Jon Sumrall is set to take the stage today at SEC Media Days, and there is a good chance he is going to impress a lot of people among SEC media members who maybe haven’t followed his offseason podcast tour. But winning media day doesn’t automatically translate into winning games on the field, and Florida fans need to look no further than Billy Napier’s appearance last year as proof. Napier was as confident as he had ever been at last year’s event, and he was fired midway through the season.
So prior to Sumrall taking the stage, we are going to look back at some quotes Napier made at last year’s event that couldn’t have aged worse if he tried.
Billy Napier quotes from 2025 SEC Media Days that aged poorly
- “Our development process is working. It’s working for the players as people, students and football players. The organization as a whole is executing as well as it’s been executing since I’ve been the head coach.”
Considering DJ Lagway regressed, no one from his talented trio of wide receivers from the class of 2023 ever emerged, and his offensive line had plenty of returners but was a mess, it’s not really clear who he thinks was developing.
- “The bottom line is we’re seeing our people get better … The discipline and accountability for this group is at an all-time high.”
That lasted all of two games when Brendan Bett spit on a player and then Napier tried to sweep it under a rug.
- “We found a level of confidence that we could go toe to toe with any team in the country any place, anytime.”
The running gag last year was Napier’s “Spot the ball” tweet, which could have been a really good catch phrase if Florida actually lived up to it. Instead, we watched Florida lose to USF, LSU, Miami, and Texas A&M, the latter three of which weren’t really all that close in the grand scheme of things. Combined with needing a miracle to beat Mississippi State, Florida did not, in fact, go toe-to-toe with anyone.
- “I believe we have enough talent. I think this team is going to be all about doing the things that require no talent.”
This was actually one of the core contentions from Florida fans, as Napier wasn’t wrong that there was talent in Gainesville. In fact, a good chunk of the roster stuck around and most would agree that Sumrall has talent to work with for his maiden voyage.
- “(DJ Lagway) was phenomenal on game day … and I think year two for him has got a chance to be really special.”
Talking about DJ Lagway, it is comical to look back at this quote knowing not only how the year turned out, but also how Napier pivoted once the year started.
- “(Lagway) actually got a good session in this morning before he came here. So, yeah, we feel confident in terms of him being ready to go.”
We went from Lagway being “ready to go” to “Look, Lagway missed the whole offseason.” To be fair, Lagway strained his calf between this quote being made and the season starting. Though the fact that he strained his calf was emblematic of the real problems that existed with Florida’s strength program.
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