Florida football: 15 greatest quarterbacks in Gators history
By John Buhler
Feleipe Franks is the only active player on the Gators football team to make this list. Entering his redshirt junior season, Franks has a chance to climb up this all-time list if he really comes into his own as an upperclassmen.
As a redshirt freshman in 2017, Franks won the starting job over guys like Luke Del Rio and Malik Zaire. While Florida hasn’t been able to get back to the SEC Championship in either of Franks’ two seasons under center, there is reason to believe that he can be the quarterback to knock off division rival Georgia for an SEC East crown before he exhausts his eligibility.
Through his first three seasons in Gainesville, Franks has completed 56.8 percent of his passes for 3,895 yards, 33 touchdowns and 14 interceptions. He boasts a career yards per attempt of 7.1 and a career passer efficiency rating of 130.9. Neither are overly great, but Franks has shown signs of excellence in Florida uniform.
In 2017, Franks was the quarterback that delivered the Hail Mary aerial strike to wide receiver Tyrie Cleveland to stun SEC East rival Tennessee. While Franks’ redshirt freshman campaign was mired in dysfunction of the final year of the Jim McElwain era in Gainesville, he was able to successfully turn the page in 2018.
Last fall saw Franks improve significantly as a passer. He completed 58.4 percent of his passes for 2,457 yards, 24 yards and six interceptions. Florida may not have won the SEC East a year ago, but did receive New Year’s Six bowl invite to the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl, a game where the Gators slaughtered Jim Harbaugh’s Michigan Wolverines, 41-15. Franks was named Peach Bowl MVP.
Overall, Franks stands the chance to be the best Gators quarterback since Tim Tebow. He grew a ton as a quarterback last fall and has two years of eligibility left to make his case. Of course, Franks will need a 3,000-yard passing season and an SEC Championship game appearance if he really wants much of a Gators football legacy. Fortunately for him, there’s plenty left to be written.