Not long after new offensive coordinator Brent Pease had been hired, Jeff Driskel and Jacoby Brissett were in his office, trying to get a copy of their new playbook.
Pease didn’t have one ready, but the message was clear: Both of Florida’s sophomore quarterbacks are willing to work for a chance at the starting job.
The unofficial depth chart released Tuesday lists “Jacoby Brissett or Jeff Driskel” as the No. 1 quarterback, an unnecessary reminder that the job is up for grabs as the spring practice season opens today.
“We have a quarterback battle going into spring,” coach Will Muschamp said. “Jeff and Jacoby will split reps, and we’ll name a starter when we’re ready. Whether that’s spring, summer, fall camp, I don’t know.”
Pease and Muschamp are both hopeful that one player will assert himself as Florida’s starter, but neither ruled out a two-quarterback system.
“We want to name a starter, but we’re going to do what we need to win games,” Muschamp said. “If we’ve got to play both guys, we’ll play both guys, and we will make that determination as we work through this.”
“I’ve been in a situation where you’ve had to use both,” Pease said. “It’ll work well if you’ve got the right type of kids that both can compete and you kind of use their strengths to how you’re going to manage the game. Not particularly in favor of that. I’d rather see one kid step forward and take charge.”
Driskel entered 2011 second on the depth chart after enrolling in January, a semester before Brissett.
He played sparingly in blowouts against FAU, UAB and Kentucky before struggling in the second half against Alabama after Brantley went down with an ankle injury just before halftime.
But when Brantley missed Florida’s next game against LSU, Brissett was called on to start. Brissett and Driskel split time against Auburn the following week, and then Brissett served as Brantley’s primary backup and was the only other quarterback to see action against Vanderbilt, South Carolina and Florida State.
Driskel finished the season 16 for 34 for 148 yards with two interceptions, while Brissett completed 18 of 39 passes for 206 yards, two touchdowns and four interceptions.
Muschamp said that sophomore Tyler Murphy will remain at quarterback and also be a part of the competition, although he is significantly behind Brissett and Driskel.
Contact Greg Luca at gluca@alligator.org.
