Could one of the most important players on the Florida Gators roster, not only not start in the fall, but play sparingly and only “if necessary”?
While the Gators faithful are hoping and praying that Luke Del Rio is the answer, finally, at quarterback for the 2016 season – the man that backs him up could be equally, if not more important.
With Del Rio the likely starter, it is Purdue graduate transfer Austin Appleby that may near the role as “most necessary player”.
Now, I am not saying that Appleby is, on paper, a bigger asset than Jalen Tabor, Caleb Brantley, or Antonio Callaway, but based on the history of the quarterback position since 2010, Appleby’s role is drastically more important than is being talked about.
Since 2010, the Gators have not had one quarterback start every game, and since 2013, no quarterback has taken more than 66% of the total snaps for the year. After three years of some decent continuity from 2010 – 2012, where only 12%, 25%, and 15% of snaps were taken by someone other than the opening day starting quarterback; since 2013, 80%, 34%, and 42% of snaps were taken by someone other than the named started quarterback.
Although Del Rio is the presumed starter, three things could happen: he could get inured; be terrible-to-very average quarterback and worth of replacement; or get suspended for any variety of reasons. And with that said, whether it was due to injury (2010, 2011, 2012, 2013), lack of production (2014), or suspension (2015), the Gators have had a litany of issues plague their starting quarterback role.
Over the last six seasons, while the Gators haven’t had outstanding play from any of the quarterbacks, there was a pretty drastic difference between John Brantley and Trey Burton and Jordan Reed; between Jeff Driskel and Jacoby Brissett (save the debate for the message board); and Jeff Driskel and Tyler Murphy and Skyler Mornhinweg. Really, the only time the back-up ever did better than the starter was during the 2015 season, when Treon Harris “started” at quarterback during the first game, but ultimately lost his job to Will Grier before gaining it back due to suspension.
If you look at the numbers you will see the fall-off between starter and backup. Primarily, backup quarterbacks simply have not been trusted to throw the ball, so numbers may seem skewed, outside of Will Grier, the Gators back-up quarterbacks only averaged 11.85 attempts per game and only 77.5 yards per game. Their 55.73% completion percentage on only 6.33 yards per attempt, trail starters by seven completion percentage points and nearly a yard per attempt. While those numbers don’t seem drastically different, quarterbacks that did not earn the starting role, but were given the role because of injury or suspension have a record of only 11-14, compared to a record of 38-15 for starters.
Now, I say all this knowing that Austin Appleby has flaws. Austin Appleby has a 2-9 record as a starter at Purdue. He has thrown 19 touchdowns and 19 interceptions. He only averaged 5.7 yards per attempt and had a 55.3% completion percentage. Even though in his last two games, he did throw at a completion rate of 60.7% and for 591 yards.
I will never argue that Appleby had statistics worth bragging about, but what he does is significant game experience – something a Florida quarterback has only had once (Treon Harris, 2015). His game time experience allows him to step-in, assume responsibilities, and not force the loss of a redshirt for two freshman quarterbacks, something Florida had to do four times in the last five years.
During the Orange and Blue Debut, Appleby displayed some command of the offense going 8-for-11 for 80 yards and McElwain has said some nice things about Appleby, his command and his ability to compete.
You see when looking at Appleby, it’s not all about statistics. Why? Because Purdue not only had significantly less talent on offense, but also had a defense that was ranked 111th in the country – scoring points and forcing balls wasn’t just for statistics, it was simply a requirement to stay competitive.
While Appleby may never be see a ton of meaningful playing time at Florida this season, his mere presence on the bench as a capable back-up, something that Florida hasn’t had since Cam Newton is a huge sigh of relief. Because if history holds, Appleby will see the field at some point during 2016 and you will be glad it is someone that has experience.