Can Gators capitalize on season-ending surge? Spring football is first step to getting answers

GAINESVILLE — Florida opens spring practices Thursday looking to build on a four-game winning streak and respectable 8-5 finish after consecutive losing seasons featuring lengthy season-end skids.

Coach Billy Napier enters Year 4 with newfound sense of stability, optimism and a potential star in sophomore quarterback DJ Lagway. He also welcomes 31 new scholarship players, including 26 in the 2025 recruiting class, and several new assistants and analyst.

In the push to maintain momentum, define roles and maximize a talented roster, the Gators will stage 15 practices during six weeks, culminating with the April 12 spring game in the Swamp.

Five things to keep an eye on:

Does coaching staff come together?

The Gators’ fortunes hinge on whether Lagway fully capitalizes on his considerable passing skills in a run-based attack. But Napier did not hire an offensive coordinator to enhance his scheme, instead maintaining play-calling duties while promoting tight ends coach Russ Callaway from a co-OC role.

Steve Spurrier Jr. also joined the staff as another offensive analyst, joining veterans John Donovan and Ryan O’Hara, the team’s quarterbacks coach.

All these cooks in the kitchen now look to concoct some fresh ideas to get the most of out of Lagway. The 19-year-old phenom finished second nationally with an average of 10 yards per attempt, but had a pedestrian 59.9% completion rate and struggled reading zone defenses in a passing scheme lacking sophistication.

Meanwhile, Napier continued his youth movement on defense. He hired Vinnie Sunseri, 33, to replace Austin Armstrong (32), coach safeties and serve as veteran Ron Roberts’ co-defensive coordinator. After Will Harris left for the NFL, Napier hired Deron Wilson, 34, to coach cornerbacks, along with Robert Bala, 38, to coach inside linebackers in place of…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/article/gators-capitalize-season-ending-surge-000000771.html

Author : Orlando Sentinel

Publish date : 2025-03-06 00:00:00

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