The Florida Gators capped off the 2024 season with a dominant win over the Tulane Green Wave, 33-8, in the Gasparilla Bowl.
Quarterback DJ Lagway, wide receiver Chimere Dike and defensive lineman Desmond Watson joined head coach Billy Napier at the podium for a post-game press conference. Here’s everything they said following the postseason victory.
Opening Statement
Napier: “First of all, what an incredible event. I thought that the staff with the Gasparilla Bowl was first class. I’ve been a part of a lot of these bowl games, and I would say that — just a great week, great experience for the staff and the players, and very efficient.
“A ton of credit to Tulane. They’ve got a really good football team. I think for them to play in a conference championship and bounce back and come in, and obviously they didn’t make it easy at times, especially in the first half. I have a ton of respect for Coach Sumrall and their team and how they competed.
“It was an awesome environment. For our fans to come out the way they did, it felt like a home game in there. To be in Tampa, to see Gator Nation out there in full force was special.
“The last thing I would say is obviously this senior group, we’ve overcome some things early in the year. We would have not been able to do that if we didn’t have an incredible group of seniors. And I do think for our team, just talking to them last night, there was an obligation. You could feel it in the room like, hey, let’s make sure that we handle our business here and send these guys out the right way. We did.
“We were sloppy early. I know you have some questions about that. Obviously, red-zone struggles, few too many penalties. We had a lot of different pieces in different spots. I think overall, we created some takeaways, played really good defense, and in general just weren’t able to capitalize in the red zone possessions.
“So, great week, great to finish the right way and just really proud of our team and…
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