Predicting the Winners of College Football’s QB Competitions

Much like Harbaugh at Michigan, new Florida head coach Jim McElwain has quite a hill to climb on his journey to rebuild the Gators and picking a starting signal caller is step one.

Treon Harris became Florida’s starter in the second half of last season, and while he provided a spark for the Gators on offense he didn’t put up great numbers.

Overall, the Miami native completed 55 of his 111 pass attempts for 1,019 yards and nine touchdowns and was intercepted four times. However, even those modest numbers are inflated as it’s worth noting that his first two passes of the season were touchdowns of 70 and 78 yards in the 65-0 blowout victory over Eastern Michigan.

At 5-foot-11 and 178 pounds and lightning quick, Harris is anything but the prototypical pocket passer McElwain prefers. Still, he’s got the potential to be a dynamic playmaker when used correctly and should help the Gators somewhere – even if it’s not under center.

More suited to McElwain’s pro-style attack is 6-foot-2, 197-pound redshirt freshman Will Grier, who has a slight lead in the ongoing competition following spring practice.

Grier, who was named Padade National Player of the Year and Mr. Football USA in 2013, worked with the first-team offense during the spring game and performed quite well. He completed 8 of 11 passes for 130 yards, which included two drops by receivers.

Though it’s largely a two-man race, Jacob Guy could eventually find himself in the mix. A 6-foot-5, 224-pound junior, Guy walked on at Florida, but has a strong arm and was a three-star recruit in high school.

Projected Winner: Will Grier

Next: Texas