Purdue transfer Appleby vies for UF starting job
GAINESVILLE — Purdue transfer Austin Apple by did not come to Florida to sit— or baby-sit.
Appleby strives to be a model teammate and share his experience as a fifthyear senior. But he did not leave West Lafayette, Ind., for Gainesville for the weather. Well, not entirely.
“Those 6 a.m. times in February I remember fondly, walking over in the cold and it ’s about minus-16 outside,” Appleby recalled Wednesday. “You’re questioning how much you like football at that time. It’s a little different when it’s 60 and you get to scoot on over.”
Appleby now hopes to earn the keys to the 2016 Gators, not serve as Luke Del Rio’s back-up or merely mentor first-year freshmen Feleipe Franks and Kyle Trask.
“I didn’t come here to not play,” Appleby said. “I came here to compete and earn this starting job.”
Del Rio, a redshirt sophomore, entered spring practices the frontrunner in the quarterback race, while either Franks or Trask could be the Gators’ future.
Appleby is bigger (6-4, 235) and more mobile than Del Rio and more experienced than Franks and Trask. Appleby also has just one year of eligibility to go.
But he ended up with at shot at UF because he and coach Jim McElwain each had something to offer the other one.
Appleby, 22, would provide McElwain a quarterback with starting experience in a major conference. The reigning SEC East champion Gators would give Appleby a chance to compete for a championship after three seasons playing for a Big Ten doormat.
Gator fans who think the Will Muschamp Era was bad missed Darrell Hazell’s first three seasons at Purdue, a stretch during which the Boilermakers were 6-30 and won two of 24 conference games.
Appleby started 11 games the past two seasons, winning two. He ended his career with as many touchdowns as interceptions (19 each).
On the surface, it is not the résumé of a differencemaker at quarterback for Gators.
But Appleby said the growing pains at Purdue made him a better player and will benefit him at UF.
Playing with a defense ranked 111th of 128 teams in 2015, Appleby forced passes and made mistakes.
“Looking back, I probably should not have focused on, ‘Man, I have to score 40 for us to have a chance,’” he said. “That’s not an excuse, that’s a reality of me growing and looking back and me being critical of myself. I don’t control any of that. I control this play.
“Just go make this play work and do it again and again and again and just get completions.”
Appleby’s final two games at Purdue were among his best. He was 59-of-97 passing (60.8 percent), and totaled 591 yards, three touchdowns and two picks. Purdue still lost to Indiana and Iowa by a combined score of 94-56.
Appleby quickly realized at UF hewould not be forced to carry the weight of the team.
“There’s talent everywhere, but it’s just these guys are special,” Appleby said. “Everything happens a tick faster here. Everyday you have to bring your Agame.
“That’s going to serve us well down the road, especially when you get to September.”
When September arrives, Appleby hopes to be the Gators’ ninth starting quarterback since Tebow.
Appleby certainly was born to play the position.
Appleby his a native of Canton, Ohio, home to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. His father, Mike, played quarterback at Louisville and later Akron.
Appleby recalled watching the Hall of Fame games in Fawcett Stadium, while his dad prepared him for the future.
“We used to sit in the end zone, he always said, ‘Read the defenses,’” Appleby said. “I didn’t know what Iwas looking at, but I was looking.”
Appleby now envisions a bright, though brief, future with the Gators. But as he left practice, Appleby looked no farther ahead than Wednesday night film study.
“Taking it one day at a time,” he said. “The only thing I’m focused on is watching this film and getting ready for our scrimmage on Friday. September will get here soon and I can’t wait.”