GAINESVILLE — With the start of spring football two days away, Florida's backfield is less crowded than expected.
The Gators used three quarterbacks last year, signed two in this recruiting class and seemingly had a logjam at that position.
But Jordan Reed and Trey Burton, who played under center last year to make up for John Brantley's inability to run the ball, won't be playing QB under new coach Will Muschamp. The changes to the depth chart were one of many topics that Muschamp, offensive coordinator Charlie Weis and defensive coordinator Dan Quinn discussed in a press conference on Monday.
The Gators enter spring football with Brantley listed first on the depth chart, followed by rising sophomore Tyler Murphy and freshman Jeff Driskel.
Driskel, the top quarterback recruit in the class of 2011, enrolled early. But the Gators also signed Palm Beach Gardens Dwyer QB Jacoby Brissett, one of the top dual-threat quarterbacks in the class.
Weis said they did that knowing Reed and Burton would play other positions. Reed is listed at tight end, while Burton is listed as a fullback and expected to play a few other offensive positions.
"If you were are to look at the depth chart, now the quarterback position actually was kind of light, and not that you're ever really looking, trying to bring in two guys in the same year of such high caliber as Jacoby and Jeff in but how could you pass on two guys that are that good?," said Weis. "They are both really good players."
Brantley remains the starter thanks largely to experience, which the other Florida quarterbacks lack. Muschamp said the depth chart is a starting point and is likely to change as the team goes through spring practice.
Among his concerns is the offensive and defensive lines, where the Gators lost several senior starters from last year's team and have several more players who will be limited.
The starting offensive front of Chaz Green, Jonathan Harrison, Sam Robey, Jon Halapio and Xavier Nixon has a combined 19 career starts. Upperclassmen Matt Patchan, David Young and James Wilson will be limited in spring practice.
The result, at that position and many others, is cross-training, Muschamp said. Players might play center and guard, or guard and tackle.
"The SEC is a line of scrimmage league. You'd better be good up front or you're going to have some long days," Muschamp said. "So cross train at multiple positions on both sides of the ball. You do that to prepare for injury and depth on your football team. So we are going to ask a bunch of guys to play two positions."
