Will Napier survive after 2024?

[PacoGator19]

If 2023 ends with the team at 6-6, give or take a game in either direction, there will be the usual yammer for Napier to be fired. But, he's going to be given 4 years+ to get things turned around. The 2024 class he's assembling is on track to be one of the best in Gator history. He inherited a mess from Dan Mullen and told everyone in the beginning that this was a process that was going to take time. Gator Nation is not known for its patience, but if we are ever going to get back to where we once belonged (as the Beatles sang), patience has to be shown. And it will be from that who make the decisions, IMO.

I think you hit the nail on the head. In the way college football landscape is today and the difficulty of the SEC and how far behind we were to UGA and Bama when Napier took over I don’t think this was a quick fix and neither Urban Meyer or Steve Spurrier are walking back through that door either. In fairness, there are probably only a handful of coaches that could.

 

[micfan]

That is a case where the draft has to be ignored though as we saw the QB play on the field. I kind of doubt Mertz can replace that 265 yards a game total though.

AR played 12 games and threw for 2549 yards that's 212 yards a game. My money will be on Mertz or Miller to be able to top that with no problem

 

[Countygator1]

AR played 12 games and threw for 2549 yards that's 212 yards a game. My money will be on Mertz or Miller to be able to top that with no problem

If either can hit the wide open 7 yard check down then they will be way ahead of AR.

 

[Gator Fever]

AR played 12 games and threw for 2549 yards that's 212 yards a game. My money will be on Mertz or Miller to be able to top that with no problem

Mertz wont get us any rushing yards and I doubt our rushing by the RBs goes up much in our non-joke games since we are decent there already. I will be real surprised if Mertz can get 265 a game in the air to match AR's total yards.

 

[Jeff from Jax]

Mertz wont get us any rushing yards and I doubt our rushing by the RBs goes up much in our non-joke games since we are decent there already. I will be real surprised if Mertz can get 265 a game in the air to match AR's total yards.

Fever,

Agree.

CBN says we are a run heavy offense; so perhaps a running package - more than an occasional, simple Wildcat formation (Triple Option ?) - for Max, our only QB with rushing ability, would force opponents to prepare for something else offensively & help us to
SCORE POINTS & you know -
WIN some DAMN ball games !

Mertz - we HOPE - is a better passer than Max, so best/safer to use Max in that role & avoid having Mertz get dinged up.

 

[Gator Fever]

Fever,

Agree.

CBN says we are a run heavy offense; so perhaps a running package - more than an occasional, simple Wildcat formation (Triple Option ?) - for Max, our only QB with rushing ability, would force opponents to prepare for something else offensively & help us to
SCORE POINTS & you know -
WIN some DAMN ball games !

Mertz - we HOPE - is a better passer than Max, so best/safer to use Max in that role & avoid having Mertz get dinged up.

Mertz will only get a few yards rushing if the defense is caught off guard. I doubt his total for the year is much over 10 yards a game. Sacks may even keep it to just a couple of yards a game.

 

[micfan]

Mertz will only get a few yards rushing if the defense is caught off guard. I doubt his total for the year is much over 10 yards a game. Sacks may even keep it to just a couple of yards a game.

Mertz will only get a few yards rushing if the defense is caught off guard. I doubt his total for the year is much over 10 yards a game. Sacks may even keep it to just a couple of yards a game.

Fever and Jeff , I'm pretty sure our QB wont produce the big plays in the run game like AR did,. That being said, our QB will run the RPO offense of Billy and will keep the ball when his read tells him to. So yeah, I believe there will be a few 12 to 15 yard runs and of course more 4 to 6 yard runs from that position. Bottom line is our QB's are playing in a system that pulling and keeping has to happen. They know it.

 

[Gator Fever]

Fever and Jeff , I'm pretty sure our QB wont produce the big plays in the run game like AR did,. That being said, our QB will run the RPO offense of Billy and will keep the ball when his read tells him to. So yeah, I believe there will be a few 12 to 15 yard runs and of course more 4 to 6 yard runs from that position. Bottom line is our QB's are playing in a system that pulling and keeping has to happen. They know it.

Imo you will have a run occasionally like Miller's runs in the bowl game but Mertz cant run like Miller so I dont see too many yards except the occasional one where the defense is caught really out of place.

 

[Dannygator1989]

Imo you will have a run occasionally like Miller's runs in the bowl game but Mertz cant run like Miller so I dont see too many yards except the occasional one where the defense is caught really out of place.

Well considering that Richardson seemed to refuse to run the RPO at all, maybe it'll be more effective even though Mertz or Miller won't break the occasional 80 yard run.

 

[Gator Fever]

Well considering that Richardson seemed to refuse to run the RPO at all, maybe it'll be more effective even though Mertz or Miller won't break the occasional 80 yard run.

I doubt it because I think their sacks will take away much of the rushing yards they do get. I never looked at that stats for that last year for us but my guess is Richardson didn't get sacked too many times. Believe it or not Richardson only averaged like 12 yards less a game rushing than Tebow's 2007 and 2009 seasons where Tebow ran a lot - unlike 2008. I do agree Richardson was refusing to run though trying to not take hits I guess.

 

[micfan]

Imo you will have a run occasionally like Miller's runs in the bowl game but Mertz cant run like Miller so I dont see too many yards except the occasional one where the defense is caught really out of place.

They run an RPO offense. If he reads it correctly and keeps 5 to 6 yards avg a pop is pretty good. Do that 6 to 8 times a game and throw for 230 or more and I think your beating the 265.

 

[micfan]

So your assuming no pass protection, no passing game and no QB runs. I see your an optimistic fan.

I doubt it because I think their sacks will take away much of the rushing yards they do get. I never looked at that stats for that last year for us but my guess is Richardson didn't get sacked too many times. Believe it or not Richardson only averaged like 12 yards less a game rushing than Tebow's 2007 and 2009 seasons where Tebow ran a lot - unlike 2008. I do agree Richardson was refusing to run though trying to not take hits

 

[Gator Fever]

They run an RPO offense. If he reads it correctly and keeps 5 to 6 yards avg a pop is pretty good. Do that 6 to 8 times a game and throw for 230 or more and I think your beating the 265.

I think you might be overestimating their running ability. Heck even Tebow only averaged like 50 a game I think in 2008 when we ran him less than 2007 and 2009. Also I expect either of them to have about a 2 sack a game average reducing the yards.