Sustained success at Florida is hard to come by. Since Urban Meyer's run as the Gators head coach ended following the 2010 season, UF fans have been treated to only two double-digit win seasons and are ushering in their third head coach during that span.
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Dan Mullen's first year as the Florida Gators' new leader starts with cleaning up the mess left behind by Jim McElwain, and trying to implement the system that brought five bowl wins in a seven-year span at Mississippi State.
First item on the agenda? Mullen needs to find a starting quarterback.
Three quarterbacks are competing for the job, but according to former Florida quarterback Luke Del Rio, the ex-Gator has heard from sources close to the program who have "seen with their own eyes" that one is taking control of the quarterback competition.
LIVE NOW! Telling you who is winning the @Gators QB battle, why Kaep REALLY doesn’t have a job in the NFL, and more! https://t.co/WeEKveTiK1
— Luke Del Rio (@LDelRio12) August 13, 2018
That honor belongs to redshirt sophomore quarterback Feleipe Franks.
Last season, Franks became the first redshirt freshman to start the season opener for Florida since 1988, as he went on to record eight starts in 11 games sharing time with Malik Zaire. Franks totaled 1,438 passing yards and nine touchdowns in his first season in Gainesville.
So far, according to Del Rio's sources inside the team, Franks' big arm has "been the most consistent" and "has played the best so far" of Florida's signal callers.
Franks' direct competition is fellow redshirt sophomore Kyle Trask. The Manvel, Texas native missed all of last season with an injury, and he has been the only one pushing Franks so far in fall camp.
True freshman Emory Jones, the fifth-ranked dual-threat quarterback recruit in the country out of high school, might be the eventual successor in Dan Mullen's offense, but it doesn't seem like that is the case this year.
Jones is taking his lumps in year one, as he is "super talented, but makes stupid decisions sometimes."
Chomping at Bits: Feleipe Franks stands out at #Florida open practice https://t.co/nSQccx09o9 #Gators pic.twitter.com/9kLg8w0jat
— Florida Gators PFS (@spot_fla) August 13, 2018
At this point, this competition looks like it's Franks' starting job to lose.
Florida needs to have a good showing in year one under Dan Mullen, as they're falling behind on the recruiting trail. Florida brought in the 14th-ranked recruiting class in the country for 2018, but they are 28th for 2019 right now — that's only good for 11th in the SEC.
That's not good enough for a Gators' fan base that is looking for the program to regain its former glory on college football's national stage.
Franks is ahead, but the choice, and the resulting performance of the offense, is going to have major consequences for coach Dan Mullen's program going forward in The Swamp.
No pressure or anything, Coach.
