Florida HC Billy Napier says Tennessee Vols defender made an 'incredible play' against the Gators

The Florida Gators missed several big opportunities in the first half of their 23-17 overtime loss against the Tennessee Vols this past weekend.

One of those opportunities came midway through the second quarter.

With his team leading 3-0, Gators head coach Billy Napier elected to go for it on fourth-and-inches from Tennessee's 17-yard line instead of kicking a field goal.

Florida dialed up what appeared to be a perfect play -- an end-around that was well-blocked.

Vols sophomore cornerback Rickey Gibson III, however, read the play perfectly and made the tackle for a short loss which resulted in a turnover on downs for the Gators.

Napier was asked about that play on Monday during his weekly press conference and he didn't express regret at the play call. Instead, he praised Gibson for making an "incredible play".

"The end-around play was just an incredible play by one of their secondary players," said Napier. "It was well-blocked, it was a great decision in terms of the execution of the play. The guy just made a phenomenal play. If you would've told me that was what was going to happen -- I just think it was a really good football play by their corner."

There's no doubt that Florida missed some key opportunities in the first half. But that's in large part because of Tennessee's defense. The Vols made plays when they had to make plays, which kept Tennessee in the game and eventually gave them a chance to win.

Related: The national media has it all wrong about the Tennessee and that's a major problem for the Vols