Luke Del Rio looking to stabilize Gators’ at QB
GAINESVILLE — Steve Spurrier had to be impressed, UF coach Jim McElwain suspected.
No coach went off script to find solutions under center like the Head Ball Coach. McElwain stole a page from Spurrier’s playbook during a comeback win at Kentucky, making a third-quarter switch from Feleipe Franks to Luke Del Rio that worked wonders.
Del Rio now looks to make McElwain’s Spurrier impersonation a one-time thing and stabilize a Gator offense in need of direction. The redshirt junior will make his first start in nearly 11 months at noon Saturday versus Vanderbilt.
Del Rio entered the season third in the pecking order, behind Franks and Malik Zaire. But the 2017 Gators (2-1, 2-0 SEC) have never look as smooth, sound and swift on offense as during the fourth quarter at Kentucky.
“I think that came with experience as well, just knowing the plan, knowing that they were kind of gassed in the fourth quarter late, and just trying to get to the ball and play fast,” sophomore receiver Josh Hammond said.
Playing with pace, UF erased a 13-point deficit during the final 11 minutes against a flagging Wildcats’ defense.
The Gators will look to start quickly and sustain the effort against Vanderbilt. The Commodores (3-1, 0-1) were gashed for 677 yards during last Saturday’s humiliating 59-0 home loss to Alabama.
But defensive-minded head coach Derek Mason’s team still leads the SEC against the pass and is usually no pushover.
“No. 1 the discipline in which they play with, the gap control, eye discipline and the way that they disguise in the back end, you can tell his fingerprints are all over it,” McElwain said.
Del Rio is the Gators’ best option in the kind of chess match McElwain anticipates.
“A lot of things he does is like having a coach on the field,” McElwain said.
At Kentucky, Del Rio’s ability to engineer the offense led to fewer missed blocks and more big plays than when Franks was in the game.
“We’re very confident in him,” center T.J. McCoy said of Del Rio. “He does a great job of calling out the play and explaining it to everybody. For me, he kind of tells me: ‘Hey, T.J. we’ve got a shift or a motion right here, so your Mike point is going to move.’
“He does a great job of that and keeping everybody together.”
More impressive, Del Rio kept himself together after an interception on his third pass.
Del Rio’s final three games of an injury-riddled 2016 season ended with six interceptions during a three-game stretch, including a pick-six to open his final game — a Nov. 4 loss at Arkansas.
At Kentucky, Del Rio’s confidence never wavered — a credit to his preparation, McElwain said.
“Some guys think they have swagger, but they haven’t put in the work,” McElwain said. “He actually has put in the work. His teammates respect that and obviously they’re ready to go with it.”
Del Rio will not be asked to carry the load against Vanderbilt.
Since totaling just 11 rushing yards against Michigan, the Gators have compiled 354 yards on the ground the past two games, largely due to freshman tailback Malik Davis’ emergence. UF’s defense ranks 11th in the SEC, but faces a Commodores’ attack averaging an SEClow 21 points.
This season, the Gators have been outscored 17-6 in the first quarter and 23-0 in the third quarter, signaling poor execution of both the initial game plan and halftime adjustments.
If the Gators struggle, McElwain has shown twice in three games he will make a quarterback switch. But now that Del Rio has won back the job, McElwain would be surprised if he loses it again.
“If there’s that one that really sticks out to me it’s his competitive spirit,” McElwain said of Del Rio. “He’s got a really, really high competitive spirit.”