Carter's Corner: Key Battles to Determine First Snap of Season

Sunday, August 19, 2018 | Football, Scott Carter

By: Scott Carter, Senior Writer

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – With the curtain set to open on the Dan Mullen era in less than two weeks, the Gators have a busy week ahead.

First, they mingled with their faithful on Sunday afternoon at Fan Day prior to their second scrimmage of preseason camp. On Wednesday, fall semester classes start at UF.

Once they get through the first three days of classes, the Gators turn their attention to game week and the season opener Sept. 1 against Charleston Southern.

The biggest question mark left unanswered since camp opened is no secret: Who's going to be the starting quarterback?

"I'd like to have an answer after the next scrimmage,'' Mullen said Wednesday. "I don't know if I'll share it with everybody. I'd like for me to have an answer."

That said, Florida's quarterback battle appears to be about where it was when camp started. Feleipe Franks, Kyle Trask and Emory Jones have all taken a significant amount of reps.

Franks, who played in 11 games and started eight as a redshirt freshman in 2017, appears to the most likely to start. He is the only one among the trio to take a snap in college and has a skill set that fits Mullen's spread offense.

Trask has shown flashes of improvement but based on early returns in camp, there is no indication he has jumped ahead of Franks on the depth chart. Jones had the biggest learning curve to tackle as a true freshman.

While Jones is an impressive athlete with a live arm, it remains unclear how much Mullen and his staff are willing to put on Jones' plate this early in his career. There is no pressure to rush Jones into a starting role unless he is clearly the best option at this point.

If the clarity Mullen seeks in the competition doesn't present itself during Sunday night's scrimmage, don't rule out a combination of the three in the season opener. Mullen said that was a possibility during the SEC Media Days last month and with a Florida a heavy favorite in the season opener, the potential to extend the competition into the first game of the season is a possibility.

As much as the quarterback dilemma will determine what kind of season the Gators have, an equal concern is the play of the offensive line.

Mullen did not sound overly pleased at the way the group performed in the first scrimmage or the offense's confidence level overall.

"We score a touchdown and it was almost a relief instead of, you know, we expect to do it,'' he said. "Just that little confidence of mindset aspect of things, I think, is huge for these guys to start building that and expect to score."

Much of what has ailed the offense in recent years is up front, but with a veteran group returning, the Gators are counting on the unit to play more physical and become a strength instead of a liability.

For any offense to succeed and quarterback to flourish, the offensive line must do its part, and do it well.

"We are coming along,'' Mullen said. "That's a position to me that I really, really need the twos to come along much faster. I'm not upset where our one O-line is and their stage of development. They are not by any means the dominate unit in the country, but they are coming along and improving."

The first-team offensive line has consisted of from, left to right, Martez Ivey, Tyler Jordan, Nick Buchanan, Fred Johnson and Jawaan Taylor for a majority of camp. Projected starter Brett Heggie has been slowed by a foot injury but figures prominently in the plans. On the second team, left to right, Stone Forsythe, Christopher Bleich, T.J. McCoy, Kavaris Harkless and Noah Banks have worked together consistently.

The closest competition remains at center according to Mullen.

McCoy (6-1, 308) has started 13 games the last two seasons and displays a feisty streak the unit needs. However, Buchanan (6-2, 301) adds height at the position and despite playing only three games in his career, has held his own in the competition. Redshirt junior walk-on Nick Villano (6-2, 301) is also in the running and received noteworthy reps in camp.

"It kind of starts there so we try to get a bunch of guys reps,'' Mullen said.

As position battles go, the first snap of the season will say a lot about the Gators.