COLUMBIA, S.C. — Tyler down, Skyler up.
Redshirt freshman Skyler Mornhinweg will make his first college start tonight against No. 11 South Carolina in Williams-Brice Stadium at 7:10 p.m. on ESPN2. He will replace injured redshirt junior Tyler Murphy (right shoulder). Mornhinweg took all of the first-team snaps for Florida during practice this week.
Mornhinweg is the first freshman quarterback to start for UF since Jacoby Brissett took the reins against LSU on Oct. 8, 2011.
Like Brissett, whose first start was against the Tigers in Baton Rouge, La., Mornhinweg will also make his first career start on the road.
“We feel good about [Mornhinweg] moving forward and being ready to go,” coach Will Muschamp said during a call-in radio show on Thursday night. “That's the way it's looking now.”
If starting Mornhinweg gives the Gators any advantage, it’s unfamiliarity.
Asked Friday what he knew about Mornhinweg, Gamecocks defensive coordinator Lorenzo Ward responded, “He’s from New Jersey.” Mornhinweg came to Florida from St. Joseph’s Prep in Philadelphia.
But the glaring disadvantage is the question of experience. On Tuesday, Gators offensive coordinator Brent Pease discussed the possibility of starting Mornhinweg.
“You hope you never really have to play with a redshirt freshman,” Pease said. “Nothing against [Mornhinweg] because he’s a smart kid, he works hard. But in a developmental situation, you hope that you get into your sophomore and junior year before you’re in that situation, whether you’re competing for the job or in a backup role ready to play.”
With an inexperienced quarterback under center, Florida will likely rely on Kelvin Taylor and Mack Brown in the running game. UF ranks 13th in the Southeastern Conference with 146 rushing yards per game and last with only 3.5 yards per carry.
“I can imagine we’ll probably be running the ball more if Skyler was to play this Saturday,” redshirt senior right guard Jon Halapio said on Tuesday.
Murphy is the second Gators quarterback lost to injury this season.
He took over for Jeff Driskel, who suffered a fractured right fibula during the first quarter of a 31-17 victory against Tennessee on Sept. 21 in The Swamp. Murphy threw for 1,216 yards, six touchdowns and five interceptions in seven games, including six starts.
Murphy's sister, Binghamton women's basketball player Morgan Murphy, expressed displeasure with the timing of UF her brother's benching. She expressed her concern for his health on Saturday night via her Twitter account (@MoMurph4).
She tweeted: "Wish they would've done this weeks ago when they realize (sic) the severity instead of trying to cover it up & act like he was fine."
Morgan later deleted the aforementioned tweet and made a follow-up post that read, "Lol my words are being taken out of context and assumptions are being made at this point."
Junior cornerback suspended: UF announced Marcus Roberson would miss Saturday night's game due to a violation of teams rules. He has missed four games this season because of injury and suspension.
Skyler Mornhinweg warms up prior to Florida’s 24-7 victory against Kentucky on Sept. 28 in Commonwealth Stadium. Mornhinweg will make the first start of his college career against South Carolina at 7:10 p.m. on Saturday.
