The Florida Gators quarterback competition has finally come to a close, at least for the time being.
Head coach Jim McElwain announced in his post-practice press conference on Wednesday that redshirt freshman Feleipe Franks will be the starter against Michigan on Saturday. After winning the battle over fellow redshirt freshman Kyle Trask coming out of spring, Franks was put into a second competition lasting the entirety of camp.
He won the job in the three-man battle over graduate transfer Malik Zaire and former starter, redshirt junior Luke Del Rio. With all three quarterbacks making a push in camp, each with unique abilities, McElwain called it a true competition, but Franks’ whole body of work eventually earned him a starting spot.
“I met with the quarterbacks this morning,” McElwain said. “You know, we’ll start Feleipe. We still have a plan moving forward with everything that we have … But that was something that, again, we met this morning and practiced that way this afternoon and will continue moving forward. Obviously with the packages and plan that we have in place the others will be ready to go. That’s something that the guys have done a really good job of. And here’s the good thing. We had some choices and some real hard choices there. I think that’s really good.”
When Zaire came in out of Notre Dame, he appeared to be the frontrunner as a player with experience, speed and accuracy. Del Rio seemed to be more of a longshot after undergoing two offseason surgeries and some poor play last season, but he made a late push for the job.
While Zaire was not with the program yet and Del Rio was still in rehab, Franks worked the entire spring and summer with the team, which ended up being a huge advantage. His arm strength, leadership, size and pocket awareness gave him upside in camp.
“I think the big thing is the whole body of work from spring on,” McElwain said. “Him being there, being a part of that, I think he was a little bit ahead. And you know what, he deserves it. He’s done a really good job. Not to say the other guys didn’t. There’s still a little bit there obviously with the late start on the injury and then obviously the way it started getting here in the middle of the summer. At this point, he’s done a good job and we’re excited for him.”
When McElwain met with the quarterbacks to give them the news, the reaction was what should be expected. He said Zaire and Del Rio reacted like competitors should, but were good teammates as well.
“He was excited,” McElwain said of Franks’ reaction. “I mean, obviously the other guys were disappointed, and yet the other guys were also there to be supportive. They’ve been in those situations. It’s not like they’re not going to be ready to play. I think when you look at the full body of work, you know what, he deserved it.”
Other players have said all along that whoever won the job, they would be ready to play behind them, but it was not a total surprise when they were informed of the decision.
“Well, they kind of probably saw that coming based on how the reps were breaking up, but it isn’t like they jumped up and down or sat there and cried,” said McElwain. “It’s just they know they have to play hard to go have an opportunity to win. They’ll do that.”
McElwain did not go into further detail on whether Zaire and Del Rio will play on Saturday or if the decision is a final one moving forward, only saying there is a “plan” in place. Franks will at least get the first shot at it.
He will make his Florida debut at AT&T Stadium against Michigan at 3:30 p.m. ET.