Luke Del Rio was 8 years old when the Jacksonville Jaguars’ kicker gave him a black eye.
Del Rio, a Jaguars ball boy, and Josh Scobee, a rookie NFL placekicker, were playing catch on a windy day during practice at Alltel Stadium when Scobee’s pass came up short.
It skipped 10 yards in front of Del Rio and bounced into his face. Scobee, afraid he would get cut, pleaded with the boy not to tell his dad.
So when Jack Del Rio asked why his son had a black eye?
‘Ah, ran into a door,” Del Rio told him.
Del Rio is four games into a job as the starting quarterback for the Florida Gators, and his father is the head coach of the Oakland Raiders, who beat the Jaguars on Sunday.
But Del Rio couldn’t make the one-and-a-half hour trek to Jacksonville to watch his dad’s team in person. He was too busy preparing for the football game he’ll be playing in Jacksonville on Saturday.
“Hopefully the Del Rio family can go 2-0,” the UF quarterback said.
Del Rio carries himself like a seasoned veteran, and a quick glance at his resume may fool you into thinking he is one. He has played at three schools — Alabama, Oregon State and now UF — and plans to graduate this year after he finishes the 16 credits he’s currently taking.
And yet, this weekend’s game against Georgia will be just the fifth start of his collegiate career.
“I’m learning a lot every game, good or bad,” Del Rio said. “I kind of have to pinch myself sometimes because I remember in high school I would just pray in bed: ‘Just let me play football at some level in college.’
“And (now) I’m the starting quarterback for the Florida Gators.”
But while the redshirt sophomore had an impressive start to the season, he played his worst game at Florida less than two weeks ago in UF’s 40-14 win over Missouri.
He threw three interceptions and completed just 47.4 percent of his passes, a steep drop from his season average of 57.6 percent.
“I think the biggest thing there was simply his footwork,” UF coach Jim McElwain said.
“He created some of that. It wasn’t really pressure ... but he actually drifted into some trouble, which didn’t allow him to be as accurate as he normally is with the ball.”
Before he injured his MCL during Week 4, Del Rio led an offense that averaged nearly 34 points in its first three games.
He threw just two interceptions, had an average quarterback rating of 139.6 and completed at least 56 percent of his passes in each of those games.
So after his out-of-character three-turnover performance against Missouri, Del Rio immediately reviewed film to dissect his play.
“I talked to him that Sunday after the game. He wasn’t down or anything like that. He was still excited about the win,” senior safety Marcus Maye said. “He knows he has to make a few adjustments, but Luke’s doing a great job.
"I’m sure he’ll go through his week and prepare and practice just like he always does.”
Contact Ian Cohen at icohen@alligator.org and follow him on Twitter @icohenb.
Luke Del Rio (14) looks to pass during Florida's 45-7 win over Kentucky on Sept. 10, 2016, at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.
