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- OTM: Is there a path to a fourth year
- Ranking UF’s commits from least to most likely to jump ship
BILLY NAPIER
Opening statement
“The first thing would be I have a ton of respect for the young men in that locker room and the way they competed in the game. They were prepared and in the right frame of mind, and attacked it. I do think they played extremely hard; played with passion. All three parts of our team. Certainly, the tale of the tape is the missed opportunities in the first half on offense. We had many opportunities to score points and left a ton of points out there. Couple short-yardage situations. And then obviously the sneak, fumble on the one-yard line. But defensively, man, I have to say, our guys kept us in the game. I thought we had a great plan. We kept the routes in front of us. We played really good on the
perimeter. I thought we did a nice job creating some negative plays. And then, obviously, did a good job on conversion downs and able to affect the quarterback. What a game. Obviously, had a few injuries there. And then, certainly, Graham [Mertz] getting banged up was a big part of the game. And then DJ obviously rose to the occasion and got us back in it there with a big throw at the end to tie it up. I just think we left a lot of opportunities on the field in the first half in terms of points. And ultimately, this was one of those games where the margin was really small. Our staff had the team ready to play. Thought we had a good plan. I think our kids fought their tail off. I have a ton of respect for that. We made some plays in the kicking game. Obviously, had the miscue right before half. There’s no question that we had a substitution issue there, but we would not be in the game without the special teams’ performance. Those punt returns were critical. I certainly thought we had control of the field position throughout.”
On electing not to go for the two-point conversion after Tennessee’s timeout
“Well, we had a play that we felt good about. And then, obviously, they burned their timeout. I think we felt, from the three there, that we were playing pretty good on both sides of our team at that point in time, so we felt like, let’s go play overtime. We give our guys a chance to play some more plays. I thought defensively, we kept ourselves in it. Wasn’t quite ready to do that at that point in time.”
On having 12 men on the field at the end of the first half
“It was relative to an injury, just to be cut and dry. It was a substitution error based off an injured player that stayed on the field. That’s exactly what it was.”
On the status of the injuries to Graham Mertz and Montrell Johnson Jr.
“I think it’s tough. Obviously, Graham played phenomenal in the game, in my opinion. I thought he was lights out. Really prepared well. He came to play. He does have an injury. Lower-body injury. We’ll give you some updates on that once we get to next week. But, it was significant enough that he couldn’t complete the game. Montrell Johnson was in that category as well. Wasn’t able to return. And then, R.J. Moten had an injury. That was a little bit of a setback.”
On whether he still believes the team is improving after the loss
“I would think the defensive performance and then just our ability to move the ball throughout. We had opportunities in the red area. I think we’re 3-of-6 in terms of scoring opportunities. Ultimately, that was the tale of the tape. Fumble on the one-yard line. Third-and-one, we get stopped. Forced to kick a field goal. We got for it on fourth-and-one, great play by their corner running over the top. Great tackle. And then we missed the field goal in overtime. Technically speaking, just a ton of missed opportunities in terms of points in the first half.”
On what stood out to him about the UF defense
“Well, we played with good gap integrity. I thought the line of scrimmage, on the edges, we tackled well. We mixed in the pressures. We were able to create some negative plays. We made some long-yardage situations. And then ultimately, we were able to get off the field. We were pretty good on conversion downs throughout the day. Defensively, we kept ourselves in the game. We had a chance to really take control of the game in the first half, and we missed on those opportunities.”
On what he saw from Jadan Baugh and the running backs in Montrell Johnson Jr.’s absence
“Those guys are all capable players. Jadan, Ja’Kobi [Jackson], those are rookies, right? But, I do think that they’re both very capable. Certainly, Jadan has already done some good things this year, and we have a ton of confidence in both players. They practice the right way. They have character. They’re smart, they’re tough and they’re productive. So, we’re going to continue to give those guys the ball.”
SHEMAR JAMES
On the team’s defensive improvements
“It was great for us, to see the improvements week-to-week. It starts in practice, going against the offense each and every day, they make us better. It was great to see the product get put on film.”
On what has powered the defensive turnaround
“I would say it’s the competitiveness at practices. The support staff that helps us get better, each and every day. It’s a bunch of hands-on learning, and like I said, going against this offense each and every day, they make us better. We make each other better.”
On what he saw from Tennessee’s offense in the first half versus the second half
“They changed it up on us, coming out of halftime. It was up to us to adjust, and we came up short on that. Now, it’s getting back to the drawing board and getting ready for the next game.”
On the team’s expectations through the first half of the season and moving forward
“We always have high hopes, for this team, for each other. This is something we weren’t expecting, but you can’t cry over spilled milk. It’s a next-week mentality, next-game mentality, next-job mentality. We can’t cry over losses or what may happen, all we know is that we have to come in next week and get a win.”
On the takeaways forced by the defense
“We preach about takeaways in practice. We run takeaway drills in practice and it was great to see that come to the film on Saturdays. I wish we could have had a little more.”
CHIMERE DIKE
On how important it is for the team to stay together
“Yeah, I think it’s huge. I think that we have the type of character of guys in the locker room that is needed and definitely a tough one today, but you have two choices: you can either fold or you can respond and keep getting better, and I want to pick the latter of the two and get to practice on Monday and get to watch the film tomorrow. It’s a tough pill to swallow, but you know we got to and we got to move on and get better.”
On the mood in the locker room at half
“I think that we knew that as long as we were taking care of the things we needed to take care of, especially offensively, you know we could’ve maybe had some more points, but we had confidence going into the second half we were going to be able to clean those things up. Obviously, looking back on it, you wish that you would’ve in the first half as well. You know those are things that you can’t change. Now, you gotta move on and improve.”
On rallying around DJ Lagway
“Yeah, obviously it’s tough. Graham is our leader. Guy who has had a lot of experience and is a big part of our team. I think DJ did a really good job responding in that situation and going to work. I think he fought his tail off and that’s all you can ask for.”
On the forced usage of true freshmen in the backfield due to in-game injuries
“Super proud of those guys [QB DJ Lagway and RB Jaden Baugh]. It’s a big moment. Obviously, a huge game and the way that they played and competed for four quarters, you gotta respect that and they definitely are going to be a huge part of this team moving forward.”
On how important it is to move on from this
“Yeah, I think obviously you have to go in tomorrow and be honest with yourself about what you need to clean up. I think that’s the first thing. But then after that you can’t cry over spilled milk. We got more games to play, and we got a really good team in the locker room. We just know we have to put things together and we are going to continue to have a really good week of practice, and go in The Swamp on Saturday and compete.”
Transcripts courtesy Florida Sports Information | Video courtesy GatorVision
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