If you watched a Gators football game last season, you understand the frustration among many Florida fans regarding the consistency of the offense.

Billy Napier, who was a first-year SEC coach in 2022, is an offensive-minded coach. So when the Orange and Blue’s offense was inconsistent last season, fans looked to Twitter to make their voices heard. It seems like Napier has heard the complaints, reassuring fans that the offense will improve in 2023 with comments he made to the Orlando Sentinel during spring practices.

“We just weren’t very good,” Napier said. “We’re going to improve… Anybody that knows me will tell you that we’re going to get it right.”

In addition to the expected obstacles that come with being a first-year coach in the SEC, Napier was dealing with a more depleted roster than normal. With his predecessor, Dan Mullen, being such a well-respected offensive mind, anything short of being an elite offense would be a disappointment. But judging Napier on Mullen’s output is disingenuous.

When Mullen took over, he had a plethora of offensive weapons at his disposal, including 2020 Heisman finalist Kyle Trask, and 2021 first-round draft picks Kyle Pitts and Kadarius Toney. On the flip side, Napier was tasked with revamping the Gators’ recruiting operation, something that Mullen neglected in his time in Gainesville.

What Napier did do, was bring in some key players for the Gators, including 2022 All-American O'Cyrus Torrence and true freshman running back Trevor Etienne. Pair that with Anthony Richardson going through the first-year starter struggles that he should have gone through in 2021, and you have an offense that has some upside but still underperformed and was inconsistent throughout the 2022 season.

Ironically, the biggest offensive question mark for next season is at quarterback. If Napier is confident that 2023 will be an offensive improvement from 2022, whoever is leading the huddle will be a big reason why.

“(Graham Mertz’s) approach since the first day he’s been here is what you would want from a quarterback,” he said. “It’s almost as if you’re acquiring a free agent in the National Football League that’s an experienced, veteran player, he’s learning the new system. His approach has been what you would want.”

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