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Thursday, April 25, 2024
<p><span>Frankie Velez kicks a field goal during Florida's 17-6 loss to LSU on Saturday in Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, La.</span></p>

Frankie Velez kicks a field goal during Florida's 17-6 loss to LSU on Saturday in Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, La.

Jeff Driskel won’t just be responsible for taking care of the ball when the Gators are on offense.

According to UF’s depth chart, which was released Tuesday, the redshirt junior quarterback is also the team’s starting holder on special teams.

"I’d like to classify myself as a versatile player," Driskel said. "I think it’s an opportunity to give the field goal block team some issues. You have to give them more things to think about during the week."

But there is uncertainty throughout the rest of Florida’s special teams unit.

The placekicker battle between Austin Hardin and Frankie Velez, which has been ongoing since spring camp, has yet to be decided.

Velez had the better year as a field-goal kicker in 2013, going 6 of 8 on the season compared to Hardin’s 4-of-12 clip.

Hardin improved throughout the spring, connecting on all four of his kicks during the Orange & Blue Debut game.

"Both guys had really strong camps," coach Will Muschamp said, "but we can win with both guys, I do know that."

The punter battle between Kyle Christy and Johnny Townsend has not been determined either.

Following a sophomore season where he was named a finalist for the 2012 Ray Guy Award — which goes to the best punter in college football — Christy had a subpar 2013 season, averaging just 39.6 yards per punt.

Muschamp replaced Christy with then-freshman Townsend for the final six games of the season.

Townsend had slightly higher numbers than Christy, averaging 42 yards per punt on 29 attempts.

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"We’ll punt through the week and see where we go there," Muschamp said.

Andre Debose will likely assume both kickoff and punt return duties as he returns for his sixth season at Florida.

The redshirt senior has four career kickoff return touchdowns, which is tied for the Southeastern Conference record with Tennessee’s Willie Gault (1979-1982), Arkansas’ Felix Jones (2005-2007) and Georgia’s Brandon Boykin (2008-2011).

Follow Jordan McPherson on Twitter @J_McPherson1126

Frankie Velez kicks a field goal during Florida's 17-6 loss to LSU on Saturday in Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, La.

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