The seventh and perhaps the most surprising Gator has informed head coach Will Muschamp that he will transfer away from the University of Florida. A day after walking across the stage and receiving his diploma, quarterback Tyler Murphy met with Will Muschamp and told him that he will not return for his fifth season in orange and blue.
Murphy took over early on against Tennessee this season after Jeff Driskel broke his leg in the first half. A career backup, Murphy had a year of firsts in 2013: his first start, completion and touchdown pass to name a few. Murphy got off to a good start with five touchdown passes and two rushing touchdowns in his first three games but he hurt his shoulder against LSU and was ineffective the rest of the way.
For the season, Murphy was 112-185 passing for 1,216 yards, six touchdowns and five interceptions. His best game was against Tennessee when he threw for 134 yards and a touchdown and ran the ball for 84 yards and another score.
With Max Staver’s transfer already announced, and Will Muschamp declaring an “open competition” at the quarterback position, the news of his transfer comes as a surprise. On the surface it would seem that Murphy was in the running to win the starting job outright, with the worst case scenario being that he would once again back up a quarterback with an extensive injury history. Rather than find a graduate program at Florida and finish out his eligibility, Murphy will find another school and will be eligible to play in 2014.
The loss of Murphy leaves the Gators with just two — soon to be three — scholarship quarterbacks left on the roster. Jeff Driskel and Skyler Mornhinweg are those and will be joined by freshman Will Grier this spring. Florida does have three walk-on quarterbacks in Jacob Guy, Ryan McGriff and Chris Wilkes available.
Since Jeff Driskel is now the quarterback, what happens if he doesn’t recover from his injury, doesn’t pick up the new offense, or is the same player he’s always been? The pro team in Jax finally figured out their touted prospect, Gabbert, can’t play. If Driskel is the same as Gabbert, what happens to the offense?