The Florida Gators quest to find a quarterback since Tim Tebow graduated is growing close to a decade. Head coach Jim McElwain, called a quarterback guru when he took the job at Florida, appeared to have his man in each of his first two seasons before suspension and injury derailed the progress.
Last week it was revealed that Luke Del Rio underwent shoulder surgery and would miss spring practice. With Austin Appleby’s graduation the Gators will be thin at quarterback when spring camp rolls around, but it may not be bad news.
Florida will turn the reigns over to a pair of redshirt freshmen in Feleipe Franks and Kyle Trask this offseason. When Del Rio struggled through a few rough starts while playing through injury and Austin Appleby faltered down the stretch fans clamored for either freshman to take over but McElwain was reluctant to burn either redshirt.
The two had very different high school experiences.
Franks led his Wakulla teammates to the state championship his senior year but fell short when Franks missed a 50-yard field goal with just seconds left, that’s right, he served as the team’s placekicker. He was a starter and his team went as far as Franks could take them.
“You’re talking about a guy, ultra talented,” offensive coordinator Doug Nussmeier said prior to the Outback Bowl. “[Franks] came in and we threw a lot him early and he’s really, really learned how to prepare and how to take the offense and take the tools we’re giving him and now apply him to the field.”
At 6-6 he stands above the rest of the quarterbacks. He has a rocket arm but his debut in the Orange and Blue game — throwing three interceptions — wasn’t the best first impression. He obviously moved past that performance as the season progressed. Franks rose to the backup job behind Appleby when Del Rio went down with injury.
Right next to Franks is fellow redshirt freshman Kyle Trask. Trask served mainly as a backup at Manvel High School. Trask had more than a couple of opportunities to transfer away but chose to stay at his high school and compete.
“Kyle, every day he goes out, every snap is a new adventure because he doesn’t have the library of snaps of some of the other guys that have played a lot of snaps in high school,” Nussmeier said of Trask before the Outback bowl.
Trask, to his credit, told Gator Country that he’s enjoyed his redshirt season and that, while it wasn’t his goal to redshirt when he signed his letter of intent and enrolled, he has learned a lot from being able to watch from the sideline.
Both young passers were able to go through practice and learn from two older, experienced signal callers. Even though Appleby is gone and Del Rio will be sidelined the two will not be thrown into the deep end without a life raft.
While at Colorado State with McElwain, Garrett Grayson was one of the most prolific passers in the country. As a senior Grayson was fourth in the nation with 4,006 passing yards and he added 32 touchdowns to that mark. That season made Grayson a third round pick in 2015 to the New Orleans Saints. Grayson hasn’t found his footing in the NFL and was demoted to the practice squad prior to the 2016 season. Those struggles brought Grayson back to his old coach, the one he threw for 8,648 yards and 62 touchdowns in three seasons.
According to ESPN’s Mike Triplett Grayson will work out in Gainesville, specifically with his McElwain, this offseason in order to make another run back into the NFL.
“It’s one of those deals that when you get into coaching, you really mean that you’re gonna be there for these guys and help in any way you can, even after they’re done playing for you. This is just an example of that,” McElwain told Triplett. “We’ve got a bunch of guys in the organization that are helping him. It’s all hands on deck. And that’s how we kind of treat people — whatever we can do to help ’em. But I told him now, I’m gonna put him on a schedule. So he better not miss anything because then he’s gotta deal with me.”
Grayson, 25, said it was his agent’s idea to rekindle a relationship that led to so much success on the field. For McElwain, it’s an opportunity to work with and help a quarterback that helped him land his current gig and maybe give Grayson an opportunity to find a meaningful role on a NFL roster. It should also be used as a chance to have two young freshmen connect with McElwain in a way that, maybe, no other quarterback has. McElwain and Grayson’s relationship, on and off the field, led to success in the win column. Trask and Franks should pick Grayson’s brain and use him as a mentor as the quarterback spends the offseason in Gainesville.
When the Gators take on Michigan September 2, it will likely be Franks or Trask under center. They’ll get a chance to duke it out this offseason but Grayson’s relationship, experience and knowledge of the system and their head coach should be used to benefit both young gunslingers as well as the Gators’ chances of finally landing on a true starting quarterback for the future.