Ranking Florida’s quarterbacks since Tim Tebow by sadness factor
By John Buhler
6. Austin Appleby
The state of quarterbacks in the SEC is so bad that two former Purdue Boilermakers are starting in 2016. Purdue has been arguably the worst Power 5 school for the last five seasons. When Luke Del Rio went down against UMass in Week 3, Austin Appleby had to take over for the Gators.
Appleby is a fifth-year graduate transfer from Purdue. He transferred to Florida to back up Del Rio. Though he looked decent in the first half of his first start against Tennessee on Saturday, Appleby doesn’t have what it takes to dissect an upper-tier SEC defense like the Volunteers.
Appleby has played in three games for the 2016 Gators. He has completed 56.8% of his passes as a fifth-year senior for 326 yards, three passing touchdowns, and one interception. Appleby quarterbacked the Gators offense to only eight yards in the third quarter on Saturday.
If Florida wants any shot at winning the SEC East in 2016, Appleby will have to throw the ball down the field. He’s been reluctant to do that so far. Florida might have a great defense, but head coach Jim McElwain can’t like what he’s seen thus far out of his backup quarterback Appleby.