Florida Football is exploring big arm backup QB in the transfer portal

One of the areas that one could debate whether or not it is an area of need for Florida Football is at backup QB. Florida signed Tramell Jones on signing day and on paper, have Clay Millen and Aidan Warner coming back.

But since none of those are proven commodities, and as we saw last year, things can go south quickly if DJ Lagway gets hurt, the Gators are poking around to try and find another QB to help strengthen their room.

Florida Football: Call for backup

Deshawn Purdie took over at UNC Charlotte after former Gator QB Max Brown went down with a thumb injury. Purdie went on to play in nine games and threw for 1,802 yards with a 50% completion rate. He had ten touchdowns against six interceptions. His best game came against FAU when he threw for 396 yards and three touchdowns.

On the surface, there would seem to be little reason to explore a player like Purdie, but at 6’4”, there is a notable stat that could make Purdie a good fit for Billy Napier’s offense if he needed to be called up.

Purdie had an average depth of target of 14.7 yards in 2024 (AKA his average throw was over 14 yards down the field). By comparison, Lagway had an ADOT of 12.0 yards, and Graham Mertz had an ADOT of 7.6 yards in 2024.

In fact, of QBs with at least 200 dropbacks, Purdie had the furthest ADOT in the country in 2024.

Purdie was originally a low tier three-star prospect out of Baltimore whose only Power Four offer was from the University of Maryland. Based upon his timeline on X, Florida is the only school to have offered him so far after entering the transfer portal.

He would still have three years of eligibility left.