Florida Football: Gators Have No Choice but to Stick with Jeff Driskel at QB
Florida head coach Will Muschamp's seat went from hot to scorching on Saturday, as Alabama throttled the Gators 42-21 in a game that wasn't as close as the score indicated.
In that game, quarterback Jeff Driskel completed just nine of his 28 passes for 93 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. For the season, Driskel has averaged just 5.5 yards per attempt (worst among qualifying SEC QBs) and has a passer rating of 111.14 (worst among qualifiers).
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Time to make a change to true freshman Treon Harris?
Not yet, according to Muschamp.
"Jeff gives us the best opportunity to win right now,” he told reporters on Wednesday afternoon.
An endorsement, sure, but earlier in the day, Muschamp didn't offer the most ringing endorsement of his quarterback.
"He's frustrated and he needs to play better," Muschamp said on Wednesday's SEC coaches teleconference. "There's no question that he pressed and forced some throws into coverage. He needs to take the checkdown in those situations. He knows he needs to play better and he will."
Not only is it the right move to keep Driskel in there, he should stay there for the duration of the season as long as he stays healthy.
He is the best shot for Florida to turn things around offensively.
Yes, I know how that sounds.
Driskel, a redshirt junior, has been average at best during his career—even while leading Florida to a Sugar Bowl berth following the 2012 season. He has been running the first team all offseason and through the first three games, and there have been some positives during that time.
He has established a connection with sophomore wide receiver Demarcus Robinson and helped him top the 100-yard mark in the first two games of the season—wins over Eastern Michigan and Kentucky.
That is something to build off of, even if construction is being delayed by Driskel's inconsistency.
What's the alternative?
Turn to Harris, a 4-star dual-threat quarterback in the class of 2015?
While he has tremendous dual-threat capability, he's a true freshman who is going to make freshman mistakes.
He could be good and possibly great, but Muschamp doesn't have any margin for error anymore, and tying his livelihood to a true freshman is more than a desperation move—it'd be the move of a coach whose fate is already sealed.
Will Grier is also a highly touted true freshman who could redshirt, and Skyler Mornhinweg played late last season after Driskel and former Gator (current Boston College Eagle Tyler Murphy) went down with injuries.
Bottom line: There are no good options right now in Gainesville.
Each one is incredibly risky, and Driskel, while inconsistent, is still the best of the bad options for Muschamp.
What's likelier? Driskel finally "getting it" or Florida catching lightning in a bottle midseason with a true freshman who hasn't taken first-team snaps at any point during his career?
Neither scenario is realistic, but the former is still likelier.
For better or worse, it's Driskel's job to save Muschamp's.
No pressure, kid.
Barrett Sallee is the lead SEC college football writer and video analyst for Bleacher Report as well as a co-host of the CFB Hangover on Bleacher Report Radio (Sundays, 9-11 a.m. ET) on Sirius 93, XM 208.
Quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. All stats are courtesy of cfbstats.com, and all recruiting information is courtesy of 247Sports. Follow Barrett on Twitter @BarrettSallee.
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