Florida Gators

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The first day of the spring battle between quarterbacks Feleipe Franks and Kyle Trask is in the books. True freshman Kadarius Toney took some reps, too.

Did Florida head coach Jim McElwain see enough to anoint one of them as the future? No, that likely will not happen until Thursday. OK, not really. Kidding aside, McElwain's most decisive remark after practice was their ability to stretch the field in the passing game.

"Those guys aren't afraid to put the ball down the field,'' he said. "There's no doubt about it. We've got a couple of guys that can chase it down. I think we've got a chance to really push the ball down the field."



Redshirt freshmen who joined the program in January 2016, both Franks and Trask showed off their strong arms as Florida opened its third spring camp under McElwain. Franks connected with receiver Tyrie Cleveland for a long pass early in practice.

McElwain approved, but pointed out the safety depth on the play wasn't ideal, which is life as a coach when you are competing against your own defense.

Overall, McElwain praised the way the young quarterback trio performed as the leaders of the offense with the only quarterback on the roster to play in a game, Luke Del Rio, out this spring following shoulder surgery.

"All three quarterbacks took a bunch of reps. Threw it to our guys most of the time. Occasionally threw it to the other guys,'' McElwain said. "Overall, those guys handled what we had in. We were actually able to be a little ahead in install, so that was a good thing.

"We were able to show a bunch of different formational things and yet run the base attack. That shows me they've had a really good offseason and really an understanding coming from last fall into spring."
 

Franks and Trask watched from the sideline last season as Del Rio (six starts) and departed senior Austin Appleby (seven starts) directed the offense.

Now it's their turn.

Sophomore receiver Josh Hammond, a 2016 early enrollee who arrived at UF the same time as Franks and Trask, sees progress in their development.

"It's going to be a great competition,'' Hammond said. "They have both grown a lot since they got here. From high school to college is a big difference. They've had some time to get used to it and I think that really helped them grow."

Franks arrived as the more celebrated recruit, but Trask, despite serving as the backup in high school, had a better performance in last year's Orange & Blue Debut in limited playing time.

Both have made significant strides since then as they adjusted college.

"I knew they were talented quarterbacks when we first got here,'' Hammond said. "As practice started, you could tell they just needed to grow a lot and learn. I think that's what they've done over the past year."

The Florida offense has yet to fully bloom in McElwain's two seasons, which is a key emphasis heading into next season. The primary reason is inconsistency at quarterback. The Gators have used four starters in McElwain's first two seasons.

The Gators are without a large chunk of its formidable defense from his first two years, with eight starters off last year's team no longer on the roster.

However, Franks and Trask's potential, plus a talented receiving corps that McElwain considers a strength, has fans thinking this could be the year the offense outshines the defense.

Running back Jordan Scarlett is ready to play his part.

"We need to be a better offense in general,'' Scarlett said. "I honestly think our defense won't miss a beat with those guys leaving because half of them were out towards the end of the season and we did fine."

After day one, McElwain seemed to be in a good mood. That's a good sign.

As for any critical analysis, McElwain said both Franks and Trask still tend to lock in on their first options too much rather progress through their reads. That is not uncommon for young quarterbacks yet to play in a game.

"We'll keep working on it,'' McElwain said. "I thought we did some good stuff with the [run-pass-option] stuff with them today in the pass game."

The battle continues.