Handicapping Florida's Quarterback Battle
At this time last year, Florida head coach Jim McElwain named Luke Del Rio the Gators’ starting quarterback over Austin Appleby. As camp closed and fall practice began, the team started to rally around Del Rio as its quarterback.
Things are different this year as a three-man race continues into fall practice. It’s arm vs. legs vs. brain as Feleipe Franks, Malik Zaire and Del Rio battle it out.
Let’s take a look at where they stand with two more weeks of practice remaining before the showdown with Michigan.
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* Projecting the defensive depth chart for week-one
* Projecting the offensive depth chart for week-one
* Zaire in the middle of another quarterback battle
* Notebook: No leader named in starting quarterback battle
* Alley: Criminal compliant filed against Florida lineman
* Thursday football practice insider notes
* On the Mark: Five thoughts on the seven suspensions
* Tuesday football practice notes
* Monday football practice insider notes
* McElwain talks suspensions and injuries
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1. Feleipe Franks (confidence level: 50%)
I’m about 50% confident in Franks being named the starter right now because there’s no way he’s the third-stringer of the three. Going with the cannon-arm, blue-chip quarterback would jibe with McElwain’s recent “beat the heck out of Michigan” comments at the Rally in The Swamp. The bold move is to start the Feleipe Franks era in grand fashion.
Franks is also the compromise pick. He understands the playbook better than Zaire and is more physically gifted than Del Rio.
Pros: Franks has the strongest arm of the three. The receivers are most comfortable with Franks as he was the only one of the three who participated in spring practice. At 6-foot-5, Franks is the tallest of the quarterbacks and built most like a pro-style pocket passer. He makes some (redshirt) freshman throws, but he shows noticeable confidence in his abilities and those of his receivers.
Cons: He’s not the team’s sharpest decision-maker. He sails more of his throws than you would like at this point in his development. Jerry World in Dallas is a big stage for a quarterback to take the first in-game snaps of his career.
2. Malik Zaire (confidence level: 35%)
The longer the competition goes, the better it looks for Zaire, as he has more time to gain a firmer grasp of Doug Nussmeier’s offense and prove it in practice. At media day, McElwain said Zaire is “obviously on a mission, and he's here to help us win a game and win a bunch of games.” It’s hard not to think the first “win a game” was a reference to playing Michigan in week-one.
There’s always a chance Zaire and Franks could rotate a la Treon Harris and Will Grier in the early portion of the 2015 season. I think Zaire cuts into Franks’ lead as the competition carries on.
Pros: Zaire has played in big games before, leading Notre Dame to a victory in the Music City Bowl against LSU. With Zaire at quarterback, Nussmeier can call designed quarterback runs that Jim Harbaugh and company have not seen on any Florida game tape.
The significance of Zaire as a running threat cannot be stressed enough. Florida was last in the SEC in rushing offense a year ago. The Gators were also last in the conference in running plays of 10-plus yards. A third troubling stat: Florida only scored touchdowns on 50 percent of its trips to the red zone which was worst in the SEC. A dual-threat quarterback – and Zaire is the only one now that Toney is a wide receiver – can have a major impact in all three areas.
Cons: The obvious downside is that Zaire is playing catch-up on learning the offense. When it comes to the Florida playbook, Zaire is like a freshman, but with a higher football IQ and more experience.
At media day, receivers told of Zaire being able to line up the offense. Zaire himself said that the offensive concepts were similar to what he ran at Notre Dame, only with different terminology. At practice, it’s evident that this is a work in progress. The question is how much progress can be made in two weeks.
3. Luke Del Rio (confidence level: 15%)
The redshirt junior is technically the incumbent starter. Battling back from multiple shoulder injuries, Del Rio is motivated as ever to prove he can be Florida’s starting quarterback. In six games last season, Del Rio was 114-for-201 passing for 1,358 yards with eight touchdowns and eight interceptions.
Pros: Del Rio knows the Xs and Os inside and out, having first linked up with Nussmeier at Alabama in 2013 before both came to Florida in 2015. Last year, Del Rio played nearly perfect in the spring game, picking apart a mismatched defense. There’s also the Kentucky game, when he aired it out and threw for three touchdown passes and 320 yards.
Cons: UMass and North Texas – his two healthy games– should have allowed Del Rio to pad his stats, but that’s not how things played out. In the season opener against UMass, Del Rio posted a solid 65.6 completion percentage (29-of-44) but at only 5.8 yards per attempt. Florida should have been able to march up and down the field on the Minutemen with ease, but Del Rio dink-and-dunked the Gators to 24 points.
At the time of his injury against North Texas in Week 3, Del Rio was a concerning 14-of-25 passing. Sure, players improve over time with experience, but Del Rio missed the majority of last season and did not practice in spring. Del Rio has been on Power 5 rosters since 2013, one has to wonder if there’s even much year-to-year improvement at this stage of his career.
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