Florida Gators' QB race nearing end
By Edgar Thompson
GAINESVILLE — The much-anticipated, hotly contested Florida Gators quarterback race is nearing an end.
It could end up a photo finish.
Coach Jim McElwain said he ideally would like identify a starter by the end of next week, but Luke Del Rio and Austin Appleby have been neck and neck since preseason camp opened Aug. 4.
"We're doing our best at making it a tough decision," Del Rio said.
Del Rio seemed to have made the choice a no-brainer following April's spring game. He finished 10-of-11 passing and led four straight touchdown drives.
But Appleby's superior arm strength, size and experience helped him tighten the competition for one of the most high-profile positions in college football.
"I think that we're very, very close and that we're both executing at a very high level," the Purdue graduate transfer said Friday. "We're capable of being very prolific."
Gator Nation hopes Appleby's assessment is as accurate as his - or Del Rio's - passes this season.
Once a given in Gainesville, a prolific passing game has been the main thing holding back the Gators of late.
With Treon Harris at quarterback as last season ended, Florida's offense ground to a halt. The team struggled to complete a pass, much less reach the end zone, during a three-game skid when the Gators were outscored 97-24.
"It put a lot of pressure on the run game last year knowing we didn't have the best quarterback and the best throwing game," sophomore tailback Jordan Scarlett said. "Defenses will stack the box and put a lot of pressure on the run game. Now that we have a quarterback they have to respect the pass.
"It will open up a lot more things."
First, McElwain will have to decide on a starter. He entered Friday's scrimmage seeking answers.
"I like to refer to it as moving day," McElwain told reporters earlier in the day. "I don't have the crystal ball. I'm hoping that something [takes shape] today and if it doesn't, that's fine."
Del Rio, a redshirt sophomore, opened the game running the first-team offense, according to 247Sports.com. A 2014 transfer from Oregon State at his third school, Del Rio said he is having the "best camp I've had in my college career."
McElwain, known for his ability to develop quarterbacks, let last year's competition between Will Grier and Harris drag on until the third week of the season. Coaches finally gave Grier the nod, even though he seemed to hold a decided edge in the race.
But when the NCAA suspended Grier less than a month later for violating its policy on performance-enhancing drugs, it became clear he lacked the maturity and leadership the position demands.
McElwain does not face similar character concerns with Del Rio or Appleby and would like to decide on one or the other following next Friday's scrimmage.
"We want it to be determined after that for sure, especially going in because then you are starting game prep," McElwain said. "Then we will put a plan together to make sure we get game-time situations at all of the spots as we go forward."
Del Rio said he feels no added pressure due to McElwain's timetable or the fact Florida opens the season Sept. 3 against Massachusetts.
"I just kind of focus on my reps," he said. "We're just told to take it one practice at a time, so that's what I'm doing."
Some days Del Rio has the upper hand, while other days Appleby has the edge.
"It's just a matter of doing it every time," Appleby said. "It's all about consistency."
One constant is the two quarterbacks' support of each other as teammates, despite what is at stake personally.
"It's a friendly competition," Del Rio said. "We definitely want the best player to be the starter."
A decision is coming soon. But it will have taken McElwain much more than a couple of weeks or two scrimmages to decide.
"I think every day is pivotal," Appleby said. "I don't think that one day, one play, one practice is going to determine anything. I think it's about a body of work.
"If you come in here and you be the same guy every day, you put your eyes and your feet in the right place, you have the right process and control the things you can control and trust your preparation and everything takes care of itself."
egthompson@orlandosentinel.com