If you came to the Florida Gators season opener looking for closure in the quarterback battle between Will Grier and Treon Harris you did not find what you were looking for.
Treon Harris earned the start and completed his first seven pass attempts, threw a touchdown pass and led another scoring drive before giving way to Will Grier. The redshirt freshman’s night started with a fumble but then turned it on. Grier played six consecutive drives in the middle quarters resulting in a lost fumble, touchdown pass, rushing touchdown, passing touchdown, field goal and another rushing score.
“Both of our quarterbacks played wonderful tonight,” offensive guard Antonio Riles said following the game. “Treon made some big throws, Will had some nice throws as well and some great runs. Seeing the same type of things out of them, so I know coach Mac has got a decision to make. Regardless of what happens, we’re going to be behind both of them, so we’re happy about that.”
The two quarterbacks combined to go 29-of-36 passing for 379 yards and four touchdowns. Neither quarterback threw an interception and Grier added 43 rushing yards and a score too boot.
However, neither quarterback seemed to outshine the other. The offense appeared to move more quickly and efficiently with Grier in the game but Harris was efficient and didn’t have a turnover. The game leaves us largely where we were before kickoff, with as many questions as answers to the Florida Gators quarterback conundrum.
“You know, we’ll probably do something similar next week,” Jim McElwain said when asked what he will do with the quarterbacks for the game against ECU. “I’m thinking right now, we haven’t sat down and talked about it obviously but I can see us doing that.”
Both Harris and Grier will play against next week. Who will start, we found out, is largely irrelevant as the quarterbacks took as close to an equal amount of reps as humanly possible.
If Saturday night did anything it showed the Gators fans just how close this battle has been. McElwain hasn’t minced words when it’s come to his passers and he’s been upfront and honest to them face-to-face as well as speaking about them publically. He heaps praise when it is due but he’s a perfectionist who asks the same of his players.
“Both guys are doing a great job and I think they looked comfortable. I was a little disappointed, maybe, in our communication from the sideline to the huddle,” said McElwain following the game. “You know we snapped a couple times with like 16, 13 on the clock and it was because we weren’t getting the signals right. That kind of irritated, it really pissed me off to be honest with you. That’s unacceptable. We gotta get that right next week.”
The Gators will get another tune up game in a familiar foe. Harris led the Gators into the Birmingham Bowl against ECU just eight months ago. This time he will have to share the reps with another quarterback.
Jim McElwain has shown a history of being very decisive with the quarterbacks he coaches. He’s had quarterback battles in the past that have gone on into the season but he always settled on one guy and stuck with him. In his first big-time head-coaching gig, McElwain isn’t even close to naming a starting quarterback.
In Fact, he’s even contemplating doing the complete opposite.
“I can see that,” McElwain said when asked if he could foresee the Gators playing two quarterbacks the whole season. “Like I said, we’ll take a look at the film and probably do something similar next week.”