Life and politics from the Sunshine State's best city

Florida to look to other quarterbacks in South Carolina game

in Sports/Top Headlines by

The University of Florida, looking to avoid its second straight late-season swoon, will have to rely on a new quarterback to take them home.

Starter Luke Del Rio is out for Saturday’s game against South Carolina with an injured shoulder. That leaves transfer Austin Appleby to start for the Gators. Freshmen Feleipe Franks and Kyle Trask could see playing time.

Florida coach Jim McElwain said he was planning to evaluate the quarterback position even before Del Rio’s injury. Del Rio threw for only 229 yards and two interceptions.

Appleby started two games earlier in the season, losing to Tennessee and barely beating Vanderbilt.

“I haven’t played well,” Del Rio told reporters. “I haven’t taken care of the ball. I need to be consistent with my decision-making and my accuracy.”

The Gators play South Carolina Saturday. They still have to travel to LSU and FSU later in the year.

Gary Shelton is one of the most recognized and honored sportswriters in the history of the state. He has won the APSE's national columnist of the year twice and finished in the top 10 eight times. He was named the Florida Sportswriter of the Year six times. Gary joined SaintPetersBlog in the spring, helping to bring a sports presence to the website. Over his time in sports writing, Gary has covered 29 Super Bowls, 10 Olympics, Final Fours, Masters, Wimbledons and college national championships. He was there when the Bucs won a Super Bowl, when the Lightning won a Stanley Cup and when the Rays went to a World Series. He has seen Florida, FSU and Miami all win national championships, and he covered Bear Bryant, Bobby Bowden and Don Shula along the way. He and his wife Janet have four children: Eric, Kevin, K.C. and Tori. To contact, visit [email protected]

Latest from Sports

Go to Top