Will Grier Named Florida's Starting QB over Treon Harris vs. East Carolina

Treon Harris' reign as Florida's starting quarterback is over after one game. The team announced Will Grier will get the nod for Saturday's game against East Carolina on GatorZone.com Thursday.  

Grier, a redshirt freshman, will be making his first career start. He completed 15 of 17 passes for 164 yards and two touchdowns in the Gators' season-opening win over New Mexico State. Despite losing the preseason battle to Harris, Grier wound up playing a majority of the second and third quarters in the 61-13 blowout.

Harris wasn't too shabby himself, throwing for 215 yards and two scores on 14-of-19 passing. The dual threat also added 23 yards on the ground. It's expected both quarterbacks will continue to split time Saturday against an East Carolina team that barely got past Towson one week ago. 

"They were OK in the last game," Florida head coach Jim McElwain said of his quarterbacks, per Edgar Thompson of the Orlando Sentinel. "They weren't great. It wasn't earth-shattering by any stretch of the imagination. They've got to get a better. I look for them to hopefully take another step this week."

Unless he plans to carry this two-quarterback system into the teeth of the SEC schedule—a risky proposition—McElwain will need to make a more permanent decision fast. The Gators make their intraconference debut Sept. 19 at Kentucky, a winnable game that is nonetheless not the gimme it's been in recent years. With ranked foes following each of the next five games post-Kentucky, flip-flopping between signal-callers is probably an ill-advised move.

After losing out in camp, Grier now has the chance to seize the job. It'll be interesting to see if he can or whether it'll be back to the drawing board for McElwain heading into Lexington.

Follow Tyler Conway (@tylerconway22) on Twitter.