The curious case of Florida backup QB Clay Millen

Coming into the 2024 season, most Florida Football fans didn't put much thought into the third-string QB. Between Graham Mertz and DJ Lagway, it was going to require something apocalyptic for a third QB to touch the field in a meaningful moment.

Thanks in part to the turf in Jacksonville, the worst-case scenario for the Gators played out on Saturday. And the player most assumed would be the emergency QB at the start of the season was nowhere to be found as Florida needed a miracle to beat Georgia.

Florida Football: Depth Matters

Clay Millen came to Florida from Colorado State and was the entrenched third-string QB for the Gators during the spring. While Colorado State was awful in 2022 and went 2-10, it's hard to pin the results of Millen. He had his share of flaws and was sacked 53 times, but he still maintained a 72% completion rate.

Millen was injured early in the 2023 campaign and never got his job back with the Rams, leading him to hit the portal and eventually come to Gainesville.

But Florida also picked up Aidan Warner from Yale. The Winter Park native didn't play for the Bulldogs last year, so little attention was given to him. Yet against Samford, it was Warner who came in during garbage time to lead a touchdown drive instead of Millen.

People have wondered aloud if Millen was hurt, but all indications seem to be that Warner beat out Millen for the third-string role.

If you are keeping score at home, the guy who was a former four-star prospect from 247 and ESPN and started an entire season of FBS football was beaten out by a player ranked 1,967th in the class of 2023 and didn't take a snap for Yale.

It is entirely possible that Millen isn't the answer, but he couldn't have been much worse. Warner was 7/22 for 66 yards against Georgia. Six of the first eight drives Warner was the QB for ended in a three-and-out. Warner did finally complete a 26-yard pass on Florida's touchdown drive in the fourth quarter, but the next four plays to get to the endzone were all Ja'Kobi Jackson runs.

Millen used his redshirt in 2021 while with Nevada, so that's not the reason why Billy Napier opted not to try anything different.

With positive news surrounding the outlook for Lagway, it's possible the squabbling over Millen won't matter. But if Lagway isn't good to go, it feels criminal not to consider Millen if Warner goes back out against Texas and looks like how he looked on Saturday against Georgia.