Everything Florida head coach Billy Napier said after the Orange and Blue Game

Florida held its annual Orange and Blue spring game on Saturday, and head coach Billy Napier recapped the spring after the Blue team won, 38-29.He covered a wide range of topics, including DJ Lagway's injury, other injuries on the team, specific position groups and the transfer portal.

Lagway only played the first snap of the game, which was largely ceremonial, but Napier expressed optimism when asked about where his quarterback was at in the recovery process.

Napier went on to praise the running backs and young receivers, including Dallas Wilson, who set a spring record with 195 yards and two touchdowns on 10 catches.Here's everything Coach Napier said on Saturday to wrap up the spring.Opening statement"I was proud of the Orange team to regroup a little bit at halftime and come out and make it a game.

I thought they got some momentum right there before half, got a score and then were able to get a stop and really make it competitive.

I was worried there for a little bit, to be honest.

But look, I think that we learned a lot, just in terms of what's required to play winning football.

The offensive team on the orange group had two turnovers in the first half, a fringe sack and then some missed tackles.

I think they just really had to wake up on defense a little bit, but in general, we got out of here healthy.

I think you can see some of the young players' flash today and certainly decent quarterback play for the most part.

They moved the ball around, so, in general, very positive."Man, I thought it was an awesome idea about the athletic department to kind of join up the Orange and Blue Game with the celebration for the national championship team and Coach Golden recognize those seniors and also those guys that are coming back.

So, man, we're very thankful for the crowd.

Never fails.

Our fans show up and show out and I thought it was an unbelievable day in there.

Couldn't ask for much better weather than that."On Dallas Wilson breaking a spring game record"The ball went his direction today.

I think we were able to take advantage of the matchups, the situations.

He made some plays and not all those were routine.

I thought some of those were really impressive.

He's a big physical player, and I think the toughness that he showed in practice I've been impressed with his football intelligence, how he's been able to retain information and obviously you don't produce like that today unless you've been really working hard.

"So, he's had a good offseason and when given opportunities today, I thought he took full advantage of it.

We've seen a lot of that in practice.

But yet, like I told you guys before, these rankings are a little more accurate than they've ever been, and I'd say that's what a five-star looks like."On Drake Stubbs with the second-most tackles"I thought Stubbs was really active.

He's got a knack for finding the ball.

He continues to evolve, in terms of knowing the system, but, in general, he is a physical player, not scared of contact, seeks it out.

I thought he did a good job as a blitzer today, a couple of different times, and then just height and length.

And then, he's not scared to put his face in there.

So, he will continue to grow and evolve.

Still a young player, still learning.

I think the game is slowing down for him a little bit, but a good special-teams player.

A big summer ahead for him."On running backs"D'Antre (Robinson) got nicked up early, so the defensive front for that Orange team was a little thin.

I thought the Blue team took advantage of that.

But, I mean, just standing back there behind it, I thought that Ja'Kobi (Jackson) and Jadan (Baugh) both played fast.

I thought they were decisive.

We covered them up.

Really, the plays were made once it got to the secondary, that's where we had the biggest issues tackling.

"So, I think, in general, it's hard to get too excited about it because I'm evaluating the defense, too.

I think we need to tackle a little bit better in the secondary, but those two guys, obviously, we know what we have.

They were productive last year and I think they're even better a year into it."On other receivers"Naeshaun (Montgomery), I thought was good.

Aidan (Mizell) was open a couple of times in the game.

I thought we missed him a couple of times.

Tank (Hawkins) with a big touchdown.

This is by far the deepest receiver group we've had since we've been here, and documented speed.

I mean, I think there's a bunch of speed out there.

So, you know, that's got a chance to be a strength for us, and if we can put together some balance there and distribute the ball and get good quarterback play, we've got a chance to make more explosives in the future.

I think, ultimately, that's an area where we need to improve to go the distance."On defense"A little better in the second half, I thought.

The Blue team, the Blue defense, you can see the depth difference.

We're without a few there, and I think that those are difference makers.

We need to start talking about getting Dee-dee back, Bryce (Thornton) back, (Caleb) Banks back, D'Andre went out in the first possession.

Brian Taylor, George Gumbs, Aaron Gates back from injury.

"So, the good thing is those young players, like we mentioned before, Stubbs, (Hayward) Loganza, Ty Jackson, Jeremiah McCloud, Stephan Shivers, Jaden Woods.

I mean, there's a bunch of freshmen that have been in that two deep, and we've seen those guys grow and benefit from the injury.

We can view that as a negative or I think we can view it as a positive.

We've got a chance to get those guys that have played a lot of football back.

"But in general, I thought we could have been better on defense today.

I think the players will probably tell you that as well.

Just tackling in general in the beginning of the game, we were not ready.

I think that we settled in and did that better.

But, got to start a little faster.

On DJ Lagway injury"No, DJ is great.

He'll start throwing here in a couple of weeks.

Just in general very positive there.

The lower body stuff is good, and I think he's been able to do that.

And I think we're working on him just kind of getting him in position for the next step.

But in general, there are a lot of positives.

Everything's on schedule.""When we start OTAs in June, he'll be 100%.

He'll start throwing in a couple weeks."On Lagway's mental during injury period"I think the biggest thing is that, you know, it's been a challenge, right? I think the big thing for me is we challenge him to how can you affect the team every day, independent of your production, your performance.

So, I think his ability to connect with his teammates, to create leadership opportunities throughout practice, throughout the offseason program.

So, he's frustrated.

Obviously, he wants to play, man.

Nobody likes to play more than that guy.

"I would say, in general, injuries are a huge part of one of the more challenging things.

So, Caleb, Bryce, obviously he's been through some struggles there.

Dee-dee, Gates, K-Jack, Tre Wilson.

I mean, we're close to being.

You know, I think we get these guys back, and I think he got a chance to have some really deep football."On offensive line depth players getting time"I think it's good for Kam (Waites) and Rod (Kearney) and Enoch (Wangoy) and Noel (Portnjagin) to get that play time today.

I think that's pivotal.

Dameion (George) and Knijeah (Harris) are probably the two most experienced inside players.

So to be without them, I thought that presented an opportunity for Kam and Rod.

And then certainly Noel and Enoch, those two (it was) really their first time to play in that stadium.

I think that will be a huge benefit for them to create some confidence going forward."On quarterback room"I think it's competitive.

You guys watched the scrimmage today.

I think those guys are very capable.

I thought Aidan (Warner) did a good job running his team, and I think Harrison (Bailey) had maybe a little bit of a slow start.

The players around him hadsome drops.

I think the protection at times could have been a little better, but in general, I was pleased.

There were a few situations where we took sacks.

I think we got to manage the pocket a little bit better, but, yeah, I feel good." Trammel (Jones) got two possessions today.

He's probably 90% coming off of the injury, and then, you know, we'll start over the teaching progression in Summer A, and I think that obviously will be big for him.

So all three of those guys need to continue to improve."On high-scoring spring game, more talent in program"I think the skill players.

We've had this conversation before.

I think the key is, you know, we watched the playoffs the last couple of years.

I mean, I think to go the distance, you need explosive playmakers on offense, right? Especially in our system.

The backs were productive today.

I thought the skill players were impressive.

So, yeah, I mean, I'm hopeful that that's an indication of where we're at.

"Now, I'm also evaluating that defense.

So, in general, I'm hopeful that's an indicator that we've got more speed on our team, more playmaking ability, more match-up players.

But yeah, I think we're playing to our strengths.

We've tried to do that in the past, and I think we're making progress there."On not televising the spring game"Once we didn't necessarily get the call to be one of the prime spots.

I think we felt like, hey, what are the advantages, disadvantages.

It gives us the freedom to just call everything.

We also felt like we'd get better attendance.

You know, people want to see the show.

You couldn't ask for a better day, and then the basketball team wins the national championship.

I think that just was the icing on the cake there from a decision-making standpoint.

It was a great day, and we're very thankful for the fans that came out.

"For the basketball team to be recognized at halftime, we couldn't ask for much better.

So, in general, we don't have to worry about what's on tape, and people aren't evaluating our twos and threes on the depth chart."On expected spring attrition, portal moves"We've reached (NIL) agreements with 98% of the team.

I think we're just 1 or 2 players away from being done.

So, as far as the player retention part.

Now, we will evaluate what becomes available every day going forward.

Maybe there's a situation that can make our team better, and we definitely will be aggressive if we feel that way."On DJ Lagway's autograph line"About 45 minutes (it took).

I was a little jealous.

I got about 40 or 50 on my line, and I can't see the end to his line."On Lagway handling the fame, pressure"The key for us is that we do a good job as an organization of, first of all, helping lead him through some of that, keeping him process-oriented, helping him recenter around his purpose, his passion, his love of the game, and ultimately help him lead his team.

I think if he gets consumed with improvement, if he gets consumed with how he can lead the team and make the other people around him better, I think that gives him the best chance to play the way he's capable of playing.

"All these things come with that, right? But we got to keep the main thing, the main thing, and I think that's where, this year, it'll be important.

He'll be tested in that area, so I think it's important that we help him do that.

But he's got the character to sustain, is what I would say.

There's a humility there.

The devotion today, this morning, was about the fruit of the spirit.

We'll let you guys do your homework on that.

But if he can do that, I think he's got a chance to continue to be a productive player."On effects of transfer portal on spring practice"I would tell you a lot of my job is TBD right now.

What we've tried to do, and I've said this publicly, I think for probably the first 18 months, I'm sitting around for somebody to tell me what to do.

Like, what are the rules? Hey, what can we do? What can't we do? And what, you know, just kind of get to a point where it's like, screw that.

We're coming up with our own rules, our own system.

We're not waiting on anybody to tell us what to do.

We're just going to be aggressive and go do what we think is best.

"We've done that.

We've created a great system.

I mean, I'm very thankful for Florida Victorious, their leadership, how they've enabled us to acquire talent with the resources that we have, the investors that we have, and the roster that we've been able to put together is a result of that.

Now we're built systematically to continue that part of what we do.

I think if you spend all your days looking around at what everybody else is doing and all that, it's a waste of time.

We've got our system, we use analytics, we have our algorithms built and we are aggressive in what we think is best for the team.

"We've got great personnel.

I'm very thankful for the front office people.

We've hired Nick Polk, Ben Elsner, I think Jacob LaFrance and Chad Lucas have done a good job.

Right now, we're in a position where we don't have to worry about the ball.

If anything, we may add a player or two, but we've retained them.

98% of our team, and we've got eight more high school players that'll be here on June 1."On linebackers"The backer group has been impressive all spring.

I think Coach Ball has done a great job hitting the ground running, and he had good knowledge and comprehension of our system.

And I think he's a great teacher.

So, Aaron Chiles, Myles Graham, J-Rob, even Ty Jackson took advantage of Pup (Howard) being out, and he's had a good spring.

It's similar to Loganza and Stubbs.

Those guys are getting reps with the second group where they would have been on the developmental field.

That group, the big jump is when the first year of experience to the next season is where the huge jumps are, and both of those guys fit in that category."Follow us @GatorsWire on X, formerly known as Twitter, as well as Bluesky, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.This article originally appeared on Gators Wire: Florida Gators football Billy Napier quotes after Orange and Blue Game.

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