The Jeff Driskel era at Florida has likely come to an end after the former top recruit was released from his scholarship and is free to explore a transfer.
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Florida quarterback Jeff Driskel has been saddled with a lot of the blame for the Gators failures over the last two seasons, perhaps just as much as fired head coach Will Muschamp, but his time in The Swamp has likely come to an end after asking for and receiving his release from his scholarship.
“That’s up to him,” Head coach Jim McElwain said of Driskel’s possible return, via ESPN. “We all have choices, and I’m not going to hold him hostage.”
Driskel was a former five-star recruit and the No.1 dual-threat quarterback coming out of Oviedo, Fla. and Hagerty high school in the class of 2011 but never came close to living up to his recruiting status in Gainesville.
His finest season came in 2012 as a sophomore when he threw 1,646 yards and 12 touchdowns to five interceptions and added 413 rushing yards and four touchdowns on the ground. The Gators came up short for playing in the national title that year and lost in the Sugar Bowl, which turns out was the start of the downslide for Driskel in a Gators uniform.
Driskel was limited to only three games last year as a junior before breaking his leg in a win against Tennessee, but was struggling mightily before the season-ending injury, throwing three interceptions and nearly single-handedly costing Florida a win one week earlier against Miami.
As a senior, Driskel was supposed to finally breakthrough in Kurt Roper’s offense that was tailored to his strengths. That didn’t come to fruition as he lost his job to true freshman Treon Harris after a 42-13 loss to Missouri.
Entering the bowl game on Saturday, Driskel threw for 1,092 yards with nine touchdowns and 10 interceptions in seven games. He entered the game after Harris was injured and completed 8-of-17 passes for 48 yards.
Driskel has already graduated so he is eligible to play next season if he decides to transfer elsewhere to continue his college football career without having to sit out for the mandatory one year.
A recent report said Driskel is exploring his options at Duke where he could be mentored by one of the best quarterback coaches in Blue Devils head coach, David Cutcliffe, where they lose starter Anthony Boone and he could compete immediately for playing time.
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