17 Days to Toledo: Skyler Mornhinweg

Over the next 17 days, Gator Country will preview the players that make up the 2013 Florida Gators football team as we inch closer and closer to the season.

Each day we will count down using the player whose jersey number corresponds with how many days there are left until Florida kicks off against Toledo in the Swamp on August 31.

Today we take a look at redshirt freshman quarterback Skyler Mornhinweg

History

Skyler is the son of Marty Mornhinweg, the current offensive coordinator for the New York Jets. The elder Mornhinweg was previously with the Philadelphia Eagles and that is where Skyler attended St. Joseph’s prep school.

Mornhinweg was a somewhat lightly recruited quarterback who chose Florida late in the process over schools like Alabama, Illinois, Penn State, Stanford and Tennessee.

He spent his first season redshirting and is currently competing for reps behind Jeff Driskel.

Player Evaluation

Strengths

Mornhinweg is an athletic quarterback with good quickness and foot speed. He has experience both under center and in the shotgun.  He has a quick, compact delivery and good footwork.

A coach’s son, Mornhinweg is a very instinctual player and you can tell that he has spent a lot of time around the game.

Weaknesses

Mornhinweg needs to work on his drop. He doesn’t show enough urgency in his drop back and needs to work on his footwork both in his drop and throughout his throw. He can get lazy with his feet which leads to him to not get his weight through on passes.

Mornhinweg has a unique delivery. He cups the ball with his hand and wrist, which makes it look like he pushes the ball rather than throws it. He has a decent arm and can spin it at times but he could stand to add some more power to his throws.

His accuracy depends on his footwork, which isn’t consistent enough yet.

What to Expect

With Jeff Driskel returning to practice and taking back the starting job, that pushes everyone else back down a peg on the depth chart. Behind Driskel is Tyler Murphy and Mornhinweg is competing with Max Staver for the No. 3 spot on the depth chart.

I wouldn’t expect to see a lot of him this season. After Jeff Driskel, Tyler Murphy appears to have locked down the backup spot. It would take both Murphy and Driskel – or something unforeseen the rest of fall camp – for Mornhinweg to work himself into a role where he would be getting meaningful snaps this fall.

Nick de la Torre
A South Florida native, Nick developed a passion for all things sports at a very young age. His love for baseball was solidified when he saw Al Leiter’s no-hitter for the Marlins live in May of 1996. He was able to play baseball in college but quickly realized there isn’t much of a market for short, slow outfielders that hit around the Mendoza line. Wanting to continue with sports in some capacity he studied journalism at the University of Central Florida. Nick got his first start in the business as an intern for a website covering all things related to the NFL draft before spending two seasons covering the Florida football team at Bleacher Report. That job led him to GatorCountry. When he isn’t covering Gator sports, Nick enjoys hitting way too many shots on the golf course, attempting to keep up with his favorite t.v. shows and watching the Heat, Dolphins and Marlins. Follow him on twitter @NickdelatorreGC