Jim McElwain didn’t see it coming.
The first-year UF coach thought suspended quarterback Will Grier was going to stay with the Gators.
But on Friday, after Grier finished his final exams for the Fall semester, the redshirt freshman told McElwain about his intention to transfer.
“We anticipated him being here. Obviously the choice was made to go somewhere else,” McElwain said.
Grier is still in the midst of serving his 12-month suspension handed to him by the NCAA on Oct. 12 for failing a test for performance-enhancing drugs. He would not be eligible to compete until Week 7 next season, so staying at Florida would have hindered Grier’s chances of playing in 2016.
“There are times in everybody’s life where maybe sometimes a change of scenery can be helpful,” UF coach Jim McElwain said. “Let’s not forget all the things that he’s been through.”
With Grier leaving, Florida’s options at quarterback for next year include current starter Treon Harris, Oregon State transfer Luke Del Rio, and true freshmen early enrollees Feleipe Franks and Kyle Trask.
Del Rio, a redshirt sophomore who had to sit out this year after transferring from Oregon State, has impressed McElwain this season and is expected to compete for the starting job in during Spring camp.
“He's been having some really good practices out there,” McElwain said. “I think you guys were probably updated even through kind of the summer of when he came here he was a little bit of a sparkplug out there. A guy who kind of knows how to go about it.”
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UF quarterback Will Grier drops back to pass during Florida's 14-9 win against Kentucky on Sept. 19, 2015, at Commonwealth Stadium in Lexington, Kentucky
