Florida Football: Why the Pro Will Fail the Gators in 2011

Will Muschamp—as an expert Nick Saban disciple—has a grand career comin' on the field.

How painful the speed bumps, though, are what will determine his legacy.

Gainesville's head men are known for their offensive prowess. It's not that surprising that Steve Spurrier and Urban Meyer were each able to make strides in their starting seasons as Gator commanders. The Ol' Ball Coach brandished the "Fun 'N Gun" as his strike-first weapon, while Urban utilized the spread-option scheme. Neither variety had been used widely in SEC play. Each man brought nine win records during the first fall on campus, and their teams were—at the least—dark horses to win it all.

In short, the two triumphed with their own off-the-wall offenses, which in turn made the program relevant.

For Will Muschamp, his idea of a concocted offense is the "pro." And, in a sense, it is diabolical. The pro-style offense is a strategy the Gators haven't used in a long time, so it might as well be considered another innovative offense.

Now let's consider the players. Urban Meyer's recruits came to UF expecting to run the run-first spread option. Besides current UF quarterback John Brantley, not many Gator players are suited for the pro-style offense. This is Will Muschamp's unspoken and ultimate goal: lure more in-state players to Gainesville, resulting in lost recruits to 'Bama, FSU and Tennessee. Eventually, the staff will out-recruit Gator opponents because they will do the pro-style better than any of them. That's a brilliant plan, except Muschamp will probably lose the majority of recruits to others. Statistically, the Gators chances of getting a recruit is one out of four.

If the idea pays off, that does not help in the now. As stated before, Brantley is the only solid player with a pro-style pedigree. He is the key to an impressive year. Let's re-examine the obvious: Brantley has almost no confidence on the field. Besides taking over for Tebow, his first game as a starter had the center make 13 botched snaps.

Don't throw picks either! For your own sake, John—you're a better quarterback than that. John Brantley is a good guy, but he is not the man (at least now) to head a transitional offense. Combine that with the SEC, and the Gators will be ground up into bits and pieces of their former glory come Autumn. Sorry, guys. A 7-6 season is not out of the question.

The Gators will be back at the summit of collegiate football in a few years, but the chemicals Muschamp is using will cause a very bumpy ride. Buckle up.