Austin Appleby wasn’t happy as he stood behind the lectern, the place where Luke Del Rio should have been standing.
Following Florida’s 32-0 blowout win over North Texas on Saturday, it was not joy from the victory across Appleby’s face. It was grief.
“My heart breaks for him,” he said of Del Rio. “You want to come here and get an opportunity to play, but you don’t want to see one of your friends get hurt.”
About an hour before, Appleby watched as the North Texas defensive end rammed into Del Rio’s left knee. He watched as the quarterback dropped to the ground and didn’t get up, watched as Jim McElwain jogged on to the field and berated the referee before he was restrained by several of his players.
“I care about these kids. They’re mine,” McElwain said. “When I see something like that, it isn’t right.”
Del Rio limped back to the locker room to be replaced by Appleby, who finished UF’s blowout by completing 2-of-4 passes for 30 yards.
By then, the game was decided. But Florida’s quarterback situation was not.
“To be honest, when you lose your starting quarterback, it’s always gonna raise a couple eyebrows,” cornerback Jalen Tabor said. “But the quarterback position is only as good as the people around him, and the people around him are only as good as the quarterback position.”
With Del Rio reportedly out for at least 2-4 weeks with a sprained MCL, Appleby will likely start Saturday against No. 14 Tennessee. Beyond Appleby, McElwain’s options are limited. Freshmen quarterbacks Feleipe Franks and Kyle Trask are both available, but both are much less experienced than Appleby, a graduate transfer from Purdue.
And yet, McElwain was optimistic after the game. He said he has confidence in Appleby and belief in his team to play through Del Rio’s absence in a hostile road environment against the Volunteers (3-0) on Saturday.
His players agreed.
“Austin is a good quarterback,” defensive lineman Joey Ivie said. “I think that if we just keep practicing hard and stay positive and stay together and stay coachable, things are going to be OK.”
Inevitably, Florida’s offense will feel different under a new quarterback. Through three games, Del Rio was having a career year, ranking fourth in the Southeastern Conference in passing yards (762) and tying for fourth in passing touchdowns (six).
In contrast, Appleby’s best season came in 2014 at Purdue, when the quarterback had 10 touchdowns and 11 interceptions through 10 games. He had a 2-9 record in 11 career starts.
But, according to coaches, he was nearly even with Del Rio in the race to win the starting quarterback job throughout Florida’s preseason camp.
“All our guys have got good arms,” McElwain said. “We’ll stretch the field. Plan doesn’t change.”
Florida hopes not. The Gators offense has mostly flourished through three games. They rank 38th in the nation in passing offense (264 yards per game), up 34 spots from where they finished last season.
But with Del Rio sidelined for the foreseeable future, they’ll need to find ways to keep their offense from stalling.
“It doesn’t matter who’s playing quarterback, running back, receiver, calling the plays, it don’t matter,” Tabor said.
“We’ll be fine.”
Contact Ian Cohen at icohen@alligator.org and follow him on Twitter @icohenb.
Florida athletic trainers kneel beside quarterback Luke Del Rio after Del Rio was injured during Florida's 32-0 win over North Texas on Sept. 17, 2016, at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.
