Jeff Driskel: A Convenient Scapegoat? (Part II)

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 current reign as leader of the Florida offense (now at 14 games and counting). Yesterday, we took a quick glance at Driskel's performance last Saturday in a loss against Miami. Now, I want to take the long view. And try to put his situation in perspective against quarterbacks from other programs.

One thing that got me thinking. A Facebook post from a friend of mine (a big UCF fan) who said this over the weekend: "Guess UF got the wrong kid out of Oviedo!!! Bortles hasn't thrown an INT in months, not minutes."

First, let me explain: Bortles and Driskel are from the same town (ish) of Oviedo, just north of UCF on the southern end of Osceola County. Bortles attended the well-established program at Oviedo High School, which has been an occasional power in central Florida prep circles over the years. Now is definitely an "up" cycle for the program.

Driskel, meanwhile, attended the newly-opened Hagerty High School, south of "old" Oviedo, which is in the middle of a housing boom that has sprung up just north of UCF (which is actually in Orange County) in recent years. Driskel's freshman year at Hagerty coincided with the school's first year of varsity football in 2007.

Now, back to the claim of Florida getting the wrong quarterback out of Oviedo. It's certainly not an unreasonable assertion right now, in light of the numbers. Bortles has played extremely well for Central Florida and undoubtedly had a stronger showing at quarterback early in his second season as the unquestioned starter for the Knights. I also can't help but think he's had a better set of circumstances in which to grow into (and blossom) in the role of signal-caller at the college level.

First, consider this. Bortles played for a stronger, more firmly-established high school team. It wouldn't be difficult to argue his prep experiences better prepared Bortles for what he would experience as he moved on to UCF. Driskel, meanwhile, played for a brand new program that was lacking both in talent and cohesion. Playing for a young program at Hagerty High School, Driskel did not have excellent skill talent around him. After taking over as the starting quarterback early in his freshman year, the offense was built largely around his considerable abilities as a runner.

Secondly, Bortles had a much smoother transition into the role of starter. He was eased into the position over three years, redshirting as a freshman, splitting time with Jeff Godfrey in his second year, and then taking over as the full-time starter as a sophomore in 2012. On that plan, Driskel would only be assuming the reigns full-time this fall, his third season on campus. Instead, he was thrown into the fire early, seeing his first major action at home in a blowout loss to Alabama after starter John Brantley went down. Injuries would eventually end Driskel's freshman season early following his next appearance, another loss on the road at Auburn. Driskel was not afforded the same process of easing into the role as a guy like Bortles. Or in a sense, even Johnny Football at A&M or Jameis Winston at Florida State. Both of those guys got a full redshirt year to prepare before being tossed into the fire.

Okay, so you're going to come back with "Cal's Jared Goff and Texas Tech's Baker Mayfield aren't doing too shabby so far this year. Why is Driskel still struggling to put up big numbers?"

The nation's #1 & #2 QBs in total offense, #Cal's Jared Goff & #TexasTech's Baker Mayfield are both true freshmen.
— Bruce Feldman (@BFeldmanCBS) September 9, 2013

It's true, Goff and Mayfield are lighting it up and making the transition from high school to college look easy. But, remember this. It's still early in the season, for one. Two, Mayfield played in essentially a very similar system in high school to the Air Raid derivative he's now running for Kliff Kingsbury at Texas Tech. As for Goff, he was hand-picked by Dykes to run the show at Cal because of his size and pinpoint accuracy. That he's doing so well as a true frosh is surprising, but maybe it shouldn't be. There are now plenty of prep quarterbacks out there who run offenses just as intricate as what some college guys are tasked with.

Still, that doesn't mean every prospect coming out of the high school ranks is ready to come in and roll out on the field as a ready-made starter. And that leads to my third and final point to consider: circumstances. Driskel was a project coming from Hagerty H.S. A young man with good size, a big arm and quick feet. He needed time to pick up the nuances of playing the quarterback position. He also needed to be surrounded with good talent at the skill positions and along the offensive line. That is finally starting to happen, and it's why I do expect him to put up good numbers this year. That was hardly the case in 2011 and 2012. Going through a transition from Charlie Weis to Brent Pease certainly didn't help matters any for a young guy still getting a feel for playing quarterback at the college level. Coaching stability is something that Bortles has had the benefit of, unlike Driskel.

Sometimes, it's all about finding the right fit and going to a system that suits your individual talents. That's why Goff and Mayfield are doing so well at a precocious age (at least for a college quarterback.) They're in the right place, at the right time, with a good fit for their talents. Likewise, Bortles came in to UCF alongside Jeff Godfrey. Despite Godfrey's splashy freshman season, his shortcomings as a quarterback were exposed in year two, as Bortles was starting to come around and show he was the future of the position. Although Bortles was overlooked a bit in recruiting circles, I doubt he's too upset with how things have turned out. He's in a great fit at UCF, with coaching stability and good skill and offensive line talent around him.

Driskel hasn't been blessed with the same luxuries for which some of his contemporaries have blossomed with. I'm just saying this – it's something to keep in mind before throwing a physically gifted young quarterback under the bus. Florida's starting quarterback may just prove everyone wrong, yet.

Tapping the breaks on the recruiting process

Chris Hays of the Orlando Sentinel wrote a nice column on the recruiting process, and how it continues to accelerate which each passing year. So much so that Tyreke Johnson, an eight-grader at Trinity Christian Academy, and the younger brother of First Coast star QB De'Andre Johnson (a 2015 commitment to Florida State), wonders aloud why the Seminoles haven't extended an offer yet.

Is that where we're at these days? A kid, who isn't even in high school, is complaining about the offers he hasn't received yet?

By all accounts, the younger Johnson has the makings of an excellent football player. Standing at 6-foot-1 and 170 pounds, he already has the projectable frame of a prospect heading into his junior year of high school. Johnson recorded 11 tackles and an interception on a 9-2 squad loaded with BCS-caliber skill talent. There's no doubt he has the makings of a major prospect a few years down the line.



This isn't the first time Hays has touched on the topic, either. He previously wrote about the Johnson family in the spring as well. Older brother De'Andre committed to Florida State in the summer of 2012 – the summer before his sophomore year of high school.

There's nothing wrong with pushing kids to succeed, and wanting them to earn a scholarship to play on the next level. Especially if they are blessed with the talent both of the Johnson brothers have displayed at a precocious age. But when is it too much. When is a parent crossing the line and putting too much focus on the future when these kids should still be enjoying childhood?

I've paid close attention to recruiting coverage for about 10 years now. It used to be that recruiting coverage would really ramp up on a senior class of prospects the summer before their senior year. There was a period of several months between National Signing Day and spring ball where the coverage was fairly sparse – limited mostly to camps, combines and such. Now, we already have rankings of the top juniors in the country.

Likewise, with each passing year, the process gets moved up more and more. 10 years ago, Texas began the trend of landing early commitments in the months immediately proceeding National Signing Day. Yes, there was a time when Mack Brown was ahead of the curve, folks. This was before he started offering guys like Robert Griffin III and Johnny Manziel the opportunity to play safety in Austin, of course.

40 years ago, boosters essentially helped coaches recruit players. Today, it's a big business all to itself. Recruiting services, video services and media coverage allow coaches to scout and assemble their squads from the comfort of their offices. As Nick Saban has showed, even the use of Skype allows a coach to make and keep contact with top recruits from the confines of their respective campuses.

But how do we slow down this rolling freight train? Verbal commitments are non-binding, and it's not like the NCAA can prevent them from happening. If a talented eighth-grader – say Louisiana phenom Dylan Moses, for example – wants to make trips on his own dime, what's to stop him from doing that? And if the talent is so inherently clear at that age, what's to stop colleges from extending interest and/or verbal offers to 13, 14 and 15-year old prospects? I agree with the sentiment, I'm just not sure how to stop it.

College football recruiting has always been a dirty business, although not as much so as college basketball recruiting has become in recent years. But with the introduction and growing popularity of 7-on-7 tournaments (football's equivalent of the AAU circuit), elite prospect camps like "The Opening" (Nike's answer on the football side to the shoe company summer basketball camps that became popularized in the late 1990's) and now the pursuit of prospects at the middle school level (which has happened in college basketball for years now), it's hard not to see that football is on the same path as basketball, if it isn't there outright already.

So, how do we fix football recruiting? To be honest, I'm not really sure. The debate brings up more questions than answers. Honestly, it seems like trying to put the toothpaste back in the tube at this point. But I hope that isn't the case. I really hope.