The team leaders on the Florida Gators, dealing with a losing record and the loss of their head coach, on Monday emphasized their commitment to each other.

Senior offensive lineman Jake Slaughter, sophomore linebacker Myles Graham and sophomore quarterback DJ Lagway were united in their responses to media questions:

• Lagway, whose Florida future often has been tethered to Billy Napier's future, was asked about his level of commitment beyond this season. His response was at first certain. Then, intentionally or not, he added a qualifier.

"Yeah, I'm a Florida Gator. I'm focused right now. My biggest focus right now is these five games and continue to better my craft and continue to develop as a player."

• Slaughter and Graham said they would be a resource to their younger teammates and potential recruits.

Slaughter: "I think that there's guys like myself, Austin Barber, Tyreak Sapp, and a handful of other guys that unfortunately have been through this before. We've had coaching changes in season. I think we can serve as a good resource. ... I'll talk to a recruit, have a good relationship with G'Nivre Carr at IMG. He was an Ocala guy and him and I talk. It's about the place. It's about what Coach G (interim coach Billy Gonzales) said. It's about the logo. ... We wanna play for each other in all kinds of weather."

Graham: "What we learned from Coach Napier all the time is how you respond to things. Just battling through adversity, it's not our first time and it won't be our last. ... I still feel like we have a championship roster. We have great talent on this team. My focus is keep our guys together (on this roster)."

• They leavened their appreciation for Billy Napier with the reality that wins and losses ultimately matter most.

Slaughter: "I think I can identify a lot with our guys; we were all pretty upset about (Napier's dismissal), but we understand it's a production business and it is what it is. ... I didn't know who Billy Napier was when I was getting recruited. I was a Florida guy. He was in Louisiana at the time. I didn't know he existed and I don't know if he knew I existed. I was so fortunate that he came in and he treated me like I was one of his guys that he recruited. And he cared for me more than anything and he just taught us all so much about being a good man, being a good ballplayer, taking care of our guys. I can't talk enough about the imprint he left on our characters as men."

• They admire interim coach Gonzales and Lagway looked forward to continue working with quarterback coach Ryan O'Hara, who now will call offensive plays.

Lagway: "Coach O'Hara, he's been there from the beginning. He's taught me a lot — even when I was in high school, I had meetings with him during the recruiting process."

Slaughter: Gonzales "is fired up. He's awesome. To some extent, your room (Gonzales coaches the receivers) is an extension of you. Your personality is gonna show through your guys. (Dallas Wilson) plays like his hair is on fire. He practices like his hair is on fire.

"I have so much respect for Coach Gonzales. Like he said, his boy was my high school quarterback my senior year. The type of guys that he's been around as a coach, the type of players that he's developed here at the University of Florida. You talk about a logo guy. Him and Coach Mike P (Peterson). Those are the guys that you wanna make proud. Those are the guys that get it. The guys that truly care about the place."