Florida QB Brissett earns second start at Auburn

By Adam Silverstein
October 14, 2011

After seeing his first action of the 2011 season by starting at quarterback for the Florida Gators just one week ago, freshman Jacoby Brissett has earned his second-straight start on the road Saturday against the Auburn Tigers.

Florida head coach Will Muschamp made the announcement Friday through the school’s website but did not provide specific reasoning for the decision. He said on Wednesday that no decision had been made because the skill sets of Brissett and fellow freshman QB Jeff Driskel are “so similar, so it’s not like we’re having to drastically change what we do when one young man is in the game as opposed to the other.”

Driskel, who missed Saturday’s game at LSU due to a sprained ankle, practiced all week but was unable to beat out Brissett head-to-head for the open job created when redshirt senior QB John Brantley went down with a high-ankle sprain against Alabama.

The hope around the team is that Brantley will be able to return after the bye week to face Georgia on Oct. 29 in Jacksonville, FL.

Offensive coordinator Charlie Weis said Tuesday that Brissett and Driskel would both be ready to play and that they took even reps in practice much of the week. He also said there is a chance that Driskel will still see the field even if he is not the starter.

“Yeah, there’d be a chance of both playing in the game,” Weis noted.

Brissett completed 8-of-14 passes last week for 94 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions. His scoring toss came on a 65-yard bomb to redshirt sophomore wide receiver Andre Debose down the left sideline, and his second interception was the result of a pass to Debose in the end zone.

Sophomore running back Trey Burton took nearly a dozen snaps behind center in the game, and redshirt senior RB Chris Rainey received some direct snaps as well. Weis said he plans continue using plays from those packages at least until Brantley returns.

Photo Credit: Jonathan Bachman/Associated Press

15 Comments

  1. Charles says:

    This is probably obvious, but I would really love to know the details on how the competition between Brissett and Driskel went down. (Because of the fact they have such similar physical traits.) Perhaps Brissett is a stronger leader? The stronger arm? Any speculation/inside knowledge would be of interest! (And great work, Adam–I really enjoy getting my Gator updates here.)

  2. g8ter27 says:

    Well in the VERY limited amount of action they have seen, Brissett appeared a bit more poised. However, knowing you are going to start and being thrown in on a seconds notice may have had something to do with that. I like Brissett’s command of the game that he has shown in the most hostie environment in the country. I also like the fact that Driskell brings a running element to the position that we are going to need I think so……I am betting the ankle is still not 100%.

    • Charles says:

      Do you think this decision is also a reflection of the recruiting? As in the fact that Weis pulled off a coup by getting Brissett here instead of Miami–he was obviously targeted by Weis and Muschamp to run this style of offense. Is he the favorite? I don’t know. But I’m with you in liking them both!

      • Ken (CA) says:

        From everything I read during the recruiting, Weis saw him fell in love with him, asked Boom to offer him a scholarship and he did all on Weis’ word. I dont think Muschamp was very involved at all in the recruiting.

        • Charles says:

          Interesting! I saw a press conference with Weis where he said that watching Brissett play basketball showed him (Weis) that Brissett had great poise and leadership skills. Anyway, I guess we’ll see how it turns out this evening…

        • Charles says:

          And I guess that shows the faith that Muschamp has in Weis as a recruiter… A good thing, I’m hoping.

  3. jay d says:

    earlier in the year…the coaches named driskel the #2 behind brantley solely on having more reps in the spring…..now that brisset re-gained some ground in that department via …an away game at LSU….it completely took driskel`s edge away from the competition….not surprised at all about this move by the coaching staff….I am also very certain that driskel will see a lot of playing time agaisnt Auburn for a change of pace during the game….. as for the QB battle… I think both are on par with one-another and the only reason brissett is starting is because…. by him playing back to back weeks…it gives him a chance to improve his last performance and find a groove…ie: which gives us a much stronger chance to win the game, rather than starting driskel who has yet to start a game period.

  4. aziatic41 says:

    @ Jay d, You were on the money with your statement. I agree totally with you. Also we would have to think that Muschamp is rewarding Brissett with the start this week because he payed his dues last week in a very hostile environment. I really think Brissett handled himself well in those tough circumstances. He showed a lot of poise and really didn’t seem rattled. Its obvious that he has a live arm and confidence in the pocket. As a high school senior last year I think he only threw 2 ints and 30+ td passes. Brissett has tons of potential. I really like his future moving forward as a Gator. Its likely that Driskel will be used tomorrow also. I think in the spread option offense he gives us another element as he can pass and run effectively. Driskel was originally recruited by Meyer to run the spread offense anyway. I really want to see Driskel throw the ball more because he has a goog arm also.

    Regardless of what happens on offense with our young qbs, our defense is gonna have to play a helluva game for us to win. As Muschamp would say “Nobody is feeling sorry for the Gators I can tell you that.”

  5. Tony Smith says:

    I like Jay D’s response. BUT….

    This I don’t like: “Sophomore running back Trey Burton took nearly a dozen snaps behind center in the game, and redshirt senior RB Chris Rainey received some direct snaps as well. Weis said he plans continue using plays from those packages at least until Brantley returns.”

    • Ken (CA) says:

      He also said he had to to change up pace because he had such a limited package for Brissett he had to give different looks. I am su re it will still be limited this week, but with first team snaps at practice it will open the playbook for him a bit more, but still be somewhat limited, therefore there will be more change of pace. I think the direct snaps/wildcat will be an occasional thing throughout simply based on burton/demps/rainey being back there

  6. Ron Jon says:

    I agree brisset threw one pick as a senior and over 30 Tds Im sick of the pathetic wildcat. Give burton and gillialee the ball and Put demps and Rainey in the slot where they belong.

    • Ken (CA) says:

      I bet you see a lot more gilislee tomorrow, probably taking a lot of the snaps Burton took last week, only as handoffs this week. Hard to believe with our injuries and on the road but saw we are currently a 2 point favorite…

  7. gatormiami says:

    Either Driskel is less than 100% or the coaching staff is stupid!

  8. aziatic41 says:

    I like the wildcat with Rainey at qb and faking the handoff to Gillislee not Demps or Burton. Burton is a tough runner but he has no moves or break away speed. He’ll only get you three yards at the most on his carries. Demps is strictly an outside runner. If he can’t get to the outside its usually a two or three yard loss and then we are punting before you know it. Gillislee needs more carries! He’s fast and he’s powerful and durable. I think he should definitely get the bulk of the carries tomorrow night.

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