He was carrying his right arm "funny" several games ago. In fact I'm pretty sure it was the North Texas game before he got the knee injury.
Charlie.
--QB change: Injury knocks out Del Rio
Florida quarterback Luke Del Rio will miss Saturday's game against South Carolina due to an injury, coach Jim McElwain said Monday.
AP Photo/Samantha BakerPublished: Monday, November 7, 2016 at 12:17 p.m.
Last Modified: Monday, November 7, 2016 at 12:17 p.m.
An injury has perhaps taken a potentially tough decision out of Florida coach Jim McElwain's hands.
Two days after saying he almost benched quarterback Luke Del Rio in the loss to Arkansas, McElwain announced Monday that Del Rio is out indefinitely after injuring his right shoulder early in the second quarter of Saturday's game.
So, what had been viewed as a possible impending change has now occurred at quarterback.
Either graduate transfer Austin Appleby or one of two true freshmen — Feleipe Franks or Kyle Trask — will start at quarterback Saturday against South Carolina.
McElwain said there will be an open competition between the three this week in practice.
"Obviously, Austin will take the first snap at practice today," McElwain said. "Someone asked about the rookies. We'll see as the week goes on where and how we'll play those guys. But right now, moving forward, that's what we'll do."
McElwain said Del Rio was undergoing a second MRI on Monday and could be out for an extended period of time.
"It could be a while," McElwain said. "It's bad, man."
Del Rio is at the top of a significant injury list coming out of last Saturday's game.
Starting outside linebacker Alex Anzalone broke his arm and underwent season-ending surgery Monday.
Starting center Cam Dillard sustained a knee injury that likely has sidelined him for the rest of the season.
Starting middle linebacker and team leader Jarrad Davis re-injured his ankle and will not play in Saturday's game.
Defensive end Cece Jefferson will be a game-time decision after injuring his foot against the Razorbacks, while McElwain said he'll know more about the status of wide receivers Chris Thompson (unspecified) and Tyrie Cleveland (ankle) after Wednesday's practice.
"That's part of the game," McElwain said of all the injuries. "You feel horrible for all of them. But they've been through this. They've seen it. They've grown up with it. It's about focusing on what you can do to help the team in your absence and continue to rehab and move forward. Yeah, you feel bad. But there are a lot of teams that are banged up."
Del Rio injured his shoulder in the second quarter, but did not inform the coaches or trainers of the severity of it and played in pain for the rest of the game. McElwain attributed his second-quarter interception on a deep pass that floated over the middle to the injury.
"Looking back, hindsight is 20/20," McElwain said. "Looking at myself in the mirror, we should have made a change at halftime, and yet, part of the reason we didn't, obviously, we didn't know the severity of it.
"He's a tough guy. Never said anything. It speaks for him and the guys were ready to come out. And yet, you know, we didn't execute. Had I known the severity, probably wouldn't have (let him continue to play)."
With Del Rio out, Appleby is the presumptive starter. He started the Tennessee and Vanderbilt games when Del Rio was out with a sprained knee, combing to complete 42 of 67 passes for 440 yards and three touchdowns, with one interception.
Franks and Trask have not played this season, but both were early enrollees who saw extensive playing time in the spring game.
"Whoever comes to the plate this week is going to be ready," senior wide receiver Ahmad Fulwood said. "Whoever steps up, they're the most prepared quarterback and they won the job outright. So we, as an offense, we're going to wrap around that guy and we're going to go to work."
Even though Franks and Trask have appeared on course to redshirt this season, they have remained involved in the offense, McElwain said.
"Well, I think that's one of the good things we do is they don't get lost down on the scout team," McElwain said. "We do a lot of drills and stuff against each other so they're in the offense as far as knowing what to do. We'll see as the week goes on."
On the other side of the ball, UF will be without its two leading tacklers with Davis and Anzalone out.
Davis will be replaced by true freshman David Reese, while Kylan Johnson likely will start for Anzalone, with true freshman Vosean Joseph providing depth.
"It's a big loss," senior linebacker Daniel McMillian said of the injuries to Davis and Anzalone. "Like they always say, man down, man up. The young guys just have to step up and go hard in practice like they've always been doing.
"I've seen a lot of growth (in Reese and Johnson). A lot of growth in all of us. We all grow. We all learn a lot and we're playing faster. We should be all right."
Contact Robbie Andreu at 352-374-5022 or robbie.andreu@gvillesun.com. Also check out Andreu's blog at Gatorsports.com.
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