College Football

Florida Football: 5 reasons the Malik Zaire era may never begin

Updated Mar. 5, 2020 12:33 a.m. ET

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Fansided, Ryan McNeill/FanSided via Saturday Blitz

Over the weekend, Florida football picked up a major commitment from Notre Dame QB transfer Malik Zaire, but here's why he may never start.

News broke this week that Malik Zaire has chosen to take his talents to the Florida Gators.

While in a bubble this is a great addition for Jim McElwain and his football program, it also open up a bunch of questions that I'll dig into.

But first, here's why Zaire chose to sign with Florida:

Personally, I think it's great that Zaire wants to embrace the challenge, because there are a couple of roadblocks in his way to earning the starting gig at Florida.

5. Florida not yet built to compete for a title?

Here's the big question impacting if Malik Zaire should start this season: are the Florida Gators playing for a National Championship in 2017, or is 2018 the more likely target?

If the Gators are going all in this season, then yes, Zaire is the most logical option. The only other quarterback on Florida's roster that has NCAA experience is Luke Del Rio who is a redshirt sophomore who enjoyed success in limited playing time last season. Del Rio 1,358 yards with eight passing touchdowns and eight interceptions as he was 114-for-201 passing for a 118.64 pass efficiency rating.

Kyle Trask is a solid sophomore, but he redshirted last season and has yet to play a single college snap. Not exactly the kind of quarterback that should be able to steal playing from time Zaire.

It's also worth noting that there's a lack of experience at the quarterback position. Four of the quarterbacks are on the verge of starting their sophomore season and Del Rio is the only non-sophomore quarterback besides Zaire.

Zaire, meanwhile, was the starting quarterback for Notre Dame last season for eight games and showed flashes of his potential. During his junior season (two games) he completed 65% of his passes and had a sizzling QB Rating of 187. 9 and averaged 428.8 yards in those two games.

The problem is last season Zaire lost his explosive first step which allowed him to alude defenders. He also wasn't as confident in the pocket as he only averaged 122 yards per game and completed less than 50% of his passes (47.8).

Oct 16, 2016; Orchard Park, NY, USA; San Francisco 49ers head coach Chip Kelly watches play during the second half against the Buffalo Bills at New Era Field. Buffalo beat San Francisco 45-16. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Hoffman-USA TODAY Sports

4. Chip Kelly to take over in 2018?

Oh, the ghost of Chip Kelly.

It looks like Kelly will be a candidate for all of the big name openings after this season and Florida may be one of those openings if McElwain doesn't get Florida close to playing for a National Championship.

The problem is Florida may be better served building the program for a big push in 2018 when five-star recruit Justin Fields can take over the program. Having the threat of a coach like Kelly lurking only muddies up the picture and can cause a coach to do what they need to survive instead of what a program needs to thrive.

The "problem" for Florida adding Zaire is that McElwain will be tempted to win now in order to keep his job in Florida, even if it's not in the best interest of Florida's program long-term. Instead of letting some of his young quarterbacks earn the starting job and get much-needed reps this summer in practice, Zaire will likely slide into the starting role and gobble up all of those practice and game reps.

It will be interesting to see if McElwain secures another few seasons in Florida or if he does what's best for the program in the long-term. Always a trick thing to navigate for any coach.

Apr 27, 2017; Philadelphia, PA, USA; NFL commissioner Roger Goodell speaks during the first round of the 2017 NFL Draft at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

3. Pressure of NFL dreams wearing on Zaire?

Very few college football players want to see their playing days end when they lose their college eligibility.

From all accounts, Zaire is eyeing the chance to play in the NFL once he's done at Florida, and there's nothing wrong with that.

Zaire started to earn some NFL buzz early into this junior season, but he hasn't shown that he's recovered from that ankle injury as he only played in eight games last season and his stats plummeted. A big reason for Zaire choosing Florida is he was either given a guarantee that he could easily win the starting job or he wasn't concerned about competing against Florida's group of relatively inexperience quarterbacks.

The tricky thing is Zaire has to come into a new system, get acclimated to new teammates and play within a team system. All while trying to fight for his NFL dream and get enough game tape out there of him making plays that scouts will like to see.

It will be interesting to see how Zaire balances the pressure of adjusting to a new system and trying to keep his NFL dreams alive.

Oct 29, 2016; Jacksonville, FL, USA; Florida Gators quarterback Luke Del Rio (14) calls play against the Georgia Bulldogs during the first half at EverBank Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

2. Other competition

Okay, so if Malik Zaire isn't Florida's starting quarterback, then who should be?

The incumbent at this point in time appears to be Luke Del Rio. The Junior quarterback played in six games last season and posted solid stats with QB Rating of 118.6. He only completed 56.7% of his passes and averaged just 201 yards per game. Solid numbers, but not flashy and McElwain likely isn't content with average numbers for his quarterback.

The only other quarterback to take a snap in Florida's offense last season was senior Justin Appleby who has since graduated.

So, in many respects, the starting gig should come down to a battle between Zaire and Del Rio. Should is the key word.

Don't sleep on incoming freshman Kadarius Toney. Toney was the 24th-best quarterback of his class and he has the kind of running speed the Zaire may have lost.

If Florida is going to build a program, why waste snaps on Zaire who will be out of eligibility after this season. Investing snaps and playing time in Toney may be wiser as he could grow into an elite quarterback for Florida.

I know it goes against popular sentiment, but I'd like to see Toney have a legit chance to earn the starting job this season.

Dec 30, 2014; Nashville, TN, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish quarterback Malik Zaire (8) runs for a short gain during the first half against the LSU Tigers in the Music City Bowl at LP Field. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports

1. More eligibility for Malik Zaire?

While the idea of having Malik Zaire for one season is better than not having him at all, Florida has a talented freshman quarterback in Kadarius Toney and a solid quarterback in Luke Del Rio. Why have either of those guys sit on the bench of Zaire is only in The Swamp for one season before he loses his college eligibility?

While Zaire will be playing this season under the SEC's new rule for graduate transfers, there's a chance he could play two season for Florida.

Here's what Saturday Down South says about this:

The chance to have Zaire for two seasons has to be a lot more tempting than just one season. It could mean that instead of using Toney as a wildcat or backup option, the talented freshman has to sit on the bench the next season seasons.

However, if Zaire loses his appeal, than starting Toney or at least using him as a wildcat option with Del Rio starting has to gain more appeal.

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