Instability at Quarterback Continues for Florida Gators, Treon Harris moves to Receiver

Written by Ryan Wright

Twitter: @HogManInLA

It seems that since Tim Tebow left Gainesville for the NFL, the Florida Gators have suffered through a revolving door under center. John Brantley in 2011, Jeff Driskel and Tyler Murphy in 2012, Tyler Murphy and Skyler Mornhiweg in 2013, Jeff Driskel and Treon Harris in 2014, and Will Grier and Treon Harris in 2015. With the news coming out of Florida over the weekend, Gator fans can expect to see yet another starting quarterback command the offense in 2016 with Treon Harris moving to wide receiver.

Harris (5-11, 195) took over the reins of the offense at the end of the 2014 season ending with 1,019 passing yards and a 9-4 touchdown to interception ratio. The Miami area talent then lost the starting job at the beginning of the 2015 season to redshirt freshman Will Grier only to get it back once Grier was suspended for testing positive for banned NCAA performance-enhancing drugs.

With Harris in the pocket, the Gators wilted from a 6-0 start to finish 10-4. Harris ended up leading Florida with 1,676 passing yards throwing nine touchdowns against six interceptions while only completing 50.6 percent of his passes. Grier, in his six games played, completed 65.8 percent of his passes racking up 1,204 with 10 touchdowns against three picks.

One of the reasons for Will Muschamp’s ouster in Gainesville was his inability to consistently produce offense and develop quarterbacks. Jim McElwain is off to a tough start entering his second season with the Gators but will have redshirt junior Luke Del Rio and graduate Purdue transfer Austin Appleby battling it out for the starting spot. Two Class of 2016 recruits, Felieipe Franks and Kyle Trask could push the competition forward if they can get a firm grasp on the offense by the end of fall camp.

Photo credit: palmbeachpost.com; No. 3 Treon Harris takes off running against Georgia.