Billy Napier gives clues on who may return kicks for Florida Football in 2024

Special teams have been a constant spot of consternation for Florida Football fans over the past couple of seasons. Between the inability to get 11 players on the field with consistency and the insistence to fair catch the ball even when they do get everyone on the field, Florida didn't have a player in the top 100 for yards per punt return or yards per kick return in 2023.

With new special teams guru Joe Houston on staff, combined with some under-the-radar explosive players, the Gators are hoping 2024 will be the year they can finally get some long returns.

Florida Football: Be More Special

At his press conference on Monday, Billy Napier was asked about special teams and who he had in mind to return kicks in 2024. Napier indicated there were at least five players in the running who could handle the duty.

"It's really competitive. Chim Dike, Tre Wilson, Tank Hawkins, Montrell's worked back there, Jadan Baugh's worked back there. That's punt return. Kick return, Jadan Baugh has got some work. Obviously, Tank, Mizell, I think if we ran out there today, we got options.

Something that's important to understand is that when you're the returner, the most important thing is to secure the ball and make sure it gets to the offense, right? Your decision making and your ability to communicate is probably the most important part but ball security and your ability to make a good decision in the moment and communicate with the other players. I think that the kick returner and the punt returner, that's part of their job. We have some good players who can do that well and then we have some talented players that need to improve in those areas."

If we are reading between the lines and based upon what Napier said after he rattled off five players, Tank Hawkins and Aidan Mizell would appear to be the two players he initially wants to go with.

It makes sense, given that Chimere Dike, Tre Wilson, and Jadan Baugh will all be in the main rotation on offense. Conventional wisdom states that you want someone outside that rotation to return kicks, both to minimize injury risks and to simplify the unit on special teams.

Hawkins and Mizell are explosive players who can break a big one. However, as Napier alludes to decision-making and ball security, both are also freshmen, and there is a learning curve for the position in college. Wilson, for example, fielded a punt inside the ten and lost yards last year in the opener against Utah.

As with many positions on Florida's roster, we won't know for sure whether or not Hawkins and Mizell are the right answers until we see them in action. But given their upside, there are worse options the Gators could have settled for.