Florida QB Will Grier's Suspension Breaks SEC East Race Wide-Open

The wild and unpredictable SEC East race took another turn Monday, and it impacted the division's front-runner.

Will Grier, the starting quarterback for the Florida Gators (6-0, 4-0 SEC) who has tossed 10 touchdowns and only three picks and stabilized the Florida offense, has been suspended indefinitely for taking an over-the-counter banned supplement according to Scott Carter of GatorZone.com, Florida's official athletics website. Ed Aschoff of ESPN notes that the suspension is for a full 365 days.

Grier spoke with the media Monday afternoon, according to Carter.

"I really hope people can learn from this and learn from my mistake," he said. "I'm really sorry to everyone. Really sorry."

Grier also mentioned in the press conference how he obtained the substance, according to Andy Staples of Sports Illustrated.

If Florida's appeal, which was announced during the press conference, isn't successful, it's a huge loss for the Gators.

Grier, a former 4-star prospect from Davidson, North Carolina, ascended to the starting job over the dual-threat Treon Harris in Game 2, and has held down the position essentially full-time since beating Kentucky on the road in Game 3. 

Ed Zurga/Getty Images

Now, the SEC East is wide-open.

Sure, Florida still has an advantage. After all, a one-game lead and head-to-head tiebreaker over Kentucky and at least a two-game lead over every other team in the division with half of the conference season already played has created quite a cushion for Jim McElwain's crew.

But it does open the door for Kentucky, Georgia and Tennessee to get back into it.

Harris is a solid dual-threat quarterback, but Florida's offense has turned into the exact offense McElwain was hired to bring to Gainesville from Colorado State. It's a standard, pro-style, play-action offense that takes shots deep downfield when safeties creep up to stop star running back Kelvin Taylor.

Are McElwain and offensive coordinator Doug Nussmeier capable of adjusting their style on the fly and still producing the same success the offense had under Grier? Maybe, but they still have to fit a square peg into a round hole, or, perhaps more accurately, make the round hole a square.

With Florida holding a head-to-head tiebreaker over Tennessee (3-3, 1-2 SEC), Georgia (4-2, 2-2 SEC) holding one over the Vols, Kentucky (4-1, 2-1 SEC) hanging around with one loss and Missouri (4-2, 1-2 SEC) still a threat, the division is wide-open.

Despite Georgia's recent struggles, which include a blowout loss to Alabama two weeks ago and the loss of a 21-point lead on the road last week at Tennessee, the division, as FoxSports.com's Stewart Mandel noted on Twitter, could come down to the World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party.

What about Tennessee? 

The Vols finally won a big game and did so under some rather trying circumstances last week in that come-from-behind 38-31 win over Georgia. Could that spark a surge on Rocky Top? Maybe, but that loss to Florida could come back to haunt head coach Butch Jones' crew even if they beat Alabama in two weeks and run the table the rest of the way.

Bottom line, there are no stable teams in the SEC East anymore.

There are a bunch of teams—all of which have losses except for Florida—that are flawed, inconsistent and littered with questions.

Grier's suspension adds Florida to the list of SEC East misfits. Sure, it's at the top of that list, but Grier's absence makes the Gators as unpredictable as every other team.

Buckle up. The next month-and-a-half is going to be a wild ride.

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.