Florida Gators

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The game of retrospection has its usefulness, considering the black-and-white details of wins and losses, completions and yards, and other numerical measuring sticks.

In looking back at Florida's season opener against Michigan 15 months ago, the first start of quarterback Feleipe Franks' career, there is a subplot to revisit considering Franks' next start. Franks did not finish that day in Arlington, Texas, so you know how it started: 5 of 9, 75 yards and sputtering sounds. Early on, Franks wasn't even the quarterback struggling the most. That distinction belonged to Michigan starter Wilton Speight, who threw a pair of interceptions in the first half that were returned for touchdowns, giving Florida the lead at halftime.

However, by the end of Florida's 33-17 loss, Franks was just another overmatched young quarterback in his first game and Speight the surviving winner.

Three days prior to the game, Former UF coach Jim McElwain announced that redshirt freshman Franks won a quarterback battle with holdover Luke Del Rio and newcomer Malik Zaire, making him the first freshman to start a season opener for the Gators in 29 years.

Afterward, in one of the Gators' most dismal offensive performances in a decade with too many contenders for the title, McElwain accepted the beating but offered hope to the masses.

"And yet it's not time to hit the panic button,'' he said.



That proved false, of course, as the Gators briefly recovered from the disappointing loss with three consecutive wins before the season spiraled out of control on the way to McElwain's departure and a 4-7 record.

Meanwhile, a deeper dive into the retrospection game is intriguing with the Gators preparing to face the Wolverines once again, this time on Dec. 29 in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl in Atlanta.

Franks gets another shot at Michigan after receiving new life under first-year UF head coach Dan Mullen. As for Speight, he lost his job at Michigan due to an injury a season ago and transferred to UCLA for his final year of eligibility, where in another injury-plagued season, he played for first-year Bruins coach Chip Kelley. Despite throwing for 466 yards, Speight's college career ended Nov. 24 with a loss to Stanford as UCLA finished its worst season since 1989 under Kelley, at one time a candidate for the UF job.

Across the country, Mullen's arrival at UF and Franks' improvement serve as the cornerstones of the Gators' turnaround from 4-7 to 9-3 and a trip to their first New Year's Six bowl since 2012. The Wolverines, ranked No. 1 nationally in total defense, will provide another measuring stick for Franks as he prepares to enter another offseason with questions looming about his longterm status as Florida's starter.

Franks is used to the routine by now.

"I feel like I've told you guys this many times, but I've never shied away from a competition," Franks said Friday. "It won't be the first time, probably won't be the last time I'll be in a competition so you know, I think it's fun to be honest with you."

Franks is coming off the most important victory of his career, a 41-14 romp at Florida State in which he played perhaps his most complete game. Franks finished 16 of 24 for 254 yards and three touchdowns. He added 46 yards rushing and showed poise when he needed to and avoided costly mistakes.

Still, much of the focus at Friday's press conference centered on the plan for true freshman Emory Jones, who played in three games during the regular season and assumed the backup role when Kyle Trask suffered a broken foot.

Jones is expected to play in the Peach Bowl in special packages created to showcase his athleticism and dual-threat ability.

"At the practices, he's certainly getting a lot of reps and a lot of extra time," Mullen said. "We haven't set the game plan for what his role will be coming into the game."

Franks enters the Peach Bowl completing 58.5 percent of his passes (175 of 299) for 2,284 yards. His 23 touchdown passes are the most for a Gators quarterback since Tim Tebow threw 30 in 2008, and Franks has tossed only six interceptions.

And yet ... in his season of improvement, Franks faced speculation that his job was on the line after a Homecoming loss to Missouri when Trask injected some life into the offense in a relief appearance. Trask's injury settled that issue, and when Franks led the Gators to a comeback win over South Carolina, he hushed the crowd, causing the love-hate relationship fans seem to have with him to flare up.

The Independent Florida Alligator, the student newspaper, ran an editorial headlined" "Stop being mean to Feleipe Franks." The Twitter Age raises a middle finger at such genteel notions, and Franks plays on.

For his part, Franks appears to have benefited from Mullen's message that playing quarterback for the Gators means criticism is part of the gig. Franks certainly was not ready for it the last time he faced Michigan, but he has shown signs of improvement in that area as this season progressed.

"I never doubt my ability to play football, so I don't want to say I wasn't ready," Franks said Friday about his college debut. "But at the same time, I don't think I was as smart about the game as I am now. Making smarter decisions, things like that, I don't think I was ready in that case, but you know it's a learning point for me."

The education of Feleipe Franks continues.