Gators offensive coordinator Charlie Weis talks about UF's quarterbacks heading into LSU game
Wednesday, October 5, 2011 | Football, Scott Carter
Gators offensive coordinator Charlie Weis met with the media following Tuesday's practice.
As expected, most of the questions focused on quarterbacks Jeff Driskel, Jacoby Brissett and Tyler Murphy. They are battling to start Saturday's game at No. 1-ranked LSU in place of injured starter John Brantley.
We don't know who is going to get the start for certain, but we do know that whichever one does, it will be the first start of his college career.
Here is a Q&A with Weis talking about the quarterbacks:
Q: Who is your starting quarterback this week?
A: We don't know yet. As the head coach has already previously told you, Brantley is out and we're practicing the other three guys and by the end of the week we'll decide who the starter is.
Q: Is Driskel still the probable starter?
A: That's possible. I can't tell you that yet. I'm going objectively. In other words, I'm not going just because Jeff has played and the other two guys haven't played. Jeff has obviously got the upper hand because he's played and the other guys really haven't played meaningful football yet. The other two guys are getting reps too, so we'll see how it goes.
Q: How would you feel putting either Brissett or Murphy out there without them having played?
A: I feel a lot better now than I would have doing it last week in the game. You devise a game plan really around John and when John goes down, you have to cut back on what you're doing. Now knowing at least that John is out this week, you can devise a game plan around less experienced guys rather than around more experienced guys. You saw the game last week. We were putting a lot on his shoulders. When he went down, it kind of caused you to alter what you are doing. All three of these guys could run this game plan.
Q: How important is establishing a running game at LSU regardless of who starts at quarterback?
A: Any time you have a fairly inexperienced quarterback, you need to take the pressure off him by being able to run. Last week I think it was a combination of things, but one thing: they won the line of scrimmage. When you lose the line of scrimmage, which we did last week, you usually aren't going to be very effective in the run game whether you want to run inside or outside.
Q: How much of a possibility is there to play all three guys this week?
A: I would doubt that. What I can't do, I can't tell you right now which way it's going to go because today was the first full day of practice.
Q: What are the strengths of Murphy and Brissett?
A: Let's start with Tyler because he's been here. His biggest asset over those other guys is just a year of experience. Having been involved in a college football program for a year – be it a different offense – gives him a little bit of an upper hand. He's been around. Jacoby, probably the only reason why he hasn't been a factor at this point is only because he came here in the summer time. He had to play catch up over the other guys. That's the only thing that kept Jacoby from being possibly the second guy in. I don't know how it would have played out if he was here in the spring time with those other guys.
Q: How does it help having a week to prepare knowing you won't have Brantley?
A: It's easier to go ahead and game plan when you know he's not in, because, let's face it, when you are in a week and you're getting ready to play a big game, the back-up quarterback is getting only a handful of reps. You are centering your whole game plan around that guy first.
Q: How would you assess Brantley's play before he got hurt?
A: With the exception of the interception, where he didn't ever see the guy … he throws 16 passes, he completes 11 and he has three dropped balls. You think about it: 14 of 16 against that defense. That's what real quarterbacks look like. Stepping up in the pocket, shuffling a little bit to the left, shuffling a little bit to the right, making the big throw down the field that everyone said he couldn't make. I mean, he'd like to have that interception back, but you'll notice the one thing I liked the most about him, when that happened, I said three words to him when he came off the field: 'short-term memory.' And he came back and we went on that two-minute drive. It never fazed him. It was pretty easy to see he expected to play a good game. That's why it was unfortunate that he got injured.
Q: Do you think he'll play again this year?
A: Yeah, I do.
Q: In regard to the two true freshman quarterbacks, Brissett and Driskel, did you guys have any thoughts on letting one beat out the other and possibly redshirting the other?
A: Although the thought is in the background, it's too early in the year to do that. Once Jeff played, you don't want to put Jacoby in just to hand off, but if Jacoby gives us a chance to win this week, Jacoby will gladly play. He'd be more than happy to trot out there for the first time.
Q: What do you see in Driskel's eyes right now compared to the confidence you saw in Brantley's against Alabama?
A: You're talking about experienced guys versus inexperienced guys – it's night and day. The best thing for this week versus last week is everything is being tailor-made around these guys. In other words, you don't add more, you cut back so you get used to doing the things they are comfortable doing. You don't expose them to as much material which gives them a lot more confidence.
Q: What's the biggest challenge for preparing a young quarterback to get ready for a bigger stage?
A: The first thing they have to realize is that you were the star in high school. It came easy for you. But now there are 90,000 people each week when you go to play. The stage is the first thing you've got to get used to. It's a different set of circumstances. There are a lot more people involved, a lot more pressure involved, against a lot better athletes. Every play they're out there … he's getting more experience, which makes them only better.
