A remarkable run of health at the QB position ends for Florida

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.

Jeff Driskel: A Convenient Scapegoat?

After watching all the venom spewed at Jeff Driskel this weekend, I wanted to take a step back from things and try to take a more rational approach to his performance in a 21-16 loss at Miami.

His stat line was decent. 22-of-33 (66.7%) for 291 yards (a career-high), one touchdown against two interceptions. Granted some of those numbers were padded a bit by Florida's hurry-up offense against a Miami prevent defense which all but conceded a score late in the fourth quarter. Still, Driskel took some huge shots (nine hits, by my count) in this game and hung in there to make some big plays.

For the purposes of this analysis, however, let's focus more on the "mistakes." Driskel made three poor decisions throwing the football, that I saw.

– The interception to Miami safety Rayshawn Jenkins into coverage near the goal line in the second quarter. This play took three points off the board for Florida. It was simply an inexcusable decision by Driskel, especially considering a similar experience that cost the Gators points late in the first half against Georgia last year.

– An incomplete pass over the middle to Quinton Dunbar who was blanketed by three defenders on third-and-nine to end the second drive of the game. Trey Burton appeared to have a step on his man in the flat and was a better option on the play. (6:24, first quarter)

– Another incomplete pass to Dunbar down the right sideline on a third-and-three with just over 12 minutes to go in the game. Dunbar was double-covered, while Burton was running a flat-route in which he appeared to be open and in position to get the first down.

Of his additional eight incompletions, there were the following:

– A missed pass to Quinton Dunbar on the sideline on Florida's second drive. Miami's Tracy Howard was in coverage. A dangerous throw, but Driskel put it where only Dunbar had a chance to get it, and the receiver nearly made the play. (6:08)

– The missed opportunity to a wide-open Dunbar in the end zone on a well-timed play-action call early in the second quarter. This incompletion subsequently led to the Jenkins interception a play later. It's easy to wonder whether Driskel was pressing a bit on the next play because of the overthrow of Dunbar, and forced things a bit as a result. (14:16)

– Later in the second quarter, Driskel threw behind an open Dunbar on a crossing route. (11:48)

– Good play-action design out of a run-heavy formation where Driskel couldn't find an open man and threw it out of bounds late in the first half. (2:17)

– An incomplete pass to Clay Burton late in the third quarter. It was a third-and-four situation where the defender (Perryman) batted the ball away. Credit Perryman, in large part, for Miami's win. He was an animal on Saturday. (0:57)

– Clay Burton dropped a pass on a crossing route on the first offensive play of the fourth quarter (after an 18-yard run by Jones was wiped out because of a holding penalty.) (13:52)

– The interception to Burton. Clearly some timing issues on this play. But from my vantage point, Burton ran a flat route and simply didn't have his head around to catch the football. He ran the same route on a third-and-short the Gators didn't convert on earlier in the fourth quarter as well. (EDIT: Let me add, that's my interpretation ... and obviously we'll know more about what happened on this play soon enough)

– Missed pass to freshman Demarcus Robinson (his only target of the game) on a crossing route which took place on the second touchdown drive. The receiver vacated the middle on the play and moved into the flat. Driskel was hit on the play and threw it low and behind Robinson. Essentially the equivalent of a throw away, as Robinson was unlikely to get loose for much of a gain. (4:42)

That's really it. Three bad decisions and two poor throws. There was the sack/fumble in which Max Garcia (filling in for D.J. Humphries) got beat. You can argue Driskel held on to the ball too long, fine. And then the second sack at the end of the game, which really didn't mean much at that point.

So, seven bad plays you can put on Driskel. In 35 called pass plays. Most coaches will take that from their quarterbacks. Was it a great day by Florida quarterbacking standards? No. But it certainly wasn't the downfall of Florida against an opportunistic Miami bunch.

I like to remind UF fans in times like these, that even the all-time greats weren't infallible. Danny Wuerffel threw a critical interception in the waning stages of the 1994 Auburn debacle at home, which set up the Tigers to go on a game-winning touchdown drive. Fast-forward to 4:39 to see a truly awful decision by one of Florida's best ever.

It happens. We remember Wuerffel for all the good now, because there was a lot of it. But even he went through some growing pains. Unfortunately Jeff Driskel is too, and because he didn't get a redshirt year (like Wuerffel did), he's still experiencing these in his junior year, as opposed to his redshirt sophomore campaign as a result.

In any case, Driskel is catching some heat right now. And that comes with the territory with the position. But it wasn't as bad as everyone makes it out to be. At least, not from my vantage point. Now we have to see if #6, and the team as a whole, can rebound from a stinging defeat against an in-state rival to regroup and make a run at earning an invitation to Atlanta.

Class of 1992: The Foundation for a National Championship

This is the third installment in our running anthology of posts looking back at past recruiting classes for the Florida Gators. Today's entry highlights the Class of 1992.

After falling behind the Seminoles and the Hurricanes in the recruiting wars, the Gators made a loud statement when Steve Spurrier announced a 25-man signing class on Feb. 6, 1992. A group that was considered the consensus-No. 1 group in the country included the following:

David Barnard, Line (6-3, 280), Miami (Miami Senior)

Jim Bates, Jr., Back (6-2, 215), Sevierville, Tenn. (Sevier County)

Johnie Church, Back (6-3, 218), Fort Myers (Cypress Lake)

Cameron Davis, Line (6-4, 230), Lauderhill (St. Thomas Aquinas)

Tony Davis, Back (5-11, 190), Chipley

Dexter Daniels, Back (6-2, 225), Valdosta, Ga. (Valdosta)

Bart Edmiston, Kicker (5-10, 170), Pensacola (Washington)

Jerome Evans, Back (6-2, 222), Arcadia (DeSoto County)

McDonald Ferguson, Line, (6-2, 245), Miami (North Miami)

Reggie Green, Line (6-7, 297), Bradenton (Southeast)

Demetric Jackson, Back (6-1, 180), Lake City (Columbia)

Eric Kresser, Quarterback (6-3, 200), Palm Beach Gardens

Antone Lott, Back, (5-10, 180), Jacksonville (Raines)

Jeff Mitchell, Line (6-4, 240), Clearwater (Countryside)

Dwayne Mobley, Back (6-0, 215), Brooksville (Hernando)

Shawn Nunn, Back (6-3, 230), Ocala (Vanguard)

Jason Odom, Line (6-6, 283), Bartow

Nick Quintana, Line (6-4, 290), Miami (Senior)

Shea Showers, Back (5-11, 170), Alachua (Santa Fe)

Kenny Times, Back (6-1, 218), Winter Park (Lake Howell)

Andre Washington, Back (6-1, 215), Jacksonville (Ribault/Georgia/Florida C.C.)

Shawn Wilson, Back (6-1, 180), Virginia Beach (Bayside)

Lawrence Wright, Back (6-2, 195), Miami (North Miami/Valley Forge)

Danny Wuerffel, Quarterback (6-3, 193), Fort Walton Beach

Donnie Young, Line (6-3, 260), Venice

– Allen Wallace declared this group the top-ranked recruiting class in the country, while Max Emfinger named the Gators “co-champions” with LSU.

– Dexter Daniels earned 1991 USA Today Defensive Player of the Year honors. To date, Daniels remains the only player to win that award and sign with Florida.

– 22 of the 25 members of this signing class were from inside the state of Florida (88%)

– Times did not qualify in 1992 and had to defer his enrollment to the following year.

– Florida closed out with 14 of the state's consensus top-50 recruits, while FSU came in a close second with 13. Miami landed eight. It was a dominant year inside the state borders for the Big Three. Clemson and Michigan were the only out-of-state programs to land more than one top-50 prospect from Florida, but both were only able to grab two.

Biggest Hits: Making a list of who didn't pan out in this class is considerably easier. Wuerffel was the 1996 Heisman Trophy winner. Bates, Daniels, Green, Lott, Odom, Wright and Young all picked up All-SEC honors during their stay in Gainesville as well. In total, this class produced a total of six NFL Draft picks.

It should be noted that Reggie Green had a fine career in Gainesville, despite dealing with knee issues that prevented him from a likely 10-year career at the pro level.

Biggest Misses: Quintana flunked out of UF after the fall semester of '92, and did not return to the squad. A highly-decorated player coming in, a knee injury kept Wilson from contributing at UF.

Andre Washington, who had previously pulled an eleventh-hour switcheroo in 1990 and elected to sign with Georgia instead to Florida, ended up signing with UF as a part of the 1992 class. He left Georgia after his freshman season and transferred to Florida Community College in Jacksonville. However, the long-awaited debut of Washington never took place at UF, as he failed to earn his A.A. Degree and was not able to enroll at Florida.

Tony Davis was never able to make a significant presence in the offensive backfield. After threatening to leave midway through his freshman season, he would eventually be expelled from school in the fall of 1994.

The ones who got away: Even with as good as Florida's offensive line haul was in 1992, the Gators nearly made it that-much-better with the presence of future NFL Hall-of-Famer Jonathan Ogden. The 6-foot-8, 340-pound behemoth from St. Albans School in Washington D.C. was also a highly-regarded shot-putter at the prep level. His short list included the Gators and Notre Dame, but Ogden eventually signed with UCLA.

Aside from that one, there weren't many misses. Although Dexter Daniels had a solid career in Gainesville, he was actually overshadowed in the long run by prep rival Randall Godfrey, who played at Lowndes High School in Valdosta and ended up at Georgia. Godfrey went on to play 12 years in the NFL.

Florida State signed a very good class as well. Although not quite on the level of Florida's, it was rated as a consensus top-five group, led by WR/KR Tamerick Vanover and OL Marcus Long, both named first team All-America by the USA Today. QB Danny Kannell, OL Todd Fordham, P Sean Liss, LB Todd Rebol, DT Connell Spain as well as the Crockett brothers – FB Zack and LB Henri – were major contributors for the 'Noles as well.

SEC recruiting co-champ LSU's crop included highly-regarded TE David LaFleur and WR Eddie Kennison, a pair of first-round NFL draft picks. Two-time All-SEC DE Gabe Northern was also a part of the 1992 class for the Tigers. Otherwise, it was a mostly forgettable group.

Tom Lemming, speaking on National Signing Day in 1992, would do an excellent job looking into the crystal ball many years into the future with this quote:

The SEC is so far ahead of everybody else in the nation,” Lemming said at the time. “It's phenomenal.”

Wise words, to be sure.