How Recent Florida QBs Performed in First Career Starts Ahead of Max Brown's
GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- For the 13th time since Tim Tebow left the program 14 years ago, a quarterback will make their first career start for the Gators on Saturday.
This time, it'll be redshirt freshman Max Brown, who will step in to face a daunting No. 4 Florida State following Graham Mertz's regular season-ending collarbone injury.
In honor of Brown's imminent first start, All Gators takes a trip down memory lane to assess how Florida quarterbacks over the past 10 of those years have fared in each of their first career starts.
2023: Graham Mertz vs. Utah
Following his offseason transfer from Wisconsin, Mertz won Billy Napier's first quarterback competition as Florida's head coach in August and made his orange and blue debut at No. 14 Utah at the end of that month.
Mertz threw for 300+ yards in a single game for the first time in his college career, with 333 to go with a touchdown and an interception, but his production wasn't enough to lead the Gators to an upset over the Utes in Pac-12 country. Florida lost to Utah, 24-11.
2022: Jack Miller III vs. Oregon State
After spending the 2022 regular season as the team's third-string quarterback, Jack Miller III got his first career start against Oregon State in the 2022 Las Vegas Bowl following Anthony Richardson's departure to the NFL and Jalen Kitna's dismissal from the program.
A plethora of transfers and opt-outs left Florida with a depleted roster, and the Gators struggled as a result, losing 30-3. Miller completed 13-of-22 passes for 180 yards, but the Gators didn't score until Adam Mihalek's 40-yard field goal with 37 seconds left.
Since then, Miller has yet to see the field due to a bout of shoulder tendinitis at the beginning of the season, Mertz's consistent play and Brown sealing of the backup spot.
2021: Emory Jones vs. Florida Atlantic, Anthony Richardson vs. Georgia
After three seasons serving as the backup, Emory Jones, the prized recruit of Dan Mullen's first recruiting class, earned his first start to open the 2021 season. But it was hardly the performance many expected.
In a 35-14 win over the Owls, Jones struggled, going 17-of-27 for 113 yards and a touchdown with two interceptions.
That game would be most notable for Anthony Richardson's electric running ability displayed by a hurdle and a 73-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter. However, injury problems kept Richardson from starting until Florida's midseason contest with No. 1 Georgia.
By that point, the Gators were 4-3 with losses to Alabama, Kentucky and LSU. Jones threw two interceptions against the Tigers and was benched in favor of Richardson.
The switch against Georgia didn't do much for the Gators. Richardson went 12-of-20 for 86 yards with two interceptions and a fumble as the Bulldogs won 34-7.
All three turnovers came in the second quarter and led to Georgia touchdowns, and Richardson eventually left the game with a concussion. Jones would start for the rest of the season, while Richardson would make his mark as the starter in 2022 before being picked fourth overall in the 2023 NFL Draft.
Jones, meanwhile, transferred to Arizona State for the 2022 season and Cincinnati for the 2023 campaign.
2019: Kyle Trask vs. Tennessee
Florida's trip to Kentucky in 2019 nearly ended in disaster. Down 21-10 late in the third quarter, Feleipe Franks scrambled on fourth-and-one and was tackled awkwardly in the backfield. A broken and dislocated ankle ended his career with Florida as he would transfer to Arkansas for the 2020 season.
Kyle Trask stepped in, and the legend was born. Florida won 29-21 behind three second-half touchdowns after he took over.
The next week, Trask led Florida to a 34-3 win over Tennessee, which was his first start in seven years dating back to his junior varsity time in high school. He threw for 293 yards and two scores with two interceptions against the Vols.
The Trask-led Gators went 16-6, including a win in the Orange Bowl and appearances in the 2020 SEC Championship Game and Cotton Bowl. Trask finished fourth place in the 2020 Heisman Trophy race with a program-record-setting 4,283 yards and 43 touchdowns.
2017: Feleipe Franks vs. Michigan
For Jim McElwain's third and final season as head coach, the keys to the Gators' offense were handed to Franks, who became the first freshman to start in a season opener for UF since 1988 (Kyle Morris).
The results favored Michigan, who dominated Florida 36-17 in Arlington, Texas, moving McElwain to 0-2 against Jim Harbaugh's Wolverines and giving the Gators their first 0-1 start since 1989.
Florida's only touchdowns came off of pick-sixes, and Franks was benched in favor of graduate transfer Malik Zaire. He finished his first start going 5-of-9 for 75 yards and two fumbles, one of which was recovered by the Wolverines.
Franks did get revenge against Michigan the very next season with a 41-15 thrashing of the Wolverines in the Peach Bowl, where he was named offensive MVP.
2016: Luke Del Rio vs. Massachusetts
The end of the 2015 season saw controversy at the quarterback spot as Will Grier and Treon Harris both transferred away from the program. As a result, former walk-on and transfer Luke Del Rio earned the start over Purdue transfer Austin Appleby.
In the Gators' sluggish 24-7 win over UMass, Del Rio went 29-for-44 with 256 yards and two touchdowns. His best performance came a week later against Kentucky with 305 yards and four passing touchdowns in a 45-7 win.
From there, a multitude of injuries prematurely ended both his 2016 and 2017 seasons, and he began a career in coaching soon after.
2015: Will Grier vs. East Carolina
Entering McElwain's first year, Florida had a competition between sophomore incumbent starter Harris and redshirt freshman five-star Will Grier.
Undecided, McElwain started Harris for the season-opener against New Mexico State and Grier the following week against East Carolina with both seeing the field in each game.
Grier ultimately won the battle following his first start against the Pirates. In a 31-24 scare, he threw for 151 yards and two touchdowns with one interception. But it was his next start that put him in Florida lore.
He led Florida to a comeback win over Tennessee, and his 63-yard touchdown connection with Antonio Callaway is one forever remembered, and he added a four-touchdown performance in an upset win over No. 3 Ole Miss the week after.
However, Grier's midseason suspension for performance-enhancing drugs ended his UF career. He eventually transferred to West Virginia and became a third-round NFL Draft pick.
2014: Treon Harris vs. Georgia
Weeks of inconsistent quarterback play by Jeff Driskel led then-head coach Will Muschamp to make a gutsy decision, to start a true freshman quarterback against No. 11 Georgia.
Treon Harris led Florida to a comeback win at Tennessee three weeks prior and had replaced Driskel in a blowout loss to Missouri, making him the man for the job.
Although Harris was hardly the hero in the 38-20 upset win over the Bulldogs — he only threw six passes and completed three of them for 27 yards, and rushed six times for 31 yards — the decision to give him the keys to the offense shifted the trajectory of the season.
Florida went 4-2 with Harris as the starter, which included a win over East Carolina in the Birmingham Bowl.
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