Ad Disclosure
Billy Napier discusses Florida’s passing offense, jokes that his wife has told him it needs to improve
By Sydney Hunte
Published:
Florida squeaked past USF 31-28 on Saturday at the Swamp to improve to 2-1 to start the Billy Napier era. While the Gators racked up 217 yards on the ground, their passing left much to be desired: Anthony Richardson was just 10-of-18 for 112 yards while throwing 2 interceptions and 0 touchdowns. That’s after he struggled to a 14-of-35, 143-yard, 2-pick day against Kentucky a week prior.
In fact, Richardson has yet to throw a touchdown this season. That’s not going to cut it, especially as a No. 11 Tennessee team led by Hendon Hooker — who has 5 touchdowns and 0 interceptions — comes to town.
“It’s an area of our team where we need to improve, there’s no question about that. You can tell that. The average fan can tell that,” Napier said, according to On3. “My wife can. She’s informed me of that.”
As far as Richardson’s struggles, Napier pointed to the adjustments Richardson has needed to make not only with an offense that’s different from the one Dan Mullen utilized, but as a first-time starter. He was pleased with how Richardson has been protected, though: the Gators have given up just 2 sacks over the first 3 games.
“I think we have protected the quarterback well to some degree,” Napier said. “There have been a handful of plays where we maybe can do it better, but we haven’t been sacked, and Anthony’s done a nice job making some plays with his legs when it has broken down.”
Sydney is an Atlanta-based journalist who has covered everything from SEC and ACC football to MLS, the U.S. men's national soccer team and professional tennis. His work has appeared on such platforms as SB Nation, Cox Media Group and FanSided.
