Off the field, Will Grier and Treon Harris can be seen around Gainesville eating dinner, hanging out and joking together.
But once practice starts, the two friends become competitors working towards the same goal: set yourself apart from the other and become Florida’s starting quarterback.
During Spring practice, UF coach Jim McElwain said the quarterback battle had no definite timeline and would be decided sometime before the Gators opened their season against New Mexico State on Sept. 5.
But with less than three weeks until the opening kickoff, just who will be leading the offense in McElwain’s inaugural year has yet to be determined.
"When you talk about the position of quarterback, each guy, they’re very different," UF offensive coordinator Doug Nussmeier said. "(Harris and Grier) are two different guys. They both have certain strengths and certain weaknesses."
McElwain has spoken often of rebranding Florida and making the program a national contender.
For that to happen, not only must McElwain and staff make a choice, it has to be the right one.
If not, the Gators may fall back into the rut they’re attempting to emerge from, One that started with choosing Jeff Driskel over Jacoby Brissett.
• • •
To put it rather bluntly, neither Harris nor Grier is perfect nor blatantly more talented than the other.
Grier is the pocket passer who has experience playing under center, a style of play that would seem like the perfect fit for McElwain’s offense.
Yet the well-documented inexperience along Florida’s offensive line — guard Trip Thurman returns as the lone consistent starter from last season’s team — might make the coaches see Harris as the best fit for the system.
Harris started six games last season for the Gators after Jeff Driskel proved ineffective against Tennessee. His mobility and quickness could be necessary if the Gators can’t keep the opposing defense away from the quarterback.
If anything, it may seem alarming that UF hasn’t selected a quarterback. The offensive playmakers need to develop a rapport with the quarterback in order to be successful — and vice versa.
"It takes a lot to win the job in this offense. You have to keep the team pumped up, you have to lead by example, have the guys trust you," Harris said. "At this level, you have to learn to be a leader."
With Grier and Harris splitting repetitions, there are legitimate concerns that neither quarterback has had enough time with the first-team offense.
McElwain hopes none of that matters. He doesn’t need his quarterback to be perfect, but rather limit the crucial mistakes that kill drives and lose games.
"(Sometimes), some of the greatest quarterbacks out there maybe didn’t have the greatest arm," McElwain said at UF’s Media Day on Aug. 5. "They maybe didn’t have the greatest feet, but for whatever reason the team moved successfully down the field. They didn’t turn it over, and they won games."
Despite the acknowledgement of possible success with an imperfect quarterback, McElwain said neither quarterback has an advantage.
"I guess if you’re asking is there a separation yet I haven’t really seen it," McElwain said. "But I will say this, their command is what I’ve been really happy with."
If assessing the quarterbacks based on skill and watching them in practice isn’t enough to decide on a starting quarterback, then there’s no clear indication of what McElwain wants at the position.
There isn’t game tape of Grier, and there’s none of Harris in the system. Could McElwain simply be playing coy until the season opens, hoping to limit the game-plan opportunities of Florida’s foes? A possible strategy, sure, but it would come at the expense of the rest of the team.
However it’s looked at, Florida is better off with deciding on a starting quarterback now rather than later.
Whether it’s Grier or Harris, having an affirmed starter against New Mexico State is necessary to the team recapturing its sense of identity.
UF quarterback Will Grier passes during practice Aug. 8, 2015, at Donald R. Dizney Stadium.
