QB Jeff Driskel, head coach Will Muschamp address Florida Gators hire of OC Kurt Roper

The Florida Gators took a giant leap into improving that 4-8 record they ended up with in 2013 by hiring Kurt Roper to be their new offensive coordinator, following the firing of previous coordinator, Brent Pease.

Defensively, the Gators weren’t all that bad. But, marred by injuries, the offense was one of the worst in not just the SEC, but probably the entire country.

Roper, on the other hand, has enjoyed quite the success lately. He’s played a big part in revitalizing the Duke Blue Devils football program, which included their most recent trip to the ACC Championship Game.

At Duke, with the help of head coach David Cutcliffe, Roper implemented a successful, up-tempo style of offense, something that Muschamp referenced while speaking of the hire of the newest member of his staff:

"“I’m excited to have Coach Roper join our staff,” Muschamp said. “He has a diverse, up-tempo background on offense and does a good job of adapting to what the players do best. The most important thing though is he has always remained balanced."

Muschamp would also make mention of the fact that Roper has experience play calling in the mighty SEC, as well as developing NFL quarterbacks:

"“He has had success calling plays in the SEC and has tutored three NFL quarterbacks. He has had players produce at every offensive position and he is one of the most well-respected coaches in the country.”"

Speaking of quarterbacks, one of Roper’s main projects in his new gig will be improving the play of Jeff Driskel. Although Driskel was one of the many players from the offensive side of the ball that was out due to injury, you can still see he needed vast room for improvement, even dating back to 2012.

Driskel is excited to get to work with his new coach: