MIRAMAR BEACH — Before bolting Wednesday from the SEC meetings, where portal windows and playoff formats have dominated talks, Gators football coach Billy Napier sat down with two in-state reporters to discuss topics more indigenous to his fan base.
Such as the fate of cornerback Dijon Johnson, the progress of receiver Tre Wilson, and the potential of heralded freshman pass catcher Dallas Wilson. For good measure, we tossed in Napier’s thoughts on the playoff models and possible play-in games being pondered by the SEC.
Here are excerpts from the conversation (edited for brevity and clarity).
On cornerback Dijon Johnson (the Wharton High alumnus arrested in early May on two felonies):
“We’ll handle all the discipline internally. We’re gonna let things take their course. We started some of that process with (Dijon) in-house already. (Dijon’s) back in summer school and he’s working with our team. He’s got good representation, and we’ll let it take its course.”
Is there a level of disappointment?
“I think there’s some lessons to be learned, and we’ll keep it at that. … I think that hopefully it will be a teachable moment not only for him but for the entire team and for young people in general.”
On receiver (and Gaither alumnus) Tre Wilson’s progress this spring following knee surgery and a procedure to correct a genetic hip issue:
“Tre did great. He did practice quite a bit. Black jersey, we kept him out of contact, and I think he did everything to some degree. We just kept him out of contact. He looked like a million bucks. It was a daily reminder like, ‘Forgot about that guy.’
“He’s one of the best players that we have this year. … He’s also a really good work ethic, practice player; rubs off on the other players. He’s hungry to get back. It’s unfortunate the situation he had, but he’ll be back. That’s one of the story lines nobody’s talking about.”
On Wilson’s role as a freshman (in 2023) and how it will evolve in 2025:
“Trying to get him touches. You’re trying to make it simple for him (as a rookie), keep him involved when he’s young. Look, the guy, he can run the full route tree. He’ll be a player as long as he’s working the way that he has been working. And he is healthy. We’ll be intentional about his involvement, for sure.”
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