GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Gators quarterback
Luke Del Rio said it best Wednesday when he announced he is not choosing to use his sixth year of eligibility and that he enjoyed "my unique college career."
A redshirt senior, Del Rio suffered a season-ending broken collarbone in the Sept. 30 victory over Vanderbilt, his only start of the season. Del Rio played in eight games over the past two seasons -- in his seven starts, the Gators went 6-1 -- but was unable to stay on the field due to injuries.
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Del Rio started his career as a walk-on at Alabama in 2013, played in three games at Oregon State in 2014, sat out the 2015 season after transferring to Florida, and opened the 2016 season as the Gators' starting quarterback. However, Del Rio suffered multiple injuries during the season and ended up giving way to
Austin Appleby, who finished the season as the starter and led the Gators to an Outback Bowl win over Iowa.
Del Rio, healthy following surgery on both shoulders in the offseason, battled
Feleipe Franks and
Malik Zaire for the starting job in preseason camp. He opened the season third on the depth chart, but by the third game, Del Rio came off the bench to replace Franks and led the Gators to a 28-27 comeback victory at Kentucky.
He started the following week at home against Vanderbilt, but after completing 7 of 11 passes for 64 yards, he broke his collarbone after being taken down hard to the turf late in the first half, essentially ending Del Rio's UF career.
Del Rio completed 130 of 226 passes (57.5 percent) for 1,496 yards, nine touchdowns and nine interceptions with the Gators. While his time at Florida didn't work out the way he probably envisioned, Del Rio was always the best option in former head coach
Jim McElwain's offense because of his experience and knowledge of the system.
Best of luck to Luke in his future endeavors.
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Unless you have been locked in a trunk and without internet access this week, you know the future of former Oregon/NFL head coach
Chip Kelly is on the mind of Gators fans.
While Kelly ponders his options, the 24/7 news cycle continues to pump out updates. Here are a few of the latest (use caution for your own sanity):
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For the record, Kelly's former boss at Oregon,
Mike Bellotti, spoke to
ESPN.com earlier about Kelly's options as a wanted man. Again, take all this with a grain of salt since until either Florida, UCLA or another school announces Kelly as their head coach, nothing is official ...
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Meanwhile, the UF soccer team heads to Columbia, S.C., today for Thanksgiving and Friday night's match against Southeastern Conference rival South Carolina for a berth in the College Cup (Final Four). The Independent Alligator's
Mark Stine with a story on the importance of Gators defender
Gabby Seiler ...
