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Florida head coach Billy Napier, receiver Aidan Mizell, and tight end Hayden Hansen met with the media on Monday to discuss the loss to No. 2 Georgia and the upcoming game against No. 5 Texas.
BILLY NAPIER
BILL NAPIER: On behalf of the entire football organization, we want to wish men’s and women’s basketball best of luck as they start the season tonight. Coach Golden and Coach Finley obviously have been incredible since I’ve been here and really are very thankful and appreciative of the relationship I have with both of those coaches.
So we have moved forward and begun our prep for Texas. Obviously Texas is a very talented roster. I think from top to bottom in every position. It’s elite height, length, speed, athleticism.
I do think that they have a veteran quarterback, and they have a rebuilt skill group around him and a handful of offensive linemen that have really good experience as well. I do think the returners are dynamic in the kicking game and just in general of the athleticism and the philosophy that they play within the kicking game presents a number of issues so we will have to buttoned up there.
Defensively I’m really impressed with the overall makeup of that group. They’re explosive at every level… first, second, and third level. They have an identity. They have a blueprint. I think they do a good job playing situational football as well. The makeup of the team going on the road to play at their place, obviously the early kick, and given where our team is at, our ability to recenter and begin our preparation will be really important today.
I thought we obviously answered a bunch of questions about the game Saturday after the game, but overall anything you’ve got about that as well, we would be more than welcome to talk about.
Q. How is DJ just handling this situation? He’s heading back to Texas to play in front of his folks and all that, and now that’s not going to happen. I saw a picture of you guys kind of embracing. He looked upset.
BILL NAPIER: Yeah. Injuries are one of the more challenging parts of the profession, coaching and playing, right?
The good news is we’ve had positive information on that front. That is the positive there. We do think that injury is less significant. We do think there’s a pathway for recovery and a return. We did find that out yesterday evening. So a lot of good on that front.
So less significant than we anticipated, and he’s been doing well so far this morning. We have not completely ruled him out, and I think a lot of that will be to be determined as we move our way throughout the week. So that’s a good thing for all involved and certainly for DJ
But I think you’re spot on. I think in the moment there Saturday, obviously off to a good start, excited about being a part of that rivalry game and making his impact on that rivalry. Then I think that he in particular is a great competitor, and he wants to be loyal to his teammates and be available to do his part for the team. So, yeah, I think he was torn up pretty good like you would anticipate.
Q. When you say “not ruled out,” just to clarify, for this week?
BILL NAPIER: Yeah, yeah. We’re going to kind of see how that goes. I think obviously the position that he plays makes that possible. Look, it’s going to be pretty clear-cut once we get to Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, so we’ll know.
Q. Were you surprised with that? Looking at the injury when it happened and the cart coming out, everybody is thinking, Oh, this looks like — usually when that happens, it’s the kind of thing where you are lucky to see the guy again in a year kind of thing.
BILL NAPIER: Yeah. Well, I think, yeah, you just never know. Soft tissue is a strange — I mean, I think it’s a very subjective injury, and this one proved to be that, right?
Ultimately you have to get to the MRI to find out how much damage there is, and that’s what we did. We did the MRI Sunday, got it back last night. So positive news on that front.
Q. You seemed very adamant after the game. You had some fire about the ability for the team to compete with the best in the SEC and Georgia clearly. Do you feel very strongly this program is moving in the direction you want? Obviously you’ve made it on the win-loss column, but do you feel very strongly there that things are on track?
BILL NAPIER: Yeah, I do.
Q. Maybe not the timeline you want, but on track, though.
BILL NAPIER: We all want things faster, right? I mean, I think we all — I think life and football is no different. It tests our patience, but I do think given the dynamic — I just like this team I would say. I like what I have observed from this team since the first open date.
Obviously we were very disappointed in how we started the year, 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.
Q. With the injuries to Devin Moore and Dijon, just what have you seen from some of the freshmen, Jameer Grimsley, Teddy Foster? They are thrust into action in a hostile road environment.
BILL NAPIER: I think they’re capable. I think they’re just green, you know. They’ve got all the traits that you would look for. Some a little more mature than others. I think that’s part of it, but I do think there’s talent there. There’s height, length, athleticism, what you would want to recruit.
That was a deep room that’s been hit with the injury bug, and I think some of the competitive depth that we’ve recruited and developed there showed up. Obviously Cormani continues to get a little bit better. He’s impressed me with how he’s managed it, and I do think that those other guys are capable.
We’re not there yet. We’ll know later in the week. I think both of those guys are in a category they could very easily be available for the game as well.
Q. What kind of temperature are you getting as for how the team is trying to hold together through this kind of rash of injuries? Did you have any team meetings yesterday, today?
BILL NAPIER: Our guys were in the building yesterday. Treatment yesterday. Recovery yesterday. Some voluntary film review yesterday.
I think it’s next man up. 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, right?
So we’ve survived it. I think the quarterback situation probably is the most dire injury. I think all the other positions weave been able to manage it for the most part.
Q. Tre Wilson and Treyaun Webb are two guys that were healthy against Kentucky and then they’re out again. Did they suffer setbacks during the bye week, or what happened there?
BILL NAPIER: Yeah, no, Treyaun — both of which I think Tre’s injury has been lingering. 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.
Q. What’s it take to kind of create the culture where players can pull through these kinds of things and in a lot of cases kind of play for you in a way? I’m sure that’s very gratifying to see.
BILL NAPIER: No, again, I love this group. I think, like I’ve mentioned many times standing up here before, a very unique group in that regard. Wouldn’t have been able to continue to play with the type of effort if we didn’t have pretty unique character.
So just in general here improvement, belief, a certain mindset that you have to have in terms of how you compete, how hard you play. We’ve taken a step forward in that direction.
Q. How do you balance the desire to want Lagway back on the field playing versus making sure he doesn’t make it worse?
BILL NAPIER: Yeah, soft tissue is really — those are the challenging ones, right? I think the position he plays contributes to that, but look, we’re going to exhaust every resource we have.
I think we are very fortunate that we have a great group of professionals that work with our team. Dr. Farmer, all of our orthopedics just in general through UF Health and locally here. We have access to some of the best. It’s a really competitive advantage for our players and our staff. Really all of our athletic teams.
So we’ve got access to really smart people, very experienced people, and I think that’s going to be the key. The sports science piece is a huge element in that regard because we have metrics that can give the player confidence and allow us to make objective decisions at the same time.
Q. Did you pull a hamstring when you were (indiscernible)?
BILL NAPIER: Yeah. I can tell you when it’s going to rain outside. Let’s put it that way.
No, I just think that it alleviates some of the — for me I would say we’re always trying to make the best decision for each individual player and we just have more ways to evaluate it. It’s less subjective. Whereas, concussions are that way. Soft tissue is that way. All the force plate, all the NordBord, the Catapult. We have so many variables that we can look at and say, Hey, this guy is ready to go. The Bio-Dex. There’s a million of them.
It helps the player because oftentimes the injury is mental, right, and I think we can say, Hey, look, you’re back to baseline. If anything, you’re performing better than you did even during training camp, et cetera. So it’s definitely a completely different game for sure.
Q. You said you came out Friday pretty hard on the faking injuries standpoint. Did you feel like that was a problem across the league, and what was kind of your reaction to that?
BILL NAPIER: Yeah, we don’t do it. We don’t believe in doing it. It wasn’t a concern for us, and I’m not aware if any team has done it against us. It was not an issue within our team.
Q. Was it discussed going into the season or during the season, like with the SEC coaches?
BILL NAPIER: It’s been a hot topic for several years now. To the level of which I think they’re proposing fines of that nature and now penalties, right? Yeah, not a big believer in it. I think it’s not something that we needed to review going into the game.
Q. If Aidan does play on Saturday and you mentioned he was put in a tough situation, but fans are going to look at 7 of 22, just maybe ways even as a coaching staff or so forth to get that completion percentage a little higher, ways that maybe you can manage him or navigate him in terms of higher percentage throws?
BILL NAPIER: Yeah, I’m with you. I have the same concerns and same — I mean, I think we always — there’s an element of, Okay, hey, you always have to kind of have some awareness of the things you can control and you can’t control, and then you have to have courage to really take a good look at the mirror at the areas where, Hey, I can do something about that.
But, no, he was the backup, and obviously we were hoping that we didn’t have to go there, but we did, and then Georgia is a stingy operation, and I think they can make it very challenging for you. The coverage and the rush.
Look, the kid did as good of job as he could do. There will be some plays that he would like to have back, but it’s a pretty big stage to trot out there in the middle of that one, which, yeah, I’ve been impressed with him. He won the job back during training camp, late training camp going into week one in the season.
We kind of decided to make him the three. He did not go through spring practice. He did not go through OTAs in the summer. Kind of proved himself during training camp, and really we were dividing reps with that third and fourth quarterback at that point.
Then, obviously, we got to the season, and we made that decision. Now, the three quarterback gets no reps, right? He got reps for the last couple of weeks as the two, and I would say he’s had some really good practices. I think there are some things to be encouraged about.
Q. How will the next couple of days be for Clayton knowing that now he is one play away from being inserted in the game?
BILL NAPIER: I think Clay got a ton of reps in the spring. I think obviously the two spot practices contribute to that, but Clay is very capable player as well. Yeah, he’ll get all the reps with the twos this week.
Q. What’s an ideal scenario — what does a Bill Napier roster look like from a quarterback standpoint? What number of scholarships guys would you ideally like to have?
BILL NAPIER: I would take six or seven if you give them to me. I think there’s a fine balance in there in terms of recruiting to that position. I signed four in one year at Louisiana if that makes any sense. Yeah, I just don’t think you can ever have enough of them.
Now, that being said, we carry four on scholarship typically and a fifth if we were able to, but nowadays there’s a lack of patience, and everybody wants to be the guy. I just think you are always looking for that fourth player. So the right combinations of scenarios that allow you to recruit to that spot.
I think four in a perfect world would be just right, but I think it’s year-to-year. It’s absolutely one year at a time.
Q. How much harder is it now in the transfer portal, and do you find yourself trying to sell if you really like a guy or like a quarterback, or do you understand that it’s just the nature of the beast and they’ll go where they can play?
BILL NAPIER: I think it’s important that you are very honest in the beginning. No promises. I think you’ve got to be very transparent about the current role. I think the team dynamic is very important once they do arrive that they understand where everything is at.
In the recruiting process all these kids on our team I sat in a room with them, their parents at some point in time in the process. So we want to try to do it the same way, and I think we’ve done that.
Q. Shane Matthews on his show this morning he said quarterbacks want the football a certain way, and Aidan really wasn’t preparing the footballs as he would like. I’m not talking “Deflate Gate” here, but I’m talking scuffed up. Some of them maybe like them fresh out of the package. Is there something to this, or was Shane just kind of — it seemed kind of he would know. He is a pretty insightful guy with something like that.
BILL NAPIER: Yeah, I can tell you as a former quarterback, I had a little deal with the managers. I would find one during the week and say, Put that — I would say, Set that one aside, you know, or after a couple periods I would be, like, Hey, that one is out.
I mean, I think the best in the game — Shane Matthews is one of the best quarterbacks in the history of this program, so his opinion — you know, he’s played the game. He’s had a helmet on. He’s laced them up. I think there’s something to it for sure.
Q. Because there was a throw, one in particular, with where he —
BILL NAPIER: I don’t know that that contributed to what happened Saturday.
Q. It looked like it kind of came out of his hand even because he made — Aidan made some sweet throws. There were a few that were very nice, and there were a couple of where it was, like, Whoa, because maybe that — I don’t know. Is there something —
BILL NAPIER: I don’t know that that contributed on Saturday. I promise you Aidan Warner was not thinking about that Saturday, okay? I can promise you that.
Q. Another question, the field, was that an issue? You had a lot of guys slip early. Obviously DJ slipped when he was about to cut on the hamstring. Was the field an issue or the cleats maybe you guys had for the field?
BILL NAPIER: I think it’s week-to-week depending on where you are playing. I think there’s always a little bit of an adjustment. We had some players change cleats after pregame, halftime, some of that, but that’s common at every level of football.
I think it’s something that we discuss. Then obviously equipment helps the players with some of that. I mean, I’m watching Penn State, Ohio State, that’s a completely different surface than maybe what we played on, right? I just think that it’s part of the game. It’s an outdoor game. The surface is always a little bit different, and I think the other team has to play on that same surface. So I think it’s something that we don’t necessarily control, and we don’t spend time worrying about it.
Q. The play of Aaron Gates, I know he is a guy you liked for a while. What did you think of his performance Saturday and how he is coming on?
BILL NAPIER: Yeah, Gates is one of our best football players. Obviously I had a high opinion of him coming out, and he’s big, long. He’s dense. He’s extremely quick and fast. He’s very instinctive, played both ways in high school, was a returner. Incredible parents.
Last year played in the final four games after coming off the ACL. He had an ACL injury his senior year, so we played him in the final four. Redshirted him, and then obviously he’s been able to be — it’s very evident when he is out there. He and Sharif both have done a good job as really young players playing for the first time, but Gates made some really impressive plays on special teams Saturday as well.
Good in coverage, physical, good tackler. Yeah, I’m excited, and he’s got position versatility. I’m not so sure he couldn’t play corner. He could play all five if need be.
Q. I’ve asked you about that before. Because of the injuries if you have to keep putting Bridges at corner, could you see him playing —
BILL NAPIER: We worked him back there in practice a little bit late in the week. So we’re really testing our position flex right now, but —
Q. Played corner too at one point.
BILL NAPIER: Scout team last year he was playing corner. Just trying to get the guy on the field to be honest with you.
Q. Aidan Mizell, you mentioned some of the factors that have gone into him contributing. Is there anything — like you talked about him building up his body and football IQ and all these things. What else is he doing to continue to make strides because he definitely seems to have a knack for big plays?
BILL NAPIER: Well, first of all, he’s extremely fast. I mean, the guy is elite speed. His skill level is improving. Just overall route running, releases, top of route transition. He was a little bit behind from the skill development standpoint, and he has physically matured quite a bit. So I think he’s still getting bigger and stronger.
I think he’s got to improve in his play strength, his overall physicality, his temperament, just as a blocker in general, but I think he’s got some strengths. He fits the prototype, and I think he’ll continue to get better.
I mean, it’s really his first significant year of playing time.
AIDAN MIZELL
Q. You got to tell us, where did you get the nickname from?
AIDAN MIZELL: My dad came up with it when I was young. It’s my initials, AM, like morning, early. It just coincides, so yeah.
Q. A lot of injuries at wide receiver this year. Kahleil, obviously Tre and so forth. How do you feel like you’ve tried to take advantage of your opportunity through that?
AIDAN MIZELL: Not much has changed. Even when they were healthy and everything else like that, I’ve been trying to always put in 100%. When I get my opportunity, I just try to make the most of it.
Q. Just what happened to you in the Mississippi State game? What was the process getting back?
AIDAN MIZELL: I just had a little injury. They just thought it wasn’t the best idea for me to play the next week, and I just trust them. That’s what we did.
Q. You wanted to play?
AIDAN MIZELL: Absolutely. I always want to play. Especially we played UCF next week, hometown team. I was bummed, but it is what it is.
Q. What was it like to have two touchdowns called back?
AIDAN MIZELL: It was unfortunate, but I mean, we got the win. We did our thing, so I wasn’t too bummed out.
Q. What has been kind of just the path to kind of getting on the field for you? Bill has talked about you trying to build up physically, learning how to run your routes more sharply, what the defense is doing. Can you kind of discuss some of the elements that have gone into kind of getting you on the field?
AIDAN MIZELL: It’s really just for me just staying consistent in every aspect, whether that be in the weight room, in the lunchroom, meeting room, on the field. Just staying consistent and just taking the knowledge that my coaches and the staff is giving me. It’s helped me.
Q. What do you think you bring to this?
AIDAN MIZELL: Speed mainly, but (laughing). Yeah, I just think speed, but when the ball is in my hand, I just feel dangerous with the ball. So I feel like I can score from any yard line of the field.
Q. When did you realize that you had kind of special speed growing up?
AIDAN MIZELL: Speed? Probably elementary school. I used to beat — we all used to race, but they used to, like, almost kick me out of the races. There was no point. I was, like, Okay, yeah, that’s cool.
Q. Did you do track early on? Did you do football more?
AIDAN MIZELL: Growing up it was really soccer. That was my main sport growing up. I wasn’t allow to do play tackle football because my mom, she wasn’t going for it. Couldn’t do that. So soccer, flag football.
I was a running back in flag football. I think that’s why I’m a little shifty. Just a lot of things. I did jiu-jitsu, volleyball. Just everything but tackle football.
Q. When did you start playing tackle football?
AIDAN MIZELL: Middle school I played two years, but I was at quarterback. Then high school I made the switch to receiver.
Q. How long did you do track for?
AIDAN MIZELL: Track… like when I was young, we just used to show up to meets, like not for a team. Used to run, have fun. Middle school I ran, but it wasn’t really coordinated or anything, but high school is when — after COVID because my freshman year is when COVID canceled the track season, so sophomore and junior year is when I dedicated myself to track in the spring.
Q. What’s the fastest 100 that you have run?
AIDAN MIZELL: My 100 was 10.6, but I wasn’t really a 100 guy. I only ran the 100, like, three times in high school. I was more of a 400 guy.
Q. What’s the fastest time there?
AIDAN MIZELL: 46 something. 46.9 I think. That was more my event, yeah.
Q. How did you get mom to relent on tackle football?
AIDAN MIZELL: I mean, I just kept asking. It was more of a thing where I kept asking and bugging her when I was young, so she was, like, Fine, when you are in middle school, we’ll let you play. Then middle school rolled around, and she couldn’t go back on her word, so yeah.
Q. Is she a mother hen about that as far as, Hey, you’re my son, don’t get hurt, don’t get hurt?
AIDAN MIZELL: Yeah, absolutely. I mean, especially because me and my brother play. We’re both in season at the same time. She’s deathly nervous during this time. You can tell she’s got a little nerves going on. She loves the game. She loves to see us play.
Q. How much credit do your parents deserve for your speed?
AIDAN MIZELL: 100%. They definitely gave me the gift of my speed. I’ve definitely worked on it and everything like that and gotten faster, but they definitely deserve a lot of credit.
Q. What did they do at UF?
AIDAN MIZELL: So my mom was mainly a 400 runner. She got here and hurt her hamstring, so switched from the 100 to the 400. She was a 100 runner in high school.
Then my dad was a decathlete, so he did ten events. He was a well-rounded athlete. I think he was a better jumper than actual runner, but yeah.
Q. They met here?
AIDAN MIZELL: Yeah, yeah.
Q. Was there any way you were going anywhere but Florida? What was your recruiting process like?
AIDAN MIZELL: I didn’t get my first offer until midway through junior year, which was UCF ironically. Yeah, was going through the process. I wasn’t trying to — I was trying to make it more of a business than, you know, like a personal decision. So I tried to rule out just, yeah, family ties and everything like that, but it was just the love for the campus, the family feeling. Everything just brought me here.
Q. How much was weight a challenge for you early on trying to get to the weight that you — they wanted you at or that you needed to be at?
AIDAN MIZELL: I mean, I’ve always been a smaller guy, a skinnier guy. It was difficult, but just consistency.
Q. What did you come in at, and where are you at now?
AIDAN MIZELL: I can’t remember what I came in at. I was tiny. I don’t remember. I’m about mid-180s right now.
Q. Were you in the 60s, 50s?
AIDAN MIZELL: Yeah. Probably 167. Yeah, I was 160 probably.
Q. I guess from freshman to redshirt freshman year, your first two years, Bill talked about route trees and stuff like that. What was that process like translating your speed to football speed?
AIDAN MIZELL: It was just something — I haven’t played much receiver I guess as a lot of guys have here. It was just putting in work just doing the little extra stuff that really helped me out.
Q. Your senior year I think you got hurt your first game.
AIDAN MIZELL: Yes, sir, first play.
Q. That first play. Yeah, I remember reading that you were — one of the analysts was saying if that hadn’t happened, you would have been pushing for maybe a five-star ranking.
AIDAN MIZELL: Yeah.
Q. How much did that set you back in your confidence, in just kind of getting here ready because you seem — now you’re blossoming, but it took a little while?
AIDAN MIZELL: Yeah. It was hard just finding out the news that I wouldn’t be able to play senior year. Everyone looks forward to that senior year.
Q. First play?
AIDAN MIZELL: First play, yeah. When I got here spring ball, last time I really had played football was my junior year playoffs, so it had been a minute. There was a big just — I don’t know. There was a big change with athletes and everything like that, but it just took time, but I feel like I’m here now.
Q. I’m sorry I stopped you. You said, it was very disappointing.
AIDAN MIZELL: Yeah.
Q. How did you kind of get through that process and make the decision to come here and then kind of get here and feel like you were behind?
AIDAN MIZELL: Yeah. At first my decision was to — I wasn’t going to enroll early. I was going to go through and run track because I love track, but once I found out I got hurt, I was, like, Oh, maybe it would be a better decision to get here, you know, get in, learn the system, get the treatment here. That just wound up being my decision. My family played a big part in my decision, but —
Q. Did you feel behind for a good while, and then when did you feel like you finally caught up?
AIDAN MIZELL: I don’t think I ever felt like behind-behind, but I felt like, Oh, yeah, these people can ball. I have to step up my game.
Q. You go from Graham to DJ and then you seem like a perfect fit for DJ and his deep ball acumen, and now you’re trying to get to a third quarterback, get comfortable. What’s that challenge like to go from week to week to week to a different quarterback?
AIDAN MIZELL: I feel like at least for me it’s not that difficult because in practice we always run like a multitude of quarterbacks. I have caught balls from every quarterback on roster. Obviously I’ve caught more with DJ and Graham, but I know Aidan. Me and Aidan have played. He’s from Orlando. We’ve caught balls together. He’s thrown against me. Then Clay. Everyone is — it makes it easy to have the switch-up.
Q. A moment you had in the Florida-Georgia game, 42-yard touchdown pass, 43. What kind of confidence do you think that could give you for the remainder of the season?
AIDAN MIZELL: Oh, absolutely. Just going against a rival, high-ranked team, it definitely gave me great confidence, but I always knew I had it in me. Just showing everyone else, it was real nice.
Q. Have you thought about running track here at all?
AIDAN MIZELL: I haven’t yet. I’ve debated about running track, but there’s no decision for right now.
Q. I have to ask you, always a hot topic in the offseason be, but fastest guy on the team, your name has been brought up a couple of times. Have you had any races with Tank? How does that go in the offseason? Did you go off the numbers you put up in workouts, or do you all get together and actually race?
AIDAN MIZELL: We usually just go off the numbers we put up in workouts. Me and Tank, especially this summer, we were going back and forth because we had different lift groups, right? So he would lift in the morning, and I would lift later in the morning. We would just always go back and forth.
Real fast dude. I’m a real fast dude. So it’s just good to have that competition.
Q. So miles per hour on the treadmill?
AIDAN MIZELL: Yeah, yeah. We have it on our little Catapult, and we’ll do sprints. Did you say what was it?
Q. Is it 23?
AIDAN MIZELL: His was 23.1. Mine was 23.2, so…
Q. At 23 in the offseason, though?
AIDAN MIZELL: Yeah, it was built up. I think it was really through us pushing each other. Yeah, just me hearing — like, I would show up to the weight room, and the weight coaches be, like, You heard what Tank ran? I was like, That’s smooth, just wait to what I show you what I got. You know what I mean? There was always that competition and drive. We used to joke around with each other.
Q. At some point would you like to line up against him?
AIDAN MIZELL: I’m always down. Yeah, yeah.
Q. Do you want to race him in a 40-yard or 100 meter?
AIDAN MIZELL: It doesn’t matter. I feel like we’re both track guys. We can go one or 40. It don’t really matter.
Q. Would you take yourself?
AIDAN MIZELL: Oh, yeah, always.
Q. We need an answer. You committed and signed holding a pair of live gators. How did that happen? Where did you get them from?
AIDAN MIZELL: Once I told my parents that I wanted to go to Florida, my dad was, like, All right, we got to do it big.
I’m, like, Okay.
Then one day we’re in the car. I can’t remember where we were going, but we were in the car driving, and it just hits him. He is, like, I’m going to get you some Gators.
I was, like, Ha, ha, ha, real funny.
The day of the commitment, I had to get there early. We set it up and everything. My dad takes me to this back room, and he was, like, You’ve got to practice. I’m thinking, What am I practicing for? You know what I mean?
I hear hissing in a bag. It’s like whipping. There’s like this little Gatorland lady. She had to teach me how to hold them. I thought we were just going to do one. He’s like, Got to go big. So I do both.
Yeah, it was definitely an experience.
Q. Were you scared at all?
AIDAN MIZELL: Yeah, I think the gator was more scared than me, to be honest because when I walked out, I walked out, and as soon as everyone started screaming, they both just started peeing all over me. Yeah, it was not — it was not the best option.
Then I just try to keep it cool and everything like that. Made sure no one noticed, but when I handed it to my brother because once I start speaking to the mic, I had to put the hat on, but a little occupied. So I handed it to my brother, and it starts peeing on him. He starts to freak out in the back. Yeah, it was definitely a cool experience.
Q. You had a long-sleeve on?
AIDAN MIZELL: No, short-sleeve. It went straight down the arm, straight on the pants, yeah.
Q. Did you manage to keep your composure pretty well? That’s a stressful thing.
AIDAN MIZELL: Yeah.
Q. If you can be composed through that, what is it to go to Texas?
AIDAN MIZELL: Yeah. Football is nothing new.
Q. When you committed to Florida, who was your second?
AIDAN MIZELL: It was between Florida, Bama, and Tennessee.
Q. Would have had trouble with an elephant.
AIDAN MIZELL: Yeah. Yeah, elephant would not have been fun.
Q. That 41-yard touchdown with DJ at Stanford, that play, that was a pretty — it might have been the best highlight play of the season offensively from my perspective. What happened on that play? What do you recall about that one? You were blanketed.
AIDAN MIZELL: Yeah, I had a little — basically like a hitch and go, and I seen the dude was real off. I really tried to sell the hitch route, and he didn’t bite at all. I just got out of it and just tried to be as fast as I can.
I couldn’t really see much because the line, the way they shifted, and then the DBs in front of me. So I can’t see much. I hear something in the crowd. Everyone goes, Oh, and I look up, and the ball is just spiraling. It’s a perfect ball, so I just ran under it. Yeah, it was a great ball.
HAYDEN HANSEN
Q. Seeing DJ going down on Saturday did it take a little bit of the wind out of the sails even though you tried to rally around Aidan?
HAYDEN HANSEN: It’s unfortunate knowing how hard everybody in this program works and plays. It’s tough to see guys like that go down.
Obviously just happened to Graham not long ago, and seeing DJ in had that same spot, it’s frustrating. In this league, as tough as it is, you have to have the “next man up” mentality. That’s what we prepare for in practice every day day in and day out.
Q. What was it like seeing Aidan’s progress over the last, what, not even two months since he’s been able to take reps in practice? What have you seen out of him?
HAYDEN HANSEN: It’s crazy. He plays fearless. He came from Yale as a true freshman. He didn’t get any playing time there. He comes here to the SEC, and he finds himself in the Florida-Georgia game.
He stepped up, man. He was put some in the spotlight. I can’t even imagine what was going through that guy’s head. I have a lot of respect for him. He left it all out on the field. We’re going to rally around him this week and go out there and compete.
Q. Bill said there was a lot of players in for meetings yesterday. How do you sense you are holding together through thrash of injuries and so forth and knowing the disappointment of the Georgia game as hard as you guys have played?
HAYDEN HANSEN: I feel like the frustrating part throughout the season is we have proven over and over again that we can hang with the best of the best. We consistently come up a little short. We have to finish.
I think Napier said it best. I felt like in that locker room — I’ve been here for three years, and this is the first year where there was complete belief we can go out there and play with that team. I think it showed, and I think we fought over and over again.
I think a lot of these meetings that were going on today are just players getting on the same page, taking the younger guys that are going to have bigger roles under their wings. I feel fairly confident. This team has always had depth. I think everyone knows that. I’m excited to see some of the new guys that get their chance. It’s going to be fun to watch.
Q. Going back to your home state. A lot of family and friends. What are the emotions going to be like?
HAYDEN HANSEN: I can’t wait. It’s my first time going back to Texas playing. I have a little chip on my shoulder. I’m going to have a lot of family I haven’t seen in a while down there, so I’m going to play my butt off for them.
Q. Were you a Texas fan? Can you tell the fans about the whole “hook ’em” experience and all that kind of stuff?
HAYDEN HANSEN: I wasn’t a Texas fan growing up, but I do know about Texas fans, and they are crazy, man. I know you saw some of the clips of trash being thrown on the field. That’s not even the half of it. I mean, they’re pretty crazy down there, but I would love nothing more than to go in there and get a win.
Q. You talked about the new guys getting their chance. What’s the injury situation been like? Is it just stunning to see this many guys go down and filling up the training room?
HAYDEN HANSEN: Yeah, you never want to see injuries happen, especially the number we have now. We have the best trainers in the world, so they’re going to go in there and get their bodies straight.
I mean, you always have to prepare. One day like Clay Millen, for example. One day you’re not even thinking you’re going to play, and then all of a sudden you’re up. You’re the second man up, or who knows what’s going to happen this week? You just always have to stay ready in this league.
Q. You were a quarterback in high school. You’re not pushing for any reps in practice?
HAYDEN HANSEN: I can see myself being the emergency QB3 this week. Put me in there; I’ll let it fly. So we’ll see. I would love nothing more than that.
Q. The confidence, fearlessness standpoint from Aidan, what stands out to you about his game? What does he do well? I know Saturday’s performance wasn’t what he desired it to be, but what impresses you about what he’s able to do?
HAYDEN HANSEN: Yeah, he always keeps a calm, cool composure. That’s what I respect about him the most. He looks comfortable in the pocket.
In my opinion I think he’s a true pocket passer. He’s going to stand back there as long as he can and deliver accurate throws. When he needs to use his legs, he can.
It’s just been crazy. I’ve seen how much he’s developed in such a short time, and my confidence has only grown watching him get thrown into that game and not cracking under pressure. That’s not for everybody now, you know? I was proud of him.
Q. What’s your ticket demand this week?
HAYDEN HANSEN: I’ve been scavenging around the locker room getting a lot of tickets. I’m at about 50 right now.
Q. Is that enough? Is 50 going to do it?
HAYDEN HANSEN: Hopefully. I’m going to see. I’m going to guess maybe 65 will be the max.
Q. Who is going to get to see who doesn’t normally get to see you?
HAYDEN HANSEN: I have family down in San Antonio that I haven’t got to see a lot because you miss Thanksgiving and stuff here. I’m going to get to see them. A lot of my friends and boys that are at college, like A&M, they’re all spread out, they’re all going to come together. Obviously my parents, my sister. Yeah, it’s going to be a really fun time, and I’m really excited to see all those people.
Q. Does Aidan’s intelligence level, does it stand out in some way to you? He went to Yale. I know this isn’t a chop liver school, but Yale, getting into a school like that is extremely difficult.
HAYDEN HANSEN: Yeah.
Q. Do you notice it? Is he kind of a brain?
HAYDEN HANSEN: When I was in high school, Yale was recruiting me. That whole recruiting process was interesting. They’re a little different from everyone else. They can different things. They expected different things. They were more GPA first and stuff like that.
Just knowing that he went through all that, checked all their boxes in the classroom and stuff, you’ve got to be bright. I mean, talking to him, I’m not in their meeting room and what not, but he picked this playbook up pretty fast. My true freshman year, that was a big reason why I redshirted because I wasn’t confident enough to go out there and execute over and over again. Him being a quarterback true freshman coming in here and picking it up that fast and being able to play, I think that speaks levels to his intelligence.
Q. Does he sit in the locker room reading French poetry or —
HAYDEN HANSEN: (Laughing) I don’t think I’ve ever seen him read anything, but to each their own.
Q. Was it ever serious going to Yale or not?
HAYDEN HANSEN: I was until I figured out you can’t get like a sports scholarship. You would have to pay, and that was out of my budget, so yeah.
Q. You said they ask you different questions. Did anything stand out?
HAYDEN HANSEN: Yeah, some of what they were talking to me about was how they would like look at your body. They do these blood tests and have these machines that read different parts of your body and stuff like that about what side you strain with more and stuff like that. It was just stuff like that I had never heard before. It was pretty cool, and they were talking about the academic side and everything else.
Princeton was the same way. I talked to Princeton I think junior year, but it was really unique down there. It’s really cool people. Even Joey, like Joey — you are speaking of French poetry. I have seen Joey — he writes in his journal almost every day. He goes and meditates bare foot on the field. So, yeah, the guys that come from there, they’re sharp for sure.
Q. Going back to the pregame Florida-Georgia, what specifically — you said this was the first time you really felt like you guys could compete with them. What specifically was being said, or what was the attitude, mindset? Can you just take me back to that a little bit?
HAYDEN HANSEN: These past three weeks — I mean, I know we didn’t get the result we wanted to in Tennessee. We came up a little short, but I think that was the turning point. Obviously we came off a win against Mississippi State too, but we were expected to do that.
We go into — they were probably 7 at the time going into their place, one of the loudest stadiums I’ve ever been in. There’s no moral victories, but we should have won. Didn’t, but we took what we needed to from that game.
Went played condition Ken. Gave them all we had. Almost put 50 on them. We saw how they played Georgia. I think that gave us even extra hope. Going into that game I just think the way we practice, it’s so physical. It’s just over and over. Even to this point in the season it’s physical. It’s a fight in the trenches for Tuesday and Wednesdays.
I think that just rolls over into Georgia. We were watching film on their front seven and stuff. Listen, I go toe to toe, head-to-head with Jack Pyburn every single day. There’s not going to be an end in this country that hits me harder than that dude does. I promise you that.
Q. Do you take that mindset into Texas? Obviously another top-5 ranked team. It’s going to be pretty hostile environment. How do you guys take that we believe we can win, us against the world mentality?
HAYDEN HANSEN: It just kind of goes back to “spot the ball.” All the media can talk. The rankings can talk. Spot the ball, and let’s find out. Why not us? Why can’t we be the top-5 team?
I think we go in there, we play Georgia, play Tennessee, and we’re going to get the result we want. We have to clean up these little things. We have to raise our play for Aidan. Tight ends, the receivers, the running backs, the O-line, the defense, we all have to come up and help Aidan out. We’re going to take that with a lot of pride.
Q. Does that say a lot about where the program is at under Coach Napier going into year four?
HAYDEN HANSEN: We’re playing for him, and that’s one thing that I have kind of seen misconceptions of. This locker room is playing for him and playing hard. There’s belief still. There’s belief. We’re going to go out and try to win out, get bowl eligible, win the bowl game, and carry over this big momentum into next season.
I mean, I think there’s been huge strides since the first two years, so…
Q. Was there any particular turning point this coming season when you guys just decided things had to click, when talking about the attitude of wanting to win out? Is there any particular moment, game, practice, week where things just clicked for you guys?
HAYDEN HANSEN: Yeah, for sure. I would say it started the first bye week. The first bye week Napier divided up the whole team into orange and blue team, and for that whole bye week we just competed every day. It was a points system. Losers ran at the end. It was just fun.
We forgot about all the narrative. We forgot about how we started the season. We just came together and competed. All we cared about was winning for our team. That was kind of the emphasis.
Then the second bye week we did it again. I was just, like, you know, we’re having fun. We’re going to go out there and play like this. Play stress-free. Ever since then is we’ve just proven it to ourselves that we can hang with the best of the best.
We’re going to be a dangerous team moving forward.
Q. You said Jack Pyburn, he talked to us last week. I was joking with how big his neck is. The guy definitely looks the part. What is his mentality? Have you seen a guy with a motor like him? He seems to kind of raise the level of defense a little bit in terms of effort?
HAYDEN HANSEN: Yeah, that guy I have not seen a motor like him. He’s just — he’s different. He’s a hard worker. He’s going to give it all for his team. He was just waiting for that green light. When he got the starting spot, he took off with it.
I’m proud of him. I came in with him. I used to be his roommate when we first got here. I’ve seen the growth too. Obviously he was one of those guys that went down last year with an ACL, and that was unfortunate to see, but that was probably one of the quickest turnarounds I’ve ever seen with an ACL injury. That’s how bad he wanted to come back.
Just him coming back, seeing him excel now, I’m proud of him.
Q. One year tomorrow that he injured it.
HAYDEN HANSEN: Really? Really? That’s insane.
Q. November 5th I think.
HAYDEN HANSEN: That’s insane.
Q. Might have been the 4th actually. It was one year ago today.
HAYDEN HANSEN: That’s insane, man.
Q. I think he has almost 50 tackles.
HAYDEN HANSEN: The guy is going to give it his all, that’s for sure.
Q. 24 hours ago people were saying DJ Lagway is probably on the shelf for the rest of the season, and then Bill came in and said, There’s a chance. When did you all hear that he might be up, and when you first saw that injury, did you think, uh-oh, you know, he’s gone? Did that sort of lift up the team at all knowing maybe he might come in back, and how surprised are you to get that given what was going on Saturday?
HAYDEN HANSEN: Yeah, for sure. Yeah, seeing him go down, it was kind of just like a punch to the chest. I know about as much as you know right now, but knowing that there’s a chance he comes back, it excites me. He’s a great player. I’ve never seen a deep ball like that guy.
He’s going to be very special whenever he does come back, but yeah, God speed, I hope he comes back fully healthy. We would love to have him back this year. If not, we’re going to rally around Aidan or Clay or whoever it is, and we’re going to win some games.
Transcripts courtesy ASAP | Videos courtesy GatorVision & YouTube
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