Florida Quarterback play on a decline

[Ga8or22]

For most of the 1990s and 2000s, Florida enjoyed a golden age of quarterback play.
Danny Wuerffel and Tim Tebow won Heisman Trophies at the position. Chris Leak led the Gators to the 2006 BCS title. Rex Grossman passed for more than 9,000 yards and 77 TDs, becoming a first-round NFL draft pick. And Doug Johnson wound up with 62 TDs in three seasons as a starter before playing in the NFL with the Atlanta Falcons and Cincinnati Bengals.
Yet since 2010, Florida quarterbacks have failed to live up to their four- and five-star recruiting billings. For former UF starting quarterback John Brantley, injuries and changing offensive systems played a role in his struggles. For current UF starting quarterback Jeff Driskel, the results have been mixed.
Time will tell if Driskel, a junior and second-year starter, will realize his full potential.

 

[Escambia94]

Also take into account the offensive coordinators. Obviously, Steve Spurrier was the best OC. When he left, Eddie Zaunbrecher kept most of his offense. Larry Fedora brought the humble beginnings of a spread offense to Florida. Note that Fedora's offense did well statistically at every school he has coached since leaving Florida. Dan Mullen looked like a genius when paired with Urban Meyer, which is why I consider the Utah offense to be Meyer's, not Mullen's. Note the lack of success since their divorce. The Gators will keep getting 4 and 5 star quarterbacks, but they need an OC to help these athletes maximize their potential.

 

[Leakfan12]

Really Doug Johnson as a "good" Gator quarterback. Child Please! He couldn't beat Jesse Palmer for the job.

 

[Escambia94]

I just remembered that I did an article on a similar topic to this a while back. http://www.gatorenvy.com/threads/top-gator-passers.15527/

Here are the best Gator passers, not necessarily the best Gator quarterbacks solely using statistics relative to one another. Just to illustrate a point, I also show who his offensive coordinator was.

OVERALL "POINTS": Danny Wuerffel is the overall best passer, with Tim Tebow and Chris Leak not far behind. Steve Spurrier and John Reaves were in a different era, so it was tough for them to compete with modern-day passers.

1. Danny Wuerffel 35 (Steve Spurrier)
2. Tim Tebow 34 (Urban Meyer/ Dan Mullen, Steve Addazio)
3. Chris Leak 32 (Ed Zaunbrecher, Larry Fedora, Urban Meyer/ Dan Mullen)
4. Shane Matthews 26 (Steve Spurrier)
5. Rex Grossman 26 (Steve Spurrier, Ed Zaunbrecher)
6. Doug Johnson 17 (Steve Spurrier)
7. Kerwin Bell 16 (Mike Shanahan, Galen Hall)
8. Wayne Peace 16 (Mike Shanahan)
9. Steve Spurrier 9 (Pepper Rodgers, Fred Pancoast*, Ed Kensler)
10. John Reaves 9 (Fred Pancoast*, Jimmy Dunn)

To my point, many of those offensive coordinators were considered the best and brightest of the era, or the QB was a once-in-a-generation player that far exceeded the coaching abilities of his OC and QB coaches. Any coach that worked under the tutelage of Steve Spurrier was lucky to be the presence of an offensive genius. Ed Zaunbrecher was smart in not changing much of Spurrier's offense. Larry Fedora brought the early beginnings of a spread offense to Florida, and he is now considered to be an offensive genius in his own right, albeit not at the level of Dana Holgerson or Mike Leach. Speaking of Holgerson and Leach, in the early to mid 2000s, Urban Meyer was considered one of the top offensive geniuses due to his success at Bowling Green, Utah, and eventually, Florida. Dan Mullen gets to share in some of that glory, although most do not consider him to be the brains of the Utah Offense, as you can see with his lack of success at Mississippi State and with Meyer's continued success at tOSU.

If I had to redo this list using ESPN's QBR formula instead the NCAA Passer Rating formula, I am sure Tim Tebow would move up past Danny Wuerffel. No matter which formula I use, neither Jeff Driskel nor John Brantley IV would crack the top 15. Driskel still has time to climb up the list, but I do not see him climbing past Brantley IV at this rate.

 

[Ga8or22]

Really Doug Johnson as a "good" Gator quarterback. Child Please! He couldn't beat Jesse Palmer for the job.

Remember Jessie Palmer left the Gators and went to Miami where he still couldn't make it as a QB. Doug Johnson was a decent quarterback who loved his six pack better

 

[Leakfan12]

Remember Jessie Palmer left the Gators and went to Miami where he still couldn't make it as a QB. Doug Johnson was a decent quarterback who loved his six pack better

That was Brock Berlin though Jesse "The Bachelor" Palmer was replace in 2000 by Rex Grossman.

 

[Escambia94]

Which QBs are we talking about? I think we are getting some guys confused.

• Doug Johnson (1996-1999). Graduated in 1999. Alternated PT with Brindise and Palmer.
• Noah Brindise (1995-1997). Graduated from UF in 1999, started coaching in Pennsylvania, followed Spurrier around. Alternated PT with Johnson and Palmer.
• Jesse Palmer (1997-2000). Graduated from UF in 2001 with two degrees. Alternated PT with Johnson and Brindise.
• Brock Berlin (2000-2001). Transferred to Miami (2003-2004) and graduated in 2004. Alternated PT with Grossman.
• Rex Grossman (1999-2002). Alternated PT with Berlin.

 

[Ga8or22]

That was Brock Berlin though Jesse "The Bachelor" Palmer was replace in 2000 by Rex Grossman.

I apologize - you are correct. Berlin played in twelve games for the Gators over two seasons, throwing for 849 yards, 12 touchdowns, and 4 interceptions while completing 64 of 106 passes. He was the one that transferred to Miami