Lack of depth is an issue for Florida Football

Florida football will hold its spring game on Thursday night and depth is going to be a key focus for head coach Billy Napier. 

The Gators have now played two scrimmage games in preparation for the Orange and Blue game on Thursday evening.

Billy Napier has made it apparent that lack of depth is a concern. He stated in his recent press conference that beyond the first team, there is a lack of viable resources. Therefore, the Gators will be “very aggressive in the portal this spring.”

“I think the team as a whole lacks depth,” Napier said Saturday after Florida’s second scrimmage. “We need more players as a whole that do their job consistently and play winning football.”

The roster issues have posed issues on the practice field, limiting the types and numbers of plays that they are able to run during scrimmages and 11-on-11 scenarios. As a result, Napier stated in late March that the team “probably didn’t do 25 to 30 plays that we typically would do.”

Some positions where Florida football needs more depth

The main position that has been glaring on the depth chart is tight ends. The position has been plagued by injuries. During the spring season, there have been three scholarship players who have missed time due to injuries. As a result, players from other positions have been moved to tight end to fill in the gaps. Tight ends coach, William Peagler, commented on how the lack of depth is impacting the offensive practice.

“With some of the situations that have happened this spring,” he said, “probably haven’t been able to open it up as much as we’d like.”

The tight end position is not the only position of concern on the team. Napier has commented that the wide receiver room is a “reflection of the entire team,” as it possesses just “a handful” of dependable players who can be counted on to “do their job and play winning football for Florida.”

Even though the depth is lacking, Napier has said that the players on the roster have demonstrated knowledge and have shown solid scheme fluency on both sides of the ball.

"“It’s not a problem,” Napier said of the players’ understanding of schematics. “I think we know what to do, I think we are making progress in how to do it and I think we actually have some players that maybe know why we’re doing what we’re doing. We need more players that understand how to do it and why we do it that way, right? Now there’s a handful of guys out there, they don’t even know what to do.”"

Although there are current needs that are urgent to ensure the team is set up for success this year, Napier is also looking to the future of the program. He described his desire for the development of the players on the team when he discussed the four dimensions of players.

Firstly, one-dimensional athletes who understand what they need to do at their own position, two-dimensional athletes who understand what every player in his position room is supposed to do, three-dimensional players who understand what every player on their side of the ball is responsible for, and four-dimensional players who understand the responsibilities of every position on both sides of the field.

“You do that by evaluating, recruiting, retaining, and executing your year-round plan, over and over and over, right, and we’re in the first year, you know, listen we’re a little two-thirds of the way through phase three,” Napier said. “I’m hopeful here we’ll look up in a couple of years and have my own four-dimensional players here playing for the University of Florida.”

Florida football will be participating in its annual Spring Game Thursday night, April 14, at 7:30 PM EDT. It will stream live on SEC Network+.