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Thursday, March 28, 2024
<p>Quarterback Feleipe Franks drops back to pass during the Orange &amp; Blue Debut on April 8, 2016, at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.</p>

Quarterback Feleipe Franks drops back to pass during the Orange & Blue Debut on April 8, 2016, at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.

Jim McElwain knows what he wants.

With quarterback Luke Del Rio, last year’s starter, set to miss all of Spring practice after a non-throwing shoulder surgery, McElwain wants one of his QBs to seize the starting role.

“The biggest piece we’re looking for,” McElwain said Thursday, “is somebody to step up and say, ‘You know what, I’m going to take this, and I’m going to lead this team.’”

With Del Rio sidelined, Florida will look to two redshirt freshmen to lead the team in Spring: Feleipe Franks and Kyle Trask.

Franks, a four-star recruit, came to UF in January of 2016 as an early enrollee.

The 6-foot-6 signal caller threw interceptions on three of his first four passes in the 2016 Orange & Blue Debut.

But McElwain has watched Franks improve since then and said he’s learning from his mistakes.

“I think the biggest thing there is just understanding that it doesn’t happen automatically,” McElwain said.

Kyle Trask also enrolled early in 2016, eight days before Franks, as a three-star recruiting prospect and completed four of seven passes in the Spring game last year.

Accuracy is imperative. No SEC team threw more interceptions than Florida last season, so the coaching staff will scrutinize QB performances in Spring practice.

“Every drill is graded,” McElwain said. “Whether it’s routes on air, the accuracy of the throws and where it needs to be and all those type of things.”

Florida also has a wildcard in the mix when it comes to QB.

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Newcomer Kadarius Toney enrolled at UF on Jan. 4 and was recruited as a versatile athlete who can play multiple positions, from receiver to defensive back to QB.

McElwain said Toney will get plenty of reps behind center, so the staff can experiment with him on offense.

Implementation of the 5-foot-11 athlete from Eight Mile, Alabama, on offense could lead to more designed QB runs, McElwain said.

“It’s something we did a little bit with Austin (Appleby), and yet this gives us a little bit more as we move forward,” he said.

McElwain also announced that Del Rio was accepted into UF’s sport management graduate program, quelling rumors that the redshirt junior may transfer and potentially providing a safety net if none of Florida’s freshmen pan out in time for UF’s Sept. 2 matchup with Michigan.

As for Franks and Trask, McElwain joked his way out of answering which Spring QB has the better chance to start.

“They’re close,” McElwain said. “They’re real close. There’s probably about a half-inch difference between them, I think. I don’t know. Kadarius is smaller, though.”

Contact Matt Brannon at mbrannon@alligator.org and follow him on Twitter @MattB_727.

Quarterback Feleipe Franks drops back to pass during the Orange & Blue Debut on April 8, 2016, at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.

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