Treon Harris trotted out on to the field in front of 102,445 wild Tennessee Volunteer fans with 19 seconds remaining in the third quarter of a game with his team trailing 9-0. The Florida Gators nine game-winning streak over the Vols was in jeopardy, Jeff Driskel and the offense had been shut out all day. The first half drive chart read punt, punt, interception, punt, punt, end of half and the third quarter wasn’t much different. Interception, punt and punt.
Jalen Tabor forced a fumble, setting up the Florida offense on the Volunteer 30-yard line. Behind the begging and pleading of Gator Nation, Harris was inserted into the game as a last hope, the final option to try and win the game. Matt Jones ran for three yards, and then took a pass from Harris for twelve more. Harris called his own number for a 10-yard run and Florida was in the end zone two plays later. Harris would lead a second scoring drive to give Florida a win and intoxicate a fan base. It was Treon Time and Gator Nation was behind him.
That game also did something else for Harris. Just a freshman, his teammates had seen what he could do in practice, but leading them to a victory in Knoxville, with their backs up against a wall, showed them that this freshman could play, he could lead and they were behind him fully.
Harris is battle tested.
“Yeah, any experience in the SEC is vital,” redshirt senior Trip Thurman said of Harris. “And with him having that experience last year and this year too, is definitely key for him coming in and [we] probably won’t skip a beat.”
Harris started the final six games of the 2014 season and the first game of the 2015 season. He has led the Gators to a 5-2 record as a starter, and has completed 74-of-138 pass attempts for 1,288 yards, 11 touchdowns and four interceptions. He’s added 85 carries for 395 yards and three touchdowns over his career as well.
It was the respect that he earned through playing as a true freshman that made him a favorite of his teammates. They had gone to battle with Harris and many of his teammates expected that he would be the starting quarterback when Florida kicked off the season against New Mexico State.
“We already know what he can do. Last year we saw him and I was kind of surprised that he wasn’t starting this year,” junior linebacker Jarrad Davis said of Harris. “At the same time Coach makes those decisions. He picked the right guy and now it’s time for Treon to step up, take that spot back and charge on,”
This week when the Florida Gators enter Death Valley Harris will make his first start since the season opener. Death Valley is no easy venue for any opposing team and the 6:30 local time kickoff makes it even more daunting for Harris and the Gators.
This is the fifth time the LSU Tigers and Florida Gators have squared up against each other with both teams ranked in the top-10. Florida holds a 3-1 advantage in that scenario but LSU has only lost twice in 46 games when Les Miles is their coach and kickoff is at night in Tiger Stadium. The stage will be big, the fans will be hostile but Harris’ teammates are letting him know that he isn’t going into Death Valley alone.
He’s a gamer. He’s showed that, he’s proved it,” senior defensive lineman Jonathan Bullard said. “I told him today, I tapped him and I’m like, ‘I’m behind you. Let’s go. Take care of the ball and we’re going to be all right.”
They lost at home at night last year to both Miss State and Bama. I thought Bama had beaten them another time and we had in ’09. I guess not since I’ve seen the only 2 losses in the Les Miles era in multiple GatorCountry articles now.