Florida still controls its own destiny heading into its Senior Day matchup on Saturday against South Carolina.
But with uncertainty at the quarterback position following a humbling 31-10 loss at Arkansas, the banged-up Gators aren’t coming down the stretch with confidence.
Starting quarterback Luke Del Rio suffered a shoulder injury in the second quarter against the Razorbacks and is out indefinitely. Del Rio tried to play through the injury but it clearly impacted his performance. He finished 19 for 37 for 229 yards with no TDs and two interceptions. Del Rio’s first interception in the first quarter, which bounced off the hands Florida freshman WR Tyrie Cleveland, was returned for a TD.
With Del Rio out, Florida coach Jim McElwain has re-opened the quarterback competition this week. Senior quarterback Austin Appleby, who went 1-1 as a starter for the Gators earlier this season, will get the first snap with the first team in practice. But true freshmen QBs Kyle Trask and Feleipe Franks will get some snaps with the first team as well.
“We’ll see as the week goes on to see where and how we play those guys,” McElwain said.
Florida can still win the SEC East if beats South Carolina and closes league play with a win on Nov. 19 at LSU. But it won’t be easy. In addition to losing Del Rio, the Gators lost linebacker Alex Anzalone for the year with a broken arm and center Cam Dillard indefinitely with a knee injury. Florida was outgained 223-12 on the ground in the Arkansas loss.
“Probably the most disappointing thing was the way they took it to us from a physical standpoint,” McElwain said.
Another interesting storyline is that Florida will be coaching a South Carolina team led by Will Mushamp, who went 28-21 in four seasons at UF before being fired at the end of the 2014 season. All of the seniors that will be honored in UF’s last home game of the season against South Carolina were recruited by Muschamp.
“I’m excited to face Coach Muschamp and show him how much I’ve grown as a player and a person,” Florida senior linebacker Daniel McMillian said.
NOTES, QUOTES
PLAYERS TO WATCH
–WR Antonio Callaway had a team-high 44 yards receiving on 4 catches against the Razorbacks. For the season, Callaway has a team-high 485 yards receiving on 31 catches with 4 TDs (two receiving, one rushing and one on a kickoff return).
–RB Jordan Scarlett will look to bounce back from a subpar effort against Arkansas and help spark the offense against South Carolina. The sophomore from Fort Lauderdale was limited to 5 carries for 15 yards against Arkansas and had his streak of six straight games with a rushing TD snapped. For the season, Scarlett has rushed for 483 yards on 4.9 yards per carry with 6 TDs.
–DB Duke Dawson returned an interception 37 yards for a TD against Arkansas for his second career TD. The junior also had 3 tackles, including one tackle for loss, and 1 pass breakup. For the season, Dawson has 18 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, one interception and one forced fumble
–LB Daniel McMillian will need to step into a leadership role due to injuries to starting LBs Jarrad Davis and Alex Anzalone. McMillian finished with 2 tackles, 1 tackle for loss and 1 pass breakup against Arkansas. For the season, McMillian has 10 tackles, 1 tackle for loss and 1 pass breakup.