For the third time in four seasons, Florida will enter the season with a new offensive coordinator. Kurt Roper, hired from Duke, has brought a fast-paced, shotgun offense.
“I’m very comfortable with it,” quarterback Jeff Driskel said of the new system. “It’s completely different as far as scheme and philosophy. We don’t have a huddle. We’re going to be up-tempo.
“It’s an offense that is fun. … I think I am more comfortable because of the ability to use my legs.”
Florida coach Will Muschamp said the offense should be better suited to Driskel, who was 12-3 as a starter before missing the final nine games last season with a broken right leg.
“I went back and looked at our numbers from 2012 when we were in the shotgun as opposed to being under center,” Muschamp said. “When Jeff was in the shotgun, our yards were better (and) our explosive plays were better in both the run and pass game.
“He was recruited to Florida to be a ‘gun quarterback. I felt like Kurt Roper was a great hire for us from a standpoint of being a guy that philosophically is on the same page with me as far as what we want to be. That’s a balanced offense. … I think this offense fits (Driskel) better as opposed to what we may have been doing before. To utilize his athleticism and space, some of the things he’s able to do athletically, is going to benefit him and us.”
Muschamp said the Gators “got a lot more done than I thought we would” on offense during the 15 days of spring practice.
