have to turn third-string quarterback Aidan Warner, a preferred walk-on and transfer from Yale, to start against the Longhorns. That and the other health issues are the reasons why Florida enters the week as 21.5-point underdogs. It won't get any easier for Florida after Texas, as the Gators will return to The Swamp for a two-game homestand against No. 13 LSU and No. 12 Ole Miss.
UF may need to pick up a few actual wins -- not moral ones -- to secure a fourth season for Napier, whose record in two-plus season stands at 15-18.
"We were very disappointed in how we started the year," Napier said. "But I think just a group of players -- I have a ton of respect for the group of players. The body of work since the open date I think as a whole I've been pleased with that, and I think the mindset, the competitive spirit, the improvement, the football improvement, I think the tape speaks for itself."
Kevin Brockway is The Gainesville Sun's Florida beat writer. Contact him at kbrockway@gannett.com. Follow him on X @KevinBrockwayG1
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