It’s been a week and a half since Florida QB John Brantley went down with a high ankle sprain, and still the Gators are no closer to settling on a primary quarterback in his absence. Jacoby Brissett and Jeff Driskel are competing for the job, and Driskel would have gotten the start against LSU last week, but an ankle injury forced him out as well. Brissett was given the start and performed poorly: 8-14 for 94 yards, with 1 TD and 2 INT.
And now, Brissett and Driskel are both being considered for this upcoming week’s game against Auburn. According to coach Will Muschamp, it’s no easy decision:
“I’d love for one of them to step forward and be the guy,” Muschamp said. "From an experience standpoint, from a knowledge of the system standpoint they’re so similar. Their skill set is so similar so it’s not like we’re having to drastically change what we do when one young man is in the other game opposed to another. That’s what we’re trying to work through and again I’d love for one of them to step up and play really well and go from there.’’ (Antonya English, St. Pete Times)
That’s about as close as you’ll get to a coach publicly begging for his players to step up and make the decision for him.
This decision is extra important, as this week’s game against Auburn is very important for the Gators. They have lost two games in a row and fallen out of the AP rankings, and a third loss would essentially be the death knell to their season. It’s do or die time, so here’s hoping either Driskel or Brissett is up to the task.