![Special Team Coordinator Johnathan Galante speaks during Florida Football Fall camp availability at Heavener Football Training Center in Gainesville, FL on Tuesday, August 4, 2026. [Alan Youngblood/Gainesville Sun]](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,x_0,y_0,w_5000,h_2812/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/ReutersImages/mmsport/213/01kz9mz42554gekfterf.jpg "Special Team Coordinator Johnathan Galante speaks during Florida Football Fall camp availability at Heavener Football Training Center in Gainesville, FL on Tuesday, August 4, 2026. [Alan Youngblood/Gainesville Sun]")
Gator fans don’t need to be reminded of the array of errors that the Billy Napier era brought to Gainesville. Still, one of the areas that was emblematic of Napier’s overall lack of attention to detail was special teams. It was well-chronicled how often the Gators struggled to get the correct number of players on the field, and it served as imagery above all else for the clown show that Florida fans had to endure.
Heading into 2026, new special teams coach Johnathan Galante admitted he is well aware of the ghosts that plagued the previous staff but is also more interested in looking forward rather than looking to the past.
Johnathan Galante has heard every joke about Florida’s special teams
During his segment with the media on Tuesday, Galante was asked how often he has heard from Florida fans about the importance of getting 11 players on the field. His response was short, and he replied with:
“Yes. Often.”
But Galante was more thoughtful with a bunch of his other answers. He talked about the importance of getting the best players possible on special teams and not just relegating it to backups. He also mentioned how guys like Vernell Brown III, Jadan Baugh, London Montgomery, and J’Vari Flowers are all in the mix to return kicks.
Specific to Brown and Baugh, Galante was also asked if he was at all worried about using those two on kickoff returns to reduce their respective workloads and wear and tear. Galante made it a point that kickoff returns are rare now in college football:
“No, because it’s not a play where you’re getting many opportunities anymore. It depends on the opponent.
We broke down the touchback percentages during the summer for the kickers we’re going to play this year, and they’re pretty high. They’re hitting the ball pretty far.
If you were getting a couple of returns during a game and identified that VB, Baugh or somebody like that was tired, maybe you would try to get him out at that point. But we’re going to try to take advantage of that play.”
Special teams at Florida have been an adventure
To Galante’s point, kickoff returns in college football have been neutered, and punt returns can be mitigated with a strong punter on the other side. But even if Florida doesn’t score a touchdown on special teams in 2026, most fans are hoping that Florida can be organized and limit any wild swings from the opposition.
Because one of the massive problems we had to endure during the Napier era was a unit that looked like a JV coach coached it.
Among the moments of Napier’s time in Gainesville that symbolized his failure was the end-of-game sequence against Arkansas in 2023, when Florida was in field goal range for a game-winning field goal, but looked lost trying to get on the field. Moments like that were too many to count.
And so in a lot of ways, the bar Galante has to clear to keep Florida fans happy is actually quite low.
But for Florida to steal a win or two in 2026, the Gators are also going to need special teams to break off a key play or two under his guidance.
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