Florida DL Brendan Bett’s status vs. No. 3 LSU undecided after spitting incident, Billy Napier says

Florida defensive lineman Brendan Bett’s status for Saturday’s trip to No. 3 LSU is still undecided after his late-game ejection in a Week 2 loss to South Florida, coach Billy Napier said Monday. Bett, a redshirt sophomore, was flagged and tossed in the fourth quarter for spitting on Bulls offensive lineman Cole Skinner. 

The unsportsmanlike penalty came with just over two minutes left during USF’s decisive drive and proved costly in Florida’s 18-16 defeat.

“We spent quite a bit of time with him yesterday,” Napier said. “Look, I think that the kid is remorseful. I think he feels as if he let the team down. In general, it was out of character for him and he made a mistake and he compromised the team. He made a selfish decision. He misrepresented our fans and our alumni, the university.”

The 15-yard flag gave the Bulls a first down at their own 39-yard line, coming immediately after a defensive pass interference call. Two plays later, USF hit a 29-yard pass to move into field goal range, setting up Nico Gramatica’s 20-yard game-winner.

Napier noted that Bett faces additional internal discipline.

“He’ll have an opportunity today to apologize to the team and he’s going to apologize publicly,” Napier said. “We’re even having him reach out to the young man on the other team. So, no stone unturned here in terms of maximizing this for him to learn, and also, I think, for our other players to see how to take ownership of a mistake and go about this the right way.”

When asked whether Bett will be available against LSU, Napier said no final decision has been made.

The timing is far from ideal for Florida. The Gators slipped to 1-1 with the loss, dropping Napier’s overall record in Gainesville to 20-20 in his fourth season. They now face a grueling stretch: back-to-back road games at LSU and No. 5 Miami, followed by a home matchup with No. 7 Texas and a trip to No. 19 Texas A&M.

Bett played 15 snaps in the opener against LIU, recording three tackles including one for loss. He was more involved against USF, logging 29 snaps and five tackles before his ejection.