Florida quarterback Feleipe Franks insists bigger nothing to prove.
Coaches, teammates and close to 90,000 fans at Florida Field on Saturday probably would disagree.
Franks was?benched triple?last season, went 3-5 since the starter as well as with a lot more turnovers (11) than touchdown passes (9). The Gators (4-7) posted their second losing record in incomes, as well as offense ranked in triple digits nationally to your sixth level of the final seven seasons.
Nothing to prove? It wasn’t all Franks’ fault, but he was often criticized for lacking situational awareness and achieving poor pocket presence.
Some even expected Franks to transfer after Florida hired coach Dan Mullen in order to change Jim McElwain.
Franks stuck around and was?named the starter Monday?after five months of competition against school backup Kyle Trask and freshman Emory Jones, with a solutions to go like a passer.
Mullen’s decision was virtually no surprise, however some of Franks’ responses to getting the job raised eyebrows.
“Just all set to go back out there and, not prove myself, but just sort of go back on the market and create confidence back up for the team,” Franks said. “I’m not attempting to prove almost anything to anybody. I don’t have anything to convince anybody.”
Franks ended last season by throwing three interceptions and becoming sacked five times from a loss to rival Florida State. Younger crowd?fumbled early and watched helplessly?because Seminoles returned it for just a touchdown.
“That had been a bad one,” he explained.
Franks has waited much more than nine months to obtain back on the field.
He is deserving of a confidence increased the opener. The Gators host Charleston Southern in the Football Championship Subdivision. The Bucs are 0-19 against teams from your Football Bowl Subdivision, together with a?49-0 loss against Mullen and Mississippi State?to begin with 2017.
Charleston Southern also was overmatched during its lone stop by to Gainesville in 2009, a 62-3 setback from the opener.
The Gators haven’t been identical offensively since that one-loss season, that is Tim Tebow’s senior year.
Quarterback play may be shaky, at best, with 12 different starters and none throwing in excess of 12 touchdowns in every season.
Franks hopes to end the craze, and he’ll have arguably the best talent of any within the others around him.
Florida is loaded at running back, with Jordan Scarlett, Lamical Perine and Malik Davis in the lead, and it has two?intriguing inclusions in the receiving corps?with Van Jefferson (Mississippi) and Trevon Grimes (Ohio State).
But the offensive line continues to be biggest question mark in spite of four experienced starters back.
“We’ve had got to care for our business at the start,” co-offensive coordinator John Hevesy said.
If everything pans out, Franks may be the beneficiary.
“If you’re the quarterback, you’ve got everybody against your shoulders, everybody in your head,” defensive back Chauncey Gardner-Johnson said. “I tell Feleipe on a daily basis: ‘It’s your turn. It’s your year.” Therefore i think that this year’s for him and it’s on the websites for for grabs.”
