After getting a bye week to work on the Florida Gators and what the team needs to do to better themselves rather than preparing for an opponent, Will Muschamp vowed that there would be changes made to the starting lineups. There will be, just not at the quarterback position.
Despite many fans calling for a change at quarterback, Muschamp still stood first next to redshirt junior Jeff Driskel. Jeff’s a guy that takes ownership in his play. He can’t force the ball in situations and it feels like he needs to play better and he’s a guy that recognizes that,” Muschamp said.
Following a performance that was tough to watch against Alabama, many on social media jumped out of the Driskel camp and started demanding that freshman quarterback Treon Harris be given a chance to not only play, but to start this week at Tennessee. Muschamp has heard those fans but he doesn’t think the majority of fans are calling for Driskel’s head.
He’s not worried about his redshirt junior quarterback. Driskel has showed his physical toughness on the field and he’s as mentally tough as they come as well.
“Be careful what you ask when you want to be the quarterback at Florida. That’s part of it,” said Muschamp. “He understands that. I don’t know if physically or mentally there’s any tougher kid that I’ve been around. He takes the heat and understands that comes with the territory.”
On Driskel’s end, the quarterback has deleted the Twitter app from his phone and generally avoids social media. He’ll tweet occasionally, mainly to teammates. He stays away from it because of what he called “unnecessary distractions” whether the Gators are winning or losing. Last week, a picture of Jeff tailgating at a FAU game (where he was with his family to watch his brother play) made the rounds on Twitter.
“I mean that’s not a big deal,” Driskel said of the photo that was retweeted hundreds of time this past weekend. “I was there supporting my brother with my family. People can try to make a big deal about anything. That’s not one.”
That’s the kind of craziness that Driskel and Muschamp want to avoid. Both parties have admitted that Driskel needs to play better and both expect that he will this week. If his past performance is any indication of how Driskel will handle the Rocky Top faithful, Gator fans could be singing a different tune by 4 p.m. Saturday.
As a first year starter, Driskel had the best game of his career against Tennessee. Driskel completed 14-of-20 pass attempts for 219 yards and two touchdowns. He’ll need to replicate that performance this week if the Gators want to come away with a win in Knoxville.
Florida can’t win the SEC this weekend in Neyland Stadium but a loss and the Gators are squarely behind the eight ball the rest of the way. A win in Knoxville would go a long way in getting the fans back behind Driskel.
“[Jeff Driskel’s] about all the right things,” Muschamp said on Monday. “And I think again, will continue to move forward this season and he’ll make the Gator Nation proud he’s their quarterback.
I guess for Driskel it was an alright game but I think he got a lot of those yards from short passes where the receiver ran a ton after the catch and we were terrible on 3rd down in that game.
I don’t think Muschamp has done any polling of Gator fans. Does he really think that the majority of Gator fans still back Jeff Driskel? If so, they must be part of the “silent majority” we heard about a few years ago because the vocal ones have been pretty clear about their feelings about Jeff Driskel, and it isn’t support.
I saw what a tough quarterback looked like in Raleigh this weekend, it was a former Gator quarterback. Jeff Driskel has never been known for his toughness, mental or physical. When can you ever remember him breaking tackles like Brissett did. He may be able to run, but when someone gets a hold of him, he goes down pretty easily. I guess Muschamp is still in awe of him walking off the field after he broke his leg. I’d rather see him be tough on the field. If he played through a broken leg, like Florida’s jack Youngblood or FSU’s E.J. Manuel, I’d be impressed. It’s beginning to become clear that what Muschamp sees when he looks at Driskel and what most other people see are quite different.
I guess the coaching staff isn’t listening to us folks after all. We really did stink up the boards too. Be that as it may…I would LOVE to see Driskel’s light come on. I would love to see Muschamp coach up these kids. I would love to see a win up in Rocky Top…Here’s to all of that coming to fruition. Go Gators-beat Tenn.
Ok, I’ve had enough of Snowball! I’m certainly not happy with the QB play either, but I will not go out on a message board and question his toughness or manhood. …now you’re just being an ass with some of your comments. I am NOT a Driskel apologist but who are you to judge …. The one game in a year and half where the OL finally pulled their weight… We still had 4 dropped passes that I remember….against the best or 2nd best team on the schedule. …and I guess it’s all Driskel…. The guy is tough and he has handled the criticism from tools like yourself with class. If you want to roast
him for results fine….but being a prick like you are and calling out his toughness and his intelligence….you are actually discrediting yours instead.
I also believe Boom is dreaming if he thinks it’s only a loud minority are calling for a QB change. . . Good God, at least give Treon a few reps before he starts having second thoughts.
I’m hoping the missing pass rush makes an appearance,, and that the Keystone Kops in the defensive backfield finally figure it out.
After watching the Vols play against those hairy Dawgs, I think we have a tall order to beat them, but I’m ever hopeful.
Go, you crazy Gators – give us something to cheer about.
Keywester, thank you for playing. You are just a Snowflake lite and should be wearing that god awful orange this Saturday. When UF wins 38-20 on Sat and you don’t show up to hammer your home team like you are now, we’ll know that u have a backbone made of peanut butter.