29 years. That's how long it's been since the Gators suffered a major injury at the QB position. An incredible run of good fortune that ended on Saturday with the post-game revelation that Jeff Driskel suffered a fracture of the right tibia during the first quarter of Florida's 31-17 win against Tennessee. Driskel's season comes to a close after just three games.
Not since fifth-year senior Dale Dorminey suffered a torn ACL four days before the season-opener in 1984 (when a player ran into him on the sidelines in pratice, no less), has a Florida quarterback been lost in a similar fashion. Sure, there have been injuries at the position. Kerwin Bell (who fortuitously earned the starting job as a redshirt freshman after Dorminey's injury) struggled with a balky left knee in 1986 which was injured in a loss to LSU, but only missed two games. Danny Wuerffel suffered what ultimately proved to be a season-ending knee injury in 1993, but missed only the final two games (the 1993 SEC Championship and the 1994 Sugar Bowl). John Brantley missed two games after a severe sprain of his ankle in 2011, but returned to action against Georgia (although his effectiveness was severely limited the remainder of the season as a result of that injury). Of course, we can't forget Tim Tebow's broken right hand against FSU in 2007 as well as a concussion suffered at Kentucky in 2009. But he didn't miss any time as a result of those maladies. While all of the above-mentioned quarterbacks suffered fairly significant injuries (or, at least, what was thought at the time to be serious injuries), none of them missed more than two games as a result.
The only comparable situation for Florida in fairly recent history as to the predicament they now face is 1989, when starter Kyle Morris was lost for the season after six contests. But that was due to an investigation into the gambling practices of four team members (including Morris and his eventual successor at quarterback, Shane Matthews), as opposed to injury. The Gators, who began the 1989 season 5-1, would lose four of their last six games, as the turmoil in that particular fall included the firing of head coach Galen Hall under the veil of NCAA improprieties. In all, the mess of that season would lead to the hiring of Steve Spurrier, who as we all know, got things turned around in a hurry.
So, the Gators must now navigate the final three-quarters of their season knowing their starter is gone for the season. Facebook and Twitter have ably demonstrated how many fans are happy with this development, seeing as how Driskel had struggled considerably in his first three games of the year. But, as has been pointed out many times before, the back-up quarterback can often times be the most popular man on campus. Tyler Murphy accorded himself well on Saturday against the Vols, after being thrown into a tough situation. Despite some struggles getting on the same page with his offensive line in the first half, he guided the Gators to a season-high 31 points, and showed an ability to make plays with both his feet (79 yards rushing and a TD) and his arm (8-of-14 passing, 134 yards and one score). Now the question is very simply this: can he continue to produce like he did against Tennessee for the rest of the season?
Murphy was a completely unknown quantity before Saturday. With each passing week, defenses will be able to gameplan to exploit Murphy's weaknesses – whatever those may prove to be – as more film on him becomes available. That will be his biggest test moving forward, as the element of surprise will no longer be a factor.
In any case, while injuries are a regular part of football, injuries for the Florida Gators at the quarterback position have been surprisingly few and far between for UF over the past three decades. Now Will Muschamp and Brent Pease get to learn how the other side lives as they prepare for the rest of the season with Tyler Murphy as their starting signal-caller.
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