Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Gators may use three QBs against Michigan
GAINESVILLE — UF coach Jim McElwain has yet to decide on a starting quarterback, but not because he’s unhappy with his situation under center.
McElwain actually is so pleased with the Gators’ heated competition he said he is pondering playing all three QBs during next weekend’s season opener against Big Ten powerhouse Michigan.
“I think there's some things they all bring to the table that's really good,” McElwain said. “Now the key to us is putting them in those positions that play to their strengths.”
While McElwain weighs a decision, he is keenly aware of the growing anxiety in Gator Nation about the quarterback situation. UF has failed to find a dependable quarterback since the days of Tim Tebow.
McElwain, though, does not see a reason for all the hand-wringing about who will take the first snap against the Wolverines.
The 55-year-old coach even grew a bit feisty Wednesday when pressed whether his indecision was “definitively not” a ploy to disrupt Michigan’s game planning.
“Absolutely, definitively not doing that,” McElwain said. “There are no mind games. I know what you got to write, write what you got to do. I’ve told you the answer. But definitively that is a true statement.”
He then chuckled and concluded, “I love it.”
Meanwhile, McElwain’s quarterbacks are not enamored with the idea of their coach alternating snaps.
“Obviously it’s not ideal,” Notre Dame graduate transfer Malik Zaire said earlier this week about splitting the job. “I don’t think anybody in the quarterback room wants that. But at the end of the day, you just gotta do what coach wants. I feel like coach should be confident enough to stick with a guy and be able to roll with that guy because that’s best for the team.
“When you have all these quarterbacks, you still have none at the end of the day.”
Rotating three quarterbacks with the first-team offense has created some challenges during preseason practices.
“It is difficult because everybody kind of gets use to one guy and you’re trying to get in a rhythm,” redshirt junior Luke Del Rio said.
But McElwain said Zaire, Del Rio and redshirt freshman Feleipe Franks have capitalized on their opportunities and forced their coach to decide the best way to use them.
“Will all play? I don't know yet. Will a couple of them play? I don't know yet,” McElwain said. “I know we will have somebody at the position. This is not ... don't read into this — we're not happy where they're at. It’s the competition that has really brought out some good things.”
Each quarterback brings his own talents to the mix.
Zaire can extend plays with this feet and pick up yards running the read-option; Del Rio is the best among the three at pre-snap reads and is throwing the ball with zip and accuracy following offseason surgery on both shoulders; and Franks, at 6-foot-6, 238 pounds, is blessed immense physical tools, highlighted by a strong arm that allows him to challenge defenses down field.
In the end, McElwain knows it comes down to one thing.
“Ultimately the guy that the team moves with the best,” he said. “The guys that create positive plays on third down and get the ball in the end zone. That's kind of where we're at.”