Florida’s weak defense has a history tied to having three different coordinators in as many years, the top two pass rushers transferring, and the arrival of many new players. This has made it hard for the team to communicate, work together, and be consistent.
Right now, “D” mostly means trouble in Gainesville. Not fixing this problem has been coach Billy Napier’s biggest mistake.
“It’s one thing to know; it’s another thing to apply,” said Napier, who has a record of 14-16 in three seasons at Florida and took over a weak defense from the previous coach, Dan Mullen. “You have to go execute in the moment.
You have to go apply what you learned. There is a combination of things here from a responsibility, accountability standpoint.”
The Gators (3-2, 1-1 Southeastern Conference) showed improvement in back-to-back wins against Mississippi State and UCF. However, a much tougher test is coming on Saturday night in Knoxville against No. 8 Tennessee (4-1, 1-1).
The Volunteers are averaging 729 yards and 70 points at home this season, having easily beaten Chattanooga and Kent State. They will be looking to bounce back after losing to Arkansas last week.
“I hope it’s not a track meet,” Napier joked.
Florida had a hard time stopping Miami and Texas A&M, falling behind 38-10 against the Hurricanes and 33-7 against the Aggies. Miami gained 529 yards, while A&M had 488.
After the second heavy loss, Napier reevaluated things and took a hands-on approach to help scout teams give better practice looks for the starters. During the team’s bye week, he made every part of practice a competition to keep players and coaches focused.
Florida responded with its best defensive performance, holding UCF to 273 yards and sacking KJ Jefferson five times in a 24-13 victory last Saturday.
“I feel like there were times where we weren’t clicking as a unit,” linebacker R.J. Moten said. “When we do click as a unit, it’s like, ‘Oh, wow. Oh, wow.’ I feel like we’ve been preparing, and we’re headed in the right direction. I feel like we’re up for the challenge.”
Florida has won 17 of the last 19 meetings with Tennessee, and Napier could really use a win against a top-10 team to help save his job. The Volunteers are favored to win by 15 1/2 points, according to BetMGM, reflecting the potential mismatch between Tennessee’s offense and Florida’s defense.
The Vols are currently fourth in the nation in scoring and fifth in total yards. In contrast, the Gators rank 96th in yards allowed, 74th in scoring defense, and 101st in rushing defense. These numbers look even worse when only considering Football Bowl Subdivision opponents, especially after taking out a 45-7 win against lower-division Samford.
Florida is giving up 395 yards per game in 2024, which is the highest in school history and 25 more yards than during an all-SEC schedule in 2020.
Napier has faced major changes in his coaching staff, starting with defensive coordinator Patrick Toney leaving after just one season.
In 2023, Napier hired 29-year-old Austin Armstrong to replace Toney, but this year he brought in veteran Ron Roberts and effectively demoted Armstrong. The only defensive coach he hasn’t changed is outside linebackers coach Mike Peterson, a former Florida and NFL player.
The Gators have also seen a lot of movement among players, losing talented edge rushers Princely Umanmielen (to Ole Miss) and Antwaun Powell-Ryland (to Virginia Tech), along with more than a dozen others who are now playing well elsewhere.
Napier has struggled to bring in solid defenders from the transfer portal. Notable misses include defensive tackles Cam Jackson and Joey Slackman, safety Asa Turner, and defensive back DJ Douglas.
Adding to the problems, there seems to be little progress from second-year players like T.J. Searcy, Kamran James, Dijon Johnson, Kelby Collins, and Ja’Keem Jackson, leaving the Gators with gaps in their defense that could be exposed against Tennessee.
“The hardest part for me is I know how good we can be,” edge rusher Jack Pyburn said. “I’ve seen it day in and day out. We have elite players on defense, but we just have to play as one.
“We are really now starting to take those right steps in the right direction to play as one and believe in one another. We just have to trust and believe in one another.”
