Quarterback Luke Del Rio took first-team reps in front of reporters Tuesday. And as soon as the news hit Twitter, some fans went ballistic. Or, you know — as ballistic as a faceless Twitter egg on a computer screen can go.
“Luke Del Rio should have looked at the eclipse yesterday with no glasses,” one posted. “At least we have a QB ...” a Miami fan said, “ ... Florida’s got Luke Del Rio.” A third tweeted: “Just for the love of god please no Luke Del Rio.”
One person posted a year-old story about McElwain naming Del Rio the starter, and people were wondering if they should start cheering for a new team.
The funny thing about this sort of hostility is that most of it has nothing to do with his performance.
As a starter in 2016, Del Rio had a 5-1 record. I’m no mathematician, but that means the Gators were 4-3 without him. The one loss staining his record — a 31-10 drubbing in Arkansas — wasn’t his fault. And that’s not me saying that, that’s the internal monologue of Jim McElwain.
“He should have been a 5-0 quarterback a year ago, had I not played him in the Arkansas game — which I shouldn’t have,” McElwain said.
In the game, Del Rio took a first-half hit that nearly snapped his already injured shoulder. So you can go ahead and blame him for throwing an interception on UF’s first drive, but it certainly didn’t make a difference in the 21-point loss.
As Tampa Bay Times writer Matt Baker pointed out, Del Rio’s 320-yard, four-touchdown game against Kentucky was statistically the best performance by a Gators QB against an SEC school in 15 years.
But some fans don’t care about that. They pick quarterbacks like they pick politicians.
“Does he have experience? Sure. A solid arm? I guess. But does he give me that warm, fuzzy feeling inside, like I’m a 10-year-old watching Tim Tebow in my Gators jam-jams? No. So he sucks.”
I can see how Del Rio might not seem as interesting as a 6-foot-5 gunslinger from Florida’s wild west. Or as thrilling as a running, throwing hot-shot from Notre Dame. But at the end of the day, Del Rio’s the only QB with experience in McElwain’s system. And he wouldn’t still be in the competition if Feleipe Franks or Malik Zaire were as far ahead as some fans think they are.
So take it easy on the guy who could be your team’s future leader. Unless the goal is to tear down Del Rio until he has a nervous breakdown, you’re not helping.
Do I think Luke Del Rio can lead the Gators to a national championship? Probably not. But I don’t think Franks or Zaire can either.
So why make the only QB who has played in Gainesville feel unwelcome? Why assume he hasn’t improved in an entire year? Why say things like, “Starting Luke Del Rio doesn’t feel right,” when most coaches would kill for a guy like him?
Probably because feeling is easy, and thinking is hard.
Matt Brannon is the Alligator sports editor. Look out for his next column to appear on Aug. 31. You can follow him on Twitter @MattB_727, and contact him at mbrannon@alligator.org.
After a 5-1 record as a starter, Del Rio is fighting to keep his job against redshirt freshman Feleipe Franks and transfer Malik Zaire.
