What Georgia football's Kirby Smart said about ex-Florida coach Billy Napier at UGA practice
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Georgia football prepared for its top 10 matchup against Texas with the last head coach to beat the Longhorns attending a practice in Athens.
Billy Napier, fired by Florida on Oct. 19, was at Georgia’s Tuesday practice ahead of the game against the No. 10 Longhorns on Saturday Nov. 15 in Sanford Stadium, coach Kirby Smart confirmed on Wednesday Nov. 12.
Florida beat Texas 29-21 on Oct. 4 in Gainesville.
Smart said Napier wasn’t there to help out with game prep for the Longhorns.
“No, Billy’s a good friend of mine,” he said. “We’ve coached together for years. I’ve known him. People don’t understand relationships and coaches. Coaches have a brotherhood and fraternity together. And his dad was good friend’s with my dad. His dad was really good friends with coach (George) Bobo (father of Georgia offensive coordinator Mike Bobo). We all grew up in the state of Georgia with our fathers coaching high school football, well-respected people. He’s been a friend for a long time so he dropped by, yeah, but that was really it.”
Napier went 22-23 when he was fired in his fourth season.
“We were on staff together at Alabama,” Smart said two days after Napier was dismissed by Florida. “I like Billy a lot and I think he’s very intelligent, very well organized. His attention to detail is at a really high level, and he’s a guy that thinks things out really well.”
Smart also made sure to mention Napier at the start of his postgame press conference after beating Florida and interim coach Billy Gonzales.
Smart worked at Alabama with Napier from 2013-15 when Napier was wide receivers coach. He also was offensive coordinator at Clemson and Arizona State.
Smart has opened his practice doors to college coaches in between jobs, even those who coached at rival schools.
Geoff Collins was seen at a Georgia practice in March of 2023 after being fired by Georgia Tech.
Coaches often talk to friends they know at other schools to share information about common opponents.
Texas quarterback Arch Manning has said he speaks to Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson about opponents.
Simpson and the Crimson Tide won at Georgia 24-21 on Sept. 27.
This article originally appeared on Athens Banner-Herald: Kirby Smart on Billy Napier attending Georgia football practice
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