Gators quarterback Feleipe Franks has renewed confidence following a 4-7 season. (Photo: Jay Metz/UAA Communications)
Franks, Reese Renewed by Fresh Vibe Around Gators
Thursday, February 1, 2018 | Scott Carter
Quarterback Feleipe Franks and linebacker David Reese say head coach Dan Mullen has revitalized team after a disappointing 2017 season.
In a season in which Florida finished with a losing record for only the second time since disco's unfortunate run of success, two other moments on opposite ends of the spectrum stood as defining moments.
The first, quarterback Feleipe Franks' Hail Mary touchdown pass to Tyrie Cleveland on the final play of a 26-20 win over Tennessee, set the imagination free to wonder what the season might be. The second, linebacker David Reese's sobering analysis following a 45-16 loss at Missouri six weeks later, revealed what the season had become.
In the two months since Mullen returned to UF following a successful nine-year stint at Mississippi State, he and his coaching staff have spent much of that time relocating to Gainesville and on the road recruiting. Meanwhile, the players returned to campus in early January to start offseason workouts under Nick Savage, the team's new director of strength and conditioning.
The vibe inside the locker room has changed significantly since a season-ending loss to Florida State according to Franks and Reese, two of the eight players selected as captains during team-oriented competitive workouts this spring.
"There's a new energy, a new hope,'' Franks said. "These players are really buying in. It has changed the whole thing around."
Reese, who led the Gators with 102 tackles as a sophomore, is equally impressed by the way the team has responded to the coaching change in the first month of offseason workouts.
"[Coach Savage] comes with fire every day. He wants to make us tough and as physically prepared as possible to go into the season,'' Reese said. "He wants us to win the championship now. He wants us to be champions. We try to get to that every workout and every day."
Franks' 2017 season is indicative of the team as a whole.
Coming off back-to-back Southeastern Conference East titles, the Gators entered McElwain's third season as they had his first two: more questions at quarterback than answers.
Franks won an extended battle through fall camp and left no doubt who had the best arm on the roster with his 63-yard scoring strike to Cleveland that electrified The Swamp. However, Franks struggled in the quest for consistency in his first season as the team's primary starter.
He threw for 1,438 yards, nine touchdowns, eight interceptions and completed 54.6 percent of his passes (125 of 229). Franks lost his job twice during the season, first to Luke Del Rio and later to Malik Zaire. Both times Franks regained the job due to injuries.
While Del Rio and Zaire have moved on, Franks is joined by Kyle Trask (coming off foot surgery), Jake Allen and newcomer Emory Jones in the mix heading into Mullen's first season.
Franks is optimistic he can improve and be part of the solution as Florida seeks a quick turnaround in 2018 under Mullen, who is known for his prowess at developing quarterbacks such as Alex Smith, Tim Tebow and Dak Prescott.
"Him telling me, 'we're going to work with your strengths,' it's just encouraging,'' Franks said. "He keeps it super simple and goes as far as the quarterback can go. Just show me the way. Hopefully it's going to pay off for me in the long run and prove a lot of doubters wrong."
More than anything, Franks and Reese said Mullen has instilled a new confidence in the program.
The Gators lost five consecutive games during one stretch last season and after defeating UAB at home – their only win under interim coach Randy Shannon following McElwain's exit – they lost for a school-record fifth consecutive time to the Seminoles to end the season.
Mullen immediately vowed to restore the Gators into a national championship contender the way they were in his first run at UF from 2005-08 as the team's offensive coordinator.
Franks took a visit to Mississippi State for a Junior Day while in high school, so he has history with Mullen and quarterbacks coach Brian Johnson. Franks views the 30-year-old Johnson as someone he can learn a lot from, too.
"Younger guy. I can relate a lot,'' Franks said. "He's been there in the shoes before. He played the game and at a high level obviously. Somebody to show you step by step by step the way to be a quarterback.
"This is my third spring, which is kind of hard to believe. I'm still a young quarterback. I've still got a lot of improving to do and I think Coach Mullen and his staff can do that for me."
Meanwhile, Reese is familiar with new Gators defensive coordinator Todd Grantham. Reese committed to Louisville for a brief time in high school when Grantham was an assistant there in 2015-16. He also attended a camp where Grantham served as an instructor.
Grantham's up-tempo attacking style is one that intrigued Reese then as it does now.
"I got a picture of how aggressive he is."
What results the program's internal transformation produces on the field is unknown for now. Reese never expected to experience a coaching change in the middle of his college career.
Still, change is inevitable after a 4-7 season at Florida. All that matters is what the Gators do with the change they have experienced the past two months.
"I feel like everyone is buying in and going to adapt,'' Reese said. "I want to have that satisfaction of winning. Winning now is the biggest thing, just never having another year like last year because that left a bad taste in our mouths and a lot of unhappy people."
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