Florida football: QB out to start season after thumb surgery

Jack Miller III is out indefinitely, as the Florida football player will need to have thumb surgery.

Florida football head coach Billy Napier will be without his backup quarterback, as Jack Miller III will be out indefinitely with an injured thumb.

Miller transferred to Florida after being a backup quarterback at Ohio State previously. While he did not beat out Anthony Richardson at camp, the current Florida starter is talented, but injury-prone. That forces redshirt freshman Jalen Kitna (yes, he is Jon’s son) and true freshman Max Brown up the Florida quarterbacking depth chart. Napier cannot be happy about this one bit.

Florida faces Pac-12 champion Utah in its season opener before commencing SEC play with division rival Kentucky. The Gators need to split the pair to avoid starting the year out at 0-2.

Florida football: Jack Miller III out indefinitely after needing thumb surgery

There is no way around it. This stinks for everyone involved. While it may put more pressure on Richardson to stay healthy and for Kitna to be ready at a moment’s notice, Florida could be heading towards disaster if Richardson were to succumb to an injury vs. the Utes or the Wildcats. This may be Napier’s first season at the helm, but fans could fall out of favor with him very quickly.

Let’s be real. No matter how Napier’s first season at Florida goes, he will get a pass. However, he cannot afford to lose any momentum in recruiting if he wants any chance of overcoming the disaster that was the final year of the Dan Mullen era in Gainesville. Ultimately, Florida cannot afford to be awful at quarterback like it pretty much was between Tim Tebow and Kyle Trask…

The good news is Richardson’s talent is simply undeniable at this point. He can be a galvanizing force to help get this thing turned around faster at Florida. However, he has to stay healthy throughout, as Kinta, and certainly Brown, are not ready to be thrust into action. Richardson can make this all a moot point if he plays up to his potential, but Florida has no margin for error now.

Hopefully, Miller can return sooner rather than later and maybe make his debut for the Gators.

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