Florida football began spring football last week, and with another Gator offseason comes a quarterback competition. The starting job is being sought after by a number of prospects — there's true freshmen early enrollees Feleipe Franks and Kyle Trask, graduate transfer Austin Appleby out of Purdue and redshirt sophomore Luke Del Rio.
Second-year head coach Jim McElwain told the media on Monday that Del Rio, having been on campus for the entire 2015 season although he didn't play for the Gators, has the upper hand after about a week of spring practices.
"He should be," McElwain said via the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "He's been here a full year. For him, he's got a little bit of a leg up from a knowledge standpoint with what those other guys have really done. I've been impressed with Luke and how he's helping those other guys."
Del Rio transferred to UF after spending the 2014 season with Oregon State, where he was granted immediate eligibility by the NCAA on April 11 after transferring from Alabama in 2013. At Ok-State, he spent the spring season in a three-way duel to be the No. 2 quarterback and ended up earning the second string job early in the season. He wound up playing in just three games.
At Alabama, Del Rio walked on was officially listed as the No. 3 quarterback on the Crimson Tide depth chart throughout the 2013 season.
Having a guy like Del Rio with experience on the roster is a big plus, and might give him an edge if he does end up winning the job.
