Florida coach Dan Mullen named Feleipe Franks the Gators' starting quarterback Monday, rewarding his play during preseason camp and relying on the 20-year-old's ability to extend plays.
Franks earned the nod over fellow redshirt sophomore Kyle Trask and will start when the Gators open the season Saturday night at home against Charleston Southern. The school announced the decision with the release of the season's first depth chart.
Even though Franks struggled much of his redshirt freshman season, he started eight games in 2017, giving him an advantage over Trask, who has never taken a college snap.
Mullen said last week he would chose the quarterback who gave UF the best chance to win games now. Mullen also does not plan to juggle quarterbacks a year after Franks was benched three times.
"Unless all of a sudden, they perform differently on game day than we'd expect someone to perform or something falls off the cliff that way," Mullen said. "I'd like to have it that this is the starter and we're going to go and it's their job from that point forward."
Mullen has praised the big the arm strength and athleticism of the 6-foot-6, 240-pound Franks. Franks completed a 63-yard game-winning touchdown to beat Tennessee and ripped off a 79-yard run during a loss to Texas A&M last season.
Too often, though, he made poor decisions and was inaccurate. Franks finished 2017 with nine touchdown passes and eight interceptions.
Franks, however, believes he has improved considerably since last season.
"I feel like I'm getting across the field more and seeing more people," Franks said. "I feel like I'm getting more and more comfortable in the offense."
Mullen has emphasized his quarterbacks must be satisfied with making the routine play and moving the chains.
After missing last season following foot surgery, the 6-foot-5, 234-pound Kyle Trask is the team's best pure passer. But he also wasn't even his high school's starter and needs to continue to develop as a leader.
First-year freshman Emory Jones, the team's third QB, headlined Mullen's 2018 recruiting class. A dual-threat quarterback, the 6-foot-2, 199-pound Jones is well suited to run Mullen's spread offense. While he might be showcased in a couple of offensive packages this season, the 18-year-old must continue to develop physically and master the Gators' offensive scheme.
