Fall camp positional preview: Quarterbacks

The Participants:

#14 Luke Del Rio (redshirt sophomore; 6-1, 213)

#12 Austin Appleby (Purdue graduate transfer; 6-4, 235)

#13 Feleipe Franks (freshman; 6-6, 216)

#11 Kyle Trask (freshman; 6-4, 227)

2015 Season Recap: Jim McElwain's first year at Florida had its ups and downs at the quarterback position. With Will Grier and Treon Harris battling throughout fall training camp for the starting job, eventually the competition worked its way into the start of the regular season as Grier and Harris alternated series during UF's first two games. Once SEC play rolled in, UF settled on Grier. That looked to be the right decision, with Grier finding comfort in UF's pro-style offense and shining during the fourth quarter of the Tennessee victory and the Ole Miss blowout.

But after UF started the season 6-0 and Grier racked up 1,204 yards and 10 touchdowns against three interceptions on 65.8% passing in his six appearances, he was hit with a yearlong suspension from the NCAA for testing positive for a banned substance. UF was left with Harris at quarterback, and ultimately the Gators' offense struggled mightily under his leadership. Florida finished the year 4-4 following its perfect start, losing its final three contests to Florida State, Alabama and Michigan by a combined margin of 97-24. Harris proved to be a poor fit for McElwain's offense, as he finished with 1,676 yards and nine touchdowns against six interceptions on just 50.6% passing in 10 games where he attempted at least one pass.

Since then, both quarterbacks have transferred - Grier last December and Harris this week. With Harris' transfer, it meant every single quarterback to sign with the Gators during the Will Muschamp era (Jacoby Brissett, Jeff Driskel, Skyler Mornhinweg, Max Staver, Grier, Harris) had since transferred from the Florida football program - and that's not including Tyler Murphy. Grier and Harris' backups from last year, graduate transfer Joshua Grady and walk-on Jacob Guy, are also no longer with the program - meaning UF has essentially overhauled its quarterback position and that no signal-caller who was available last year is currently with the team.