How Florida Set Up QB Will Grier to Be the Present and Future for the Gators

I sat in the press box at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium last Saturday afternoon as Florida quarterback Will Grier orchestrated a miraculous comeback in the final frame—in which he went 11-of-18 over the final two drives, tossed two touchdown passes and led the Gators to a 28-27 win over Tennessee—and one thought kept popping into my mind.

The future is now.

In one short month, Grier has transformed himself from QB No. 2 in Gainesville to the future of the Florida football program, and Saturday's sizzling fourth quarter was the college football equivalent of a teenager getting his driver's license. 

Grier has head coach Jim McElwain—and also former head coach Will Muschamp—to thank.

He came to Florida as the No. 2 pro-style passer in the class of 2014, but there was some doubt on just how good he really was at Davidson (N.C.) Day High School.

Sure, he threw for 14,559 yards and 195 touchdowns, but as Langston Wertz Jr. of the Charlotte Observer noted in 2013, Davidson Day's place in Division III and II during his high school years didn't exactly provide tough competition for the prep superstar.

"In 25 years of working at this newspaper, I can’t think of too many athletes who have been scrutinized more heavily," Wertz wrote. "As Grier burst onto the high school football scene two years ago at Davidson Day, putting up video-game statistics, the critics have been strong and loud. They say he’s too old (he’s not). They say he’s not that good (he is)."

John Raoux/Associated Press

The questions followed Grier to Florida.

The prep star enrolled at Florida in January 2014 with the possibility in mind of earning primary backup snaps behind former Gator quarterback Jeff Driskel and—perhaps—an even bigger role if Driskel struggled.

Instead, former head coach Will Muschamp redshirted the then-6'2", 190-pound Grier partly because Grier needed to put more weight on if he intended to endure the grind and hits that occur in the SEC.

As Andy Hutchins of AlligatorArmy.com noted, he went from 190 pounds in high school to 197 this past spring, to 215 during the fall.

Not bad.

John Raoux/Associated Press

That durability was important last weekend against Tennessee. The Vols knocked Grier around quite a bit, but he came up big with the game on the line on those two critical drives.

"Everybody's taken hits. Everybody's beat up. You just have to work through it," Grier said in the press room following the game. "If it ain't broken, you've got to keep going. That's just part of this game. It's a violent game. You have to take a beating and keep going."

What's more, as Mark Long of the Associated Press noted last year, Muschamp could have burned Grier's redshirt last year after Driskel was benched in the win over Tennessee and Treon Harris, who saved that game in the fourth quarter, was suspended.

Instead, Driskel played against LSU, Harris was reinstated and played the rest of the season, and Grier was given the proper time to develop both mentally and physically.

That progression continued with McElwain in the house. 

Grier didn't earn the start in Game 1. That responsibility was Harris'. But as the Gators have won, Grier has slowly but surely evolved into the "starter" in Gainesville.

He started and split time with Harris in Game 2, took every snap of Florida's first SEC road trip in a win at Kentucky in Week 3 and then grew up in front of the eyes of over 90,000 fans at "The Swamp" last Saturday.

"What I liked more than anything was how calm he was in the situations when we needed it most," McElwain said. "That's something we can build on."

Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images

McElwain won't anoint Grier as the unquestioned starter. As the Associated Press noted on Wednesday (via ESPN.com), McElwain is still keeping Harris in the fold as an option now that he has returned from suspension.

Make no mistake, though. That's part of the plan.

Harris' experience and versatility are important to keep in the mix for a Gators team that might need it at times. But Grier has done everything asked of him to become a star, bided his time both as a redshirt and while Harris was more a part of the equation, and came of age Saturday afternoon in Gainesville.

What's more, the weapons around him are players he can grow with.

Freshman Antonio Callaway had 112 yards and that 63-yard game-winning touchdown against the Vols. Sophomore Brandon Powell had 64 yards and caught the touchdown pass late in the fourth to bring the Gators within one score. And Jordan Scarlett and Jordan Cronkrite are talented backs who are more than capable of taking over once junior Kelvin Taylor moves on.

Saturday's remarkable comeback was just the beginning for Grier.

Despite being only a redshirt freshman, he was brought along slowly, thrived in a big spot and proved that the best is yet to come.

Quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. Recruiting information is courtesy of 247Sports. Statistics are courtesy of CFBStats.com. Barrett Sallee is the lead SEC college football writer and national college football video analyst for Bleacher Report as well as a host on Bleacher Report Radio on SiriusXM 83. Follow Barrett on Twitter @BarrettSallee.