There are a lot of questions on the offense of the Florida Gators. How will the Gators’ attack look under new coach Jim McElwain? Who will comprise a rebuilt offensive line? Will the receivers continue to drop passes as they have in practice?
Really, however, most Gator fans want to know the answer to one thing:
Who’s the quarterback?
It is a quarterbacks’ school, after all, and quarterbacks have defined the best moments for the Gators. Now, the choice is down to Will Grier and Treon Harris, however, and McElwain doesn’t seem as if he’s in any hurry to announce his starter.
“Those two guys are progressing,” McElwain told reporters. “No clear separation yet. And that’s OK. That’s alright. They’re competing. They’re working.
“I do know this, somebody’s going to take a snap the first play,” he said. “I don’t know who it is yet. As soon as we know, we’ll let you know.””
McElwain said he wouldn’t be opposed to a shared quarterback situation as the Gators enter their first game against New Mexico State on Sept. 5. It isn’t the ideal situation, as many will remember from the days of Steve Spurrier, but McElwain thinks there’s no reason to rush his decision until he sees his quarterbacks under duress.
“I think that’s invaluable,” he said. “You try to put them in some of those situations where you kind of take the colored jersey off a little bit and yet you’ve got to kind of be careful with that as well. Being able to move in the pocket — and I’m not saying you’ve got to go beat them with your feet — you’ve got to be able to slide with pressure, ball security and be able to get your feet set to get the ball off because that’s what successful quarterbacks do.
Florida has been lightly regarded in most of the preseason prognostication and could be an underdog in as many of nine of its games. Florida fans, however, hope that a fresh coach and a strong defense will carry the Gators.
“At the end of the day, these guys have the talent to do it,” he said. “You talk about believing in yourself. Confidence. Confidence is something that’s gained by believing in through knowledge of knowing what to do.”
In other news, an unidentified defensive tackle was tossed from practice for committing an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. McElwain expressed his frustrations over the incident, even mentioning UF’s lack of discipline the past several years.
“I kicked [a player] out of the scrimmage. That’s not how it works. He’s gone. That’s the way it is. Those are the unforced errors that have been the Achilles’ heel for a long time around here,” McElwain said. “I’m tired of it. If that’s the way you’re going to act, go sit on the bench. Somebody else can play. I was very upset about that. … We’ve got some behavior that we’ve got to keep working on.
“What are we? The most penalized team in the last five years, six years, whatever it is? I don’t know where we sit. It’s ridiculous.”
