Florida Gators

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Driving into work this morning, I passed Gators quarterback Feleipe Franks walking down the sidewalk adjacent to the team's indoor practice facility.

Franks looked like any other UF student with a backpack slung over his shoulders, cap turned backward, and earbuds plugged in, strolling toward his next destination.

Of course, there is one major difference between Franks and the 50,000-plus students who share the same campus: his Friday night is going to be scrutinized, analyzed and anatomized more than theirs are.
 
Franks and fellow redshirt freshman Kyle Trask have waged a quarterback battle this spring. Based on the recent tone around the Gators, Franks apparently has edged in front as spring camp comes to a close.

Franks discussed the intensity of the battle earlier this spring.

"It's a great competition between me and Kyle,'' he said. "It's the best one I've ever been a part of. It's going to make me and him better every day."

Ultimately, Friday night's Orange & Blue Debut spring game is about the quarterbacks more than anything else. Same as last season, and in reality, pretty much every season since Tim Tebow took his final college snap. Kicker Eddy Pineiro offered a brief respite from the tired storyline last year.

With Luke Del Rio unavailable due to a pair of offseason shoulder surgeries, Franks, Trask and true freshman Kadarius Toney have taken the snaps in Florida's third spring camp under head coach Jim McElwain and offensive coordinator Doug Nussmeier.

While both Franks and Trask have been on campus for 16 months, the only sample we have of what they have done in front of a crowd is from last season's Orange & Blue Debut. Franks tossed three interceptions on his first four passes and finished 5 of 11 for 58 yards – he split time on both teams -- his final pass a touchdown to tight end C'yontai Lewis. Trask was 4 of 7 for 63 yards for the Orange.

Both will take a lot more snaps on Friday than in limited playing time last season.

With the Orange & Blue Debut two days away, here are fresh links from this spring about the Gators' most important position battle of camp:

--Inside Florida's quarterback battle between Franks and Trask writes Andy Staples of SI.com.

--UF QBs Franks, Trask enjoy friendly battle for starting job writes Edgar Thompson of the Orlando Sentinel.

--UF focuses on QBs Franks and Trask writes Matt Baker of TampaBay.com.

--Optimism evident as Florida quarterbacks battle for job writes Ed Aschoff of ESPN.com.

--Franks says he has come a long way since arriving at UF writes Ryan Young of SECCountry.com.