Swampcast talks Florida Olympians, Florida football at start of fall camp

In this week's Swampcast, the Sun's Kevin Brockway and David Whitley were joined by Florida Gators beat writer Edgar Thompson of the Orlando Sentinel to discuss the start of Florida football camp.

Whitley and Brockway discussed the confidence of Florida football coach Billy Napier at SEC Football Media Day. Napier is more confident in his teams than the pundits who picked UF to finish 12th out of 16 teams in the SEC Football preseason media poll.

"There's enough there where you can make that sales pitch right now," Whitley said. "(Napier) falls back on the number of returning starters and snaps, experience of this team and how he thinks it's going to be improved in so many areas and how the systems are now built, all the things he has had to deal with the last two years, he and every other coach, as this NIL revolution has come along."

Brockway noted how playing the first three games at The Swamp, including the season-opener against Miami, could benefit the Gators.

"One thing we've seen in Napier's tenure, two years ago, upsetting Utah, and last year Tennessee, when he's had that full strength squad before the depth comes into play, his teams have played pretty well in The Swamp in September," Brockway said. "So that certainly bodes well, the way the schedule is laid out, and then you have a first-year coach at Texas A&M in Mike Elko and a first-year coach at Mississippi State in Jeff Lebby, is your first two SEC opponents."

Thompson noted changes in the defensive coaching and strength and condition staff could help UF as well, but ultimately, it will come down to Napier and his staff proving they can manage football games better.

"There were times where you were just scratching your head, going 'What was that?', or 'why did he do that then,'" Thompson said. "Even the play calling, which (Napier) has retained, just the feel for it, sometimes, you have to question."

This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Swampcast talks Florida Olympians, Florida football at start of fall camp