GAINESVILLE — Jesse Palmer would be the last person to question UF coach Jim McElwain if he wants to rotate quarterbacks Treon Harris and Will Grier.
Palmer has fond memories as a Gator alternating playing time under quarterback maestro Steve Spurrier. Palmer shared duties with Doug Johnson for a 10-win team in 1998 and with Rex Grossman for the 2000 SEC champions.
When Palmer returns to the Swamp Saturday night as an ESPN analyst, he will be anxious to see how McElwain, Harris and Grier handle the quarterback carousel during the Gators’ season opener against New Mexico State.
McElwain said Wednesday Harris would start the game, but Grier and Harris would have ample opportunities to show what they can do.
“We just felt that he’s going to go start and Will is going to play,” McElwain said. “We’ll play it out from there.”
Often, the saying goes, two quarterbacks means no quarterback.
Ideally, McElwain would like one to seize control of the job.
But as Palmer can attest, there does not have to be a rush to judgment in order for a team to win. The key is how the two quarterbacks handle the unique dynamic.
“You have a be a tremendously unselfish player, one that is OK sharing the spotlight because you know at the end of the day winning is the most important thing,” Palmer said. “Not everybody can do it. I’m really curious to see how it works out.”
McElwain has his experiences shuffling his signal callers, but it did not last long.
While McElwain was offensive coordinator at Alabama, he twice opened the season with two quarterbacks. Greg McElroy soon overtook Star Jackson in 2009 and AJ McCarron quickly established himself over Phillip Sims in 2011. Both teams went on to win national titles.
The Gators, on the other hand, are in Year 1 of a rebuild following four seasons of offensive futility under Will Muschamp. Harris and Grier will not have the supporting cast Palmer did, much less those Crimson Tide teams of McElroy or McCarron.
Harris and Grier also do not fit the profile of another pair of Gator greats who made a two-quarterback rotation work. During the Gators’ 2006 run to the national title, freshman Tim Tebow spelled senior Chris Leak on short-yardage situations and entered the game as a change-of-pace in the passing game.
But each of McElwain’s young Gator quarterbacks will get his chance to set a future course for the program, whether alone or with the help of the other one.
Palmer said for either to succeed, he will have to focus on the task at hand rather than the competition.
“You have to win the game, not win the job,” Palmer said. “What I mean by that is it’s easy in the middle of the game to think to yourself, ‘Wow, I need to outstat and outperform the guy I’m competing against.’ You have to remember you’re on the same team, and you have to execute the plays that get called.”
The other key, Palmer said, is being ready to perform at a moment’s notice.
“You cannot be a streaky player,” Palmer said. “You can’t be a guy that needs to play a couple of series, get a couple completions before you get into the rhythm of the game. You have be able to take the field, throw a 40-yard completion, come out of the game, sit for a couple series, come back for the game, rollout and hit a 20-yard comeback on the run, which some guys can do and some guys can’t do.”
McElwain will script plays highlighting each quarterback’s strengths and also allow him to play three or four series before making a switch.
Spurrier was much less predictable.
Palmer rarely knew what to expect from his coach. But as a rule, it worked.
Palmer was on sideline in the Swamp when the Gators shocked No. 1 Seminoles 32-29 with Spurrier rotating Doug Johnson and Noah Brindise on virtually every snap.
Palmer, who would go on to play four seasons for the New York Giants, knew he was in for a wild, yet rewarding ride at UF.
McElwain can only hope his quarterback situation unfolds as smoothly.
Few have shown the Midas touch of Spurrier when it comes to juggling UF signal callers, but the Head Ball Coach said this week there was a reason.
“You can play two quarterbacks as long as they’re two really good ones,” he said.
