GAINESVILLE, Fla. –
Jim McElwain named
Luke Del Rio the Gators' starting quarterback for the 2016 season opener on Aug. 18, exactly nine months ago Friday.
A lot has happened to Del Rio since then, including disappearing from view when most media and UF fans toss around the potential starters in the 2017 opener against Michigan.
Prior to a speaking engagement Tuesday night in Jacksonville, McElwain reminded a group of reporters not to discount Del Rio as a viable option.
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Luke Del Rio continues to recover from offseason shoulder surgery. (File photo)
"I think for sure,'' McElwain said when asked if ruling out Del Rio is a mistake. "When you take a look [at] when he was healthy and the numbers he put up in the first three or four games, whatever it was -- very efficient, touchdown passes to interception ratio was really good, our production in the red area was good. He's a guy that obviously knows what he's doing."
Del Rio started six games last season and Florida was 5-1 in those games. He threw for 1,358 yards with eight touchdowns and eight interceptions. But once he suffered a knee injury in the third game against North Texas, Del Rio never looked the same.
The week after he returned to lead the Gators to a 24-10 win over Georgia, he suffered a shoulder injury in a 31-10 loss at Arkansas. He convinced McElwain he was good to stay in the game but didn't take another snap the rest of the season as
Austin Appleby started the final five games.
Del Rio missed spring practice after surgery on both shoulders in the offseason and his status for fall camp remains in question.
"There's another check-up kind of coming,'' McElwain said. "He's ahead of schedule, I can tell you that, from what the normal piece was. A lot of that is going to be up to him and what he's able to handle."
Redshirt freshmen
Feleipe Franks and
Kyle Trask battled for the starting job in camp. Franks finished ahead in the race after the spring game and is considered the favorite to be Florida's starting quarterback on Sept. 2 in Arlington, Texas, against Michigan. Trask had arthroscopic knee surgery after the Orange & Blue Debut but has resumed workouts.
"Feleipe is the guy right now and we'll see from there,'' McElwain said. "But at the same time, whoever gives us the best opportunity to win a game is going to be the quarterback."
The Gators added true freshman
Kadarius Toney in January and former St. Thomas Aquinas starter
Jake Allen joined the program earlier this month.
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PICKING UP SPEED
Receivers
Tyrie Cleveland,
Josh Hammond and
Freddie Swain contributed as true freshmen last season, bolstering a unit that lacked depth. They could be getting help soon from
Rick Wells, who was redshirted last season and missed spring practice due to a leg injury.
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Rick Wells
A product of Raines High in Jacksonville, Wells played in the Class 4A state championship game as a senior and hauled in 29 receptions and six touchdowns in his final prep season.
"I'm really excited about the way he's attacked his rehab,'' McElwain said. "he's not feeling sorry for himself. He is getting healthy. He's one of those guys that is going to play for the Gators. He was the MVP of one of our final scrimmages of bowl week."
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TABOR READY TO START
Former Gators cornerback
Teez Tabor had to wait until the second round to hear his name called in last month's NFL Draft. He was the third UF defensive back selected after the Jets took safety
Marcus Maye and Indianapolis picked cornerback
Quincy Wilson.
While fellow Lions rookie and Gators teammate
Jarrad Davis is
projected to start immediately for the Lions, Tabor is expected to ease into the rotation.
Whatever happens, Tabor is fired up to get started. At least according to his Twitter account.
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GREAT EXPECTATIONS
Other than quarterback, the offensive line has probably been Florida's most scrutinized position during McElwain's first two seasons at UF.
The Gators have allowed an FBS-high 46 sacks in 2015 and a year ago McElwain questioned the group's toughness. To help solve the latter, he hired former Oklahoma offensive lineman
Brad Davis in the offseason after Mike Summers left for Louisville.
Davis is an in-your-face coach who strives to motivate as much as teach the X's and O's. McElwain is confident this year's offensive line is going to be his best at Florida.
"I'm really excited about this group,'' he said. "This is the best we've been since I've been here at that position. It's a group that is actually going to now be a true strength for the Gators."
The Gators lost only one regular starter from the end of last season – left tackle
David Sharpe. Based on what transpired in spring camp, the starting lineup looks like this heading into the fall: LT
Martez Ivey, LG
Brett Heggie, C
T.J. McCoy, RG
Fred Johnson/
Tyler Jordan and RT
Jawaan Taylor.
"They've kind of changed their mindset from a work standpoint and a competitive standpoint,'' McElwain said. "I'm excited to see them play."
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SIMPLE PLAN
The addition of Allen to the quarterback group gives the freshman from South Florida all summer to study the playbook, get acclimated to college life and get to know his teammates.
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Jake Allen
Allen is perhaps the highest-profile recruit in the 2017 signing class because he committed so early to Florida and built a relationship with future teammates and Gator Nation on social media.
McElwain wants him to get comfortable his first few weeks on campus.
"No. 1, fitting in and showing his place as a leader,'' he said. "And then doing the best he can do learning from those guys so when we get an opportunity to do the installs and that type of stuff, he's up on it and is familiar with the nomenclature."
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BRANTLEY CLEARED
Former Gators defensive tackle
Caleb Brantley saw his draft stock drop considerably when two weeks prior to the draft a UF female student filed a misdemeanor battery complaint against Brantley.
The case made its way through the judicial system and the court of public opinion. Brantley, projected as a likely second-round pick, dropped to the sixth round where Cleveland selected him.
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The State Attorney's Office dismissed the case on Wednesday after investigators found "no reliable evidence" to support a complaint Brantley knocked the woman unconscious.
Tampa Bay Times reporter Matt Baker has covered the case extensively over the past month and
filed this report on the latest breaking news in the case.
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KICK BALL FAR
Gators punter
Johnny Townsend and kicker
Eddy Pineiro were among a group of Gators who visited Lawton Chiles Elementary on Wednesday for some fun and mentoring.
Based on this video, if you get a chance to play kick ball with Pineiro, make sure he's on your team.
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WASHINGTON GETS CALL
Gators safety
Nick Washington was profiled by ESPN.com this week for his side gig:
trapping Gators. The real ones with teeth and long tails.
Washington is also a former baseball player and with the Gators hosting Kentucky on Thursday night with the SEC regular-season title on the line, Washington is going to pitch. Before you become alarmed, not to a live batter.
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FLASHBACK FILE
Before
Steve Spurrier returned to UF last summer as ambassador, 2001 was the last time Spurrier officially worked for the Gators.
The Gators finished 10-2, losing to Auburn and Tennessee by a combined five points. Still, it was one of Spurrier's best teams at Florida and Florida Vault posted this reminder on Wednesday.
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EXTRA POINTS
McElwain said 31 players finished the spring semester with a grade-point average of 3.0 or higher. "We didn't have any [academic] casualties,'' McElwain said. "Obviously, there are some guys you wish would do better. At the same time, they will all be checking into fall camp when we start." … Former Gators receiver
Ahmad Fulwood was cut this week by New Orleans after a tryout as an undrafted free agent. His UF teammate, receiver
Chris Thompson, impressed the Texans enough to sign a contract Tuesday as an UFA. … Jason Driskel, brother of former Gators quarterback Jeff Driskel, impressed first-year Florida Athletic head coach Lane Kiffin in the spring game recently. Driskel finished 19 of 25 for 344 yards and two touchdowns. "I'm not going to make any big statements because the film is really never as good as it seems or as bad as it seems,'' Kiffin said.
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