Like the season opener, Florida won’t name a first-string quarterback for Saturday’s game against East Carolina, coach Jim McElwain said Wednesday.
Instead, McElwain said he expects to use a game plan similar to the one against New Mexico State, with quarterbacks Will Grier and Treon Harris rotating series.
The only question remaining, is who will take the field for the first drive.
"We’re going to basically do the same thing," McElwain said.
"Which guy is going to trot out there first we’re going to visit after tonight’s practice, but it will be very similar."
Grier and Harris have created little separation between each other for the starting quarterback role, but McElwain doesn’t see it as a problem.
He likes the progress both have made, and could envision the Gators using multiple quarterbacks throughout the season.
"I’m looking for consistency in performance at all positions, not just the quarterback spot," McElwain said.
"(Grier and Harris) were OK in the last game. They weren’t great. It wasn’t earth-shattering by any stretch of the imagination. They’ve got to get a ton better. I look for them to hopefully take another step this week."
That step apparently wasn’t taken Wednesday, and McElwain didn’t hold back his frustration.
He said the quarterbacks made several poor decisions when the offense was practicing red-zone situations.
The first-year Florida coach repeated "you don’t get do-overs" on poor throws, not even during mid-week practice.
"If you want me to call it out, we had two late throws in the red area today. It can’t happen," McElwain said.
"We had one late (throw) over the middle that’s gonna get intercepted. That’s unacceptable. And those are things that kill you, the unacceptable behavior, when you know better."
Regardless of the progress the quarterbacks make before Saturday, the Gators will be missing one of their contributors — senior wide receiver Latroy Pittman — against the Pirates.
For the fifth game in his career, Pittman was suspended, and unable to contribute against New Mexico State.
After initially calling it a one-game suspension, Pittman figured to be reincorporated into UF’s offense this week.
But McElwain revealed Wednesday that Pittman hasn’t completed his suspension just yet.
"He’s got a little time to go," McElwain said. "It’s about earning your way back, doing what’s right every single day."
McElwain wants Pittman to make the most out of his final season as a Gator, but that won’t happen until Pittman does the necessary things to get there.
"It’s his choice. It’s no one else’s," McElwain said.
"It’s not anything you did, it’s not anything that coach did, it’s a choice that each one of us make every day of our lives."
If it was Martez Ivey’s choice, the freshman would be out there practicing with the Gators.
McElwain provided an update on Ivey’s condition, saying he’s "probably still a week away, however he’s done great and should be back ready to go."
Ivey reportedly slightly tore his meniscus and his recovery was estimated to be between two and four weeks.
Yet McElwain said Ivey "may actually get a couple reps tomorrow, we’ll see what happens after we get it looked at again."
Junior cornerback Keanu Neal returned to practice Wednesday after missing the season-opener with a leg injury suffered in the final scrimmage of Fall camp.
Defensive backs coach Kirk Callahan said Neal’s return to the field will immediately be noticeable.
"Leadership, toughness are two things that jump out (about Neal)," Callahan said.
"He’s very serious in that he takes everything that he does seriously, whether that’s practice, technique, film study.
"Things that he puts in off the field (are) going to show up on Saturdays when he’s out there."
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UF quarterback Will Grier rushes for a touchdown during Florida's 61-13 win against New Mexico State on Sept. 5, 2015, at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium
