The way Florida has conducted spring practices has been a breath of fresh air as the team has allowed the media to observe portions of practices after not allowing any access over the past couple of seasons. One concern the media has developed about Florida is the inconsistency at quarterback.
The media has observed quarterbacks Anthony Richardson and Jack Miller make some brilliant plays but have also watched them miss some easy throws and reads so far this spring. They asked Napier about his level of concern with his quarterbacks after the team’s second scrimmage this spring and he didn’t seem overly concerned and pointed to other positions around the quarterbacks.
“Overall, I didn’t think it was bad,” Napier said of the passing game in the second scrimmage. “Sometimes we evaluate the quarterback and if the ball’s moving and we’re scoring we think the quarterback’s doing great. But in reality a lot of times, quarterback play is dependent on the players around him.”
This makes sense considering the question marks about the Gators receiving corps. They can rely on Justin Shorter, Trent Whittemore and Xzavier Henderson but need other receivers to emerge.
Napier said they need other wideouts to step up, so they can have reliable depth. He added that this applies to the rest of the team, too.
“I think the team as a whole lacks depth,” he said. “We need more players as a whole that do their job consistently and play winning football. The receiver position is much like every position on the team. We have a good group of ones and a couple twos we can put in the game, but after that we have to prove more.”
However, the running back group has been a bright spot for the Gators and Napier. Louisana transfer Montrell Johnson and Lorenzo Lingard have had a strong spring. The offensive line is now starting to win up front more than they did earlier this spring.
Life should become much easier for the quarterback if Florida can find some more playmakers at…