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Jacoby Brissett And Jeff Driskel Will Both Play In Florida's Opener Vs. Bowling Green

By Andy Hutchins
July 18, 2012; Hoover, AL, USA; Florida Gators head coach Will Muschamp speaks during a press conference at the 2012 SEC media days event at the Wynfrey Hotel. Mandatory Credit: Marvin Gentry-US PRESSWIRE
July 18, 2012; Hoover, AL, USA; Florida Gators head coach Will Muschamp speaks during a press conference at the 2012 SEC media days event at the Wynfrey Hotel. Mandatory Credit: Marvin Gentry-US PRESSWIRE

In a meeting with media members on Friday, Will Muschamp told reporters that both Jacoby Brissett and Jeff Driskel will play in Florida's opener on Sept. 1 against Bowling Green. And so the Gators' endless search for a quarterback is definitely going to extend past the first week of the 2012 season ... which is a good thing.

Really. It is. Here's why.

I have been in the Brissett camp since last year because I watched all of last year, and I saw, in the same small sample size we all got, a more composed and less skittish quarterback in the kid from Palm Beach. The kid from Oviedo, on the other hand, was the guy who has flash, who looks like he has a bigger arm on most days and who is more willing to make plays in the running game with his feet.

I don't think anything that has happened in practice or preparation since would change that assessment all that much, though I do think both guys have shored up their weaknesses — Driskel's looked calmer in what little I've seen of him; Brissett was looking to make plays in spring practice — and gotten more similar as a result.

But that's less justification for Brissett getting starts and more argument that the best way to judge whether one quarterback is better than the other when they are this close is to see them both against live and good competition. I think that Brissett starts next Saturday against Bowling Green, plays three series, and cedes his spot to Driskel for three series, and then Florida swaps them back and forth. I know that if I were coaching, I would want to see how both QBs fare in rhythm, and with the ebb and flow of a game, and I think Muschamp and Brent Pease are similarly inclined.

We still don't know who is starting next Saturday. We do now know that this is really just the start of a quarterback battle that could last all season. And we're still stuck hoping one of the two will emerge. Here's the good news for the Gators, though:

If the defense is as good as it could be, it might not matter.