Billy Napier Is 'Comfortable' With How He Handled Jaden Rashada Recruitment, Kirby Smart Found Out Day Before

DESTIN, Florida - One of the most intriguing storylines heading into SEC spring meetings this week was the ongoing lawsuit filed by Georgia quarterback Jaden Rashada against Florida head coach Billy Napier, along with others associated with the Gators. 

The question of whether or not Napier would actually comment on the matter was certainly a hot-button topic before his arrival. How would he respond? Could he actually say anything, since this was an ongoing legal issue was the biggest question. 

But, meeting with a group of reporters outside the theater room inside the Hilton Resort on Tuesday afternoon, Billy Napier said that he was comfortable with his actions regarding the allegations levied against him in the lawsuit. 

"Thanks, I appreciate the question," Napier started. "Look, I think it's important for everybody to understand that I can't comment due to the litigation. But I do have confidence in our legal team, I am comfortable with my actions and I'm thankful for the university's support. We're gonna keep it at that, and let the process take its course."

So what Billy Napier is saying is that he feels he'll be exonerated from sending any type of text message or having phone calls with the Rashada family about the NIL deal that ended up dying. That's a question you can try to decipher, but the Gators head coach did look more relaxed when asked about the situation, probably because he knew there wasn't an answer that was going to hurt him in any way. 

Kirby Smart Answers Question Of Whether He Gave His Blessing

When the lawsuit was first filed, there were reports stating that Georgia head coach Kirby Smart signed-off on the family's lawsuit against another head coach in the SEC, along with a megadonor and former NIL engagement official at Florida. 

So the question was going to be asked this afternoon if Kirby had in-fact given his blessing to the family before Rashada committed to the Bulldogs. In the words of Kirby Smart, he didn’t know a thing, until the day before. 

"Say what you will, he told me the day before they decided to do the lawsuit. I told him that would be between his family and attorneys. I'm not involved in it, Georgia's not involved in it in any way. But Jaden is a good football player, we knew Jaden when he was coming out, and a good body of work."

When pushed on the fact that a 20-year old quarterback in the SEC is suing a sitting head coach in the same conference, Kirby Smart pointed towards the possibility that this is just the sign of the times in collegiate sports, especially with NIL. 

" I don't know if that's accurate, I talk to Billy all the time about stuff like that. I really don't know what's going on. Billy is named in it, yes. It's the sign of the times possibly. I work inside my little bubble, and that's outside the bubble."

Georgia head coach Kirby Smart speaks at SEC Spring Meetings. He was asked about the Jaden Rashada lawsuit against Billy Napier

But if we're being honest here, Kirby Smart most likely knew ahead of the 24 24-hour window that he's proclaiming, in the same manner that Billy Napier says that he found out about being named in the lawsuit from media reports on the internet. 

Both of these coaches are pretty smart guys, and are surrounded by a group of lawyers that are tasked to handle any object thrown their way. So, first off, I'd find it very hard to believe that Kirby Smart and Georgia officials did not have a lengthy conversation about a potential quarterback on their roster filing a lawsuit against another head coach in the SEC. 

In the same way that I don't believe Billy Napier found out about the lawsuit through media reports. When I asked Napier about former NIL engagement official Marcus Castro-Walker being suspended before the 2023 season began, the Gators head coach did not want to comment on the matter, though he could have. 

Who knows where this lawsuit ends up, most likely being settled outside the courtroom, but i would imagine this is not the last time Billy Napier will have to answer for his involvement in the Jaden Rashada recruitment.