Florida played three quarterbacks – Feleipe Franks, Luke Del Rio and Malik Zaire – in 2017, but it was close to becoming four. Jake Allen, a 2017 signee, was asked to make the call, according to his mentor and passing academy coach, former Florida quarterback Eric Kresser.
“They actually asked him if he wanted to play near the end of the season,” Kresser told Inside the Gators. “They asked him if he wanted to burn that redshirt. And the season was already lost and I actually consulted Jake on it. We felt it was best (to redshirt). He had already spent a certain amount of weeks with the redshirt and the season was pretty much lost and at that point and the coach was on his way out. So he’s going to learn a new offense now and having that extra year is going to be a benefit.”
The fit of Allen, a former three-star pro-style quarterback prospect, in head coach Dan Mullen’s offense is a big picture heading into spring, but the quarterback was encouraged by what he heard from his new coach.
