They say life is not fair.
Saturday night in Jordan-Hare Stadium was a prime example of why it isn’t; just look at Florida freshman quarterbacks Jacoby Brissett and Jeff Driskel.
Neither signal-caller was put in a fair position against Auburn on the road.
Neither one stood a chance of succeeding, so forgive them for their mediocre performances.
“The more reps and the more turns those young men’ll get, they’re going to be really good football players,” coach Will Muschamp said. “I’m excited about both of them. We just need to continue to move forward. … That’s the reality of it, but that’s part of the game.”
With redshirt senior John Brantley sidelined with an ankle injury the last two games, Florida’s coaches have handled the quarterback situation about as poorly as they could have.
Since Florida’s first loss, the line has been the same from the Gators’ coaches and players: Brissett and Driskel are splitting reps in practice — not always evenly, but close enough.
Muschamp declined to name a starter all week, and it wasn’t until Friday, the day the team left for Auburn, that he announced Brissett would get the start.
By not making an executive decision earlier in the week, Muschamp put Brissett and Driskel behind the eight-ball, and the numbers showed it.
Brissett was 5-of-10 passing for 45 yards and an interception in the first half before he was benched for Driskel.
“We just weren’t moving the ball effectively enough,” Muschamp said. “We felt like we needed a change.”
The Gators made a change, but the results were largely the same. Driskel completed half his passes (9 of 18) for just 75 yards and no touchdowns as the offense continued to sputter.
Both freshmen failed to get into a steady rhythm against the Southeastern Conference’s worst passing defense (222 yards per game). They both struggled to move the ball, and they clearly weren’t on the same page as their receivers.
On Florida’s second play from scrimmage Brissett underthrew Deonte Thompson on a deep ball that was intercepted by T’Sharvan Bell while Frankie Hammond streaked down the left sideline with no defender in sight.
Same with Driskel. He overthrew tight end Jordan Reed on a flea-flicker that should have been an easy touchdown. He also slightly overthrew a fourth-down pass late in the game to Thompson, who had to leap for the ball as it went through his outstretched hands.
The errant passes against Auburn were easy throws if the quarterbacks were given a chance to develop a rapport with the receivers.
But neither Brissett nor Driskel has been given that chance.
Backups rarely take reps with the first team, and when the two were elevated on the depth chart due to Brantley’s injury, they were sharing reps.
That makes it just as difficult to build a connection with receivers, learn their tendencies, learn how they break on routes and learn how long it takes them to get from point A to point B.
“Playing a true freshman quarterback in this league is difficult,” Muschamp said.
He’s right; it is difficult, especially when that quarterback isn’t given a fair shake with a full week of first-team reps.
Contact Tom Green at tgreen@alligator.org.
