Jim McElwain probably won’t applaud this selection, but this week, there is only one choice.
For the second straight week, quarterback Will Grier is the Sunshine State Player of the Week.
Grier ran the Gators’ record to 5-0 Saturday night with a 38-10 rout of previously third-ranked Ole Miss. Grier hit 24 of 29 for 279 yards and four touchdowns, most of it the first half when the Gators ran off and hid.
McElwain continues to pour faint praise on Grier, however, suggesting that he’s just doing his job. Maybe, but he’s doing it well. In the Gators’ win over Tennessee, Grier was five-for-five on fourth downs.
The suspicion is that McElwain is trying to motivate Grier, to suggest that he still has work to do to be the quarterback he needs to be. But who suspected he would have 20 touchdowns and 996 yards through the air by now, and who suspected he would have taken the Gators from unranked to No. 11 in the nation?
Ole Miss had no answer for Grier, who quickly pointed the Gators toward the upset.
Other players considered for the award were FSU safety Tyler Hunter, whose interception against Wake Forest sealed the victory, Miami running back Joe Yearby, who ran for 114 yards, USF running back Marlon Mack, who rushed for 107 yards and UCF receiver D’Erren Wilson, who caught seven passes for 114 yards and three touchdowns.
