McElwain keeping Gators’ options open at QB

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — No, Florida coach Jim McElwain hasn’t settled on a starting quarterback.

He hasn’t even pared down the three-man competition.

On Wednesday, McElwain said fourth-year junior Luke Del Rio, redshirt freshman Feleipe Franks and graduate transfer Malik Zaire all remain as possibilities to play this season, maybe even in next week’s season opener against No. 11 Michigan.

“You’re going to see a bunch of them in there playing,” McElwain said. “The three guys have done a really good job. I think there’s some things that they all bring to the table that are really good. Now the key to us is putting them in those positions, you know, that play to their strengths.

“Will all play? I don’t know yet. Will a couple of them play? I don’t know yet. I know we will have somebody at the position.”

McElwain insisted he’s not trying to gain a game-planning advantage over the Wolverines. He simply suggested none of the three has become a clear-cut choice for the 17th-ranked Gators.

What the coach is looking for is “ultimately the guy that the team moves with the best; the guys that create positive plays on third down and get the ball in the end zone.”

Del Rio, a college journeyman and the son of Oakland Raiders head coach Jack Del Rio, started six games last year before sustaining a season-ending shoulder injury in a loss at Arkansas in November. He had offseason surgery on both shoulders and missed all of spring practice but got back in the mix last month.

Franks has been the penciled-in starter for months, maybe even a year. A four-star recruit with prototypical size (6-foot-6, 238 pounds) and arm strength, he sat out last year while learning the offense and bulking up. He certainly looks the part now, but the Gators may not really want to rely on Franks to make his first career start away in front of 100,000 fans at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

The Gators added Zaire to the mix in June, a pretty clear indication coaches weren’t completely satisfied with their quarterback situation. The Notre Dame graduate missed most of the 2015 season because of a broken ankle and lost his starting job to DeShone Kizer in the 2016 season opener.

Zaire, who passed for 816 yards and six touchdowns in three seasons with the Fighting Irish, could be relegated to option and zone-read plays with the Gators.

“Will all play? I don’t know yet. Will a couple of them play? I don’t know yet. I know we will have somebody at the position.” – JIM MCELWAIN