GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Quarterbacks Treon Harris and Will Grier already have experience competing against one another for position on Florida's depth chart.
The difference is that the stakes are much higher this spring. Oh, and there's also a new decision-maker in town.
Those factors are why the Gators' starting quarterback battle is perhaps the most intriguing aspect of coach Jim McElwain's first spring camp at Florida, which opens March 16.
McElwain inherits a Florida program that has struggled to find consistent quarterback play since Tim Tebow left after the 2009 season.
Over the past five seasons, Florida quarterbacks have thrown 67 touchdown passes, an average of 13.4 per season. In Tebow's three seasons as Florida's full-time starter, he threw 83 touchdowns, an average of 27.6 a season.
No need to be a math major to understand that's a significant drop-off over an extended period of time. The Gators are 37-26 the past five seasons.
The good news for the Gators and their offense-craving fan base: McElwain has a history of producing results and points at his previous stops.
When he took over Colorado State in 2012, the Rams featured a sophomore quarterback named Garrett Grayson, who had played sparingly as a freshman. Grayson continued to develop as a sophomore, and then in his final two seasons, threw for 7,702 yards and 55 touchdowns while completing 63 percent of his passes.
McElwain also mentored Alabama quarterbacks Greg McElroy and AJ McCarron during his four seasons as the Crimson Tide's offensive coordinator from 2008-11. Alabama won two nationals titles over that span, helping the 53-year-old McElwain land his first head-coaching job in 2012 at Colorado State.
Now the question is what kind of impact will McElwain and new offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Doug Nussmeier have on the young and talented combination of Harris and Grier.
An All-SEC Freshman selection, Harris replaced Jeff Driskel as the Gators' starter midway through the season and injected some much-needed confidence into the offense. In a close battle throughout fall camp to backup Driskel, Harris won the job over Grier, who was redshirted.
Harris played in nine games, starting six, and threw for 1,019 yards, nine touchdowns and four interceptions. He also proved a capable runner, finishing third on the team with 332 rushing yards and three touchdowns.
Harris' finest performance came in a victory at Vanderbilt in his second career start. He completed 13 of 21 passes for 215 yards and rushed for 49 yards and two scores.
Meanwhile, after losing his job to Harris, Driskel opted to transfer to Louisiana Tech for his final season of eligibility to see if he can have the kind of breakout year the Gators envisioned a season ago.
Meanwhile, Grier is not your average redshirt freshman hoping to finally get a shot at playing. He came to Florida from Davidson (N.C.) Day School, where as a senior in 2013 he was named Parade magazine's National Player of the Year.
Grier threw for 14,565 yards during his prolific high school career, second to former Gators quarterback Chris Leak in the North Carolina prep record books.
Like Harris, Grier is mobile and has the ability to make plays with his feet. Grier (6-foot-2, 197) has a slight size advantage over Harris (5-11, 193). Harris has an advantage in experience.
Harris also played against better competition than Grier did in high school, leading Miami's Booker T. Washington to back-to-back state championships.
Redshirt junior Skyler Mornhinweg is the only other scholarship quarterback currently on the roster. Mornhinweg appeared in only one game last season after starting three games in 2013 with Driskel and Tyler Murphy out with injuries.
Mornhinweg is projected as an emergency replacement and mentor for his younger teammates. While the Gators did not sign a quarterback in McElwain's first recruiting class, he has mentioned the possibility of adding a potential transfer over the summer to add depth.
Since he took over the program in December, a constant mantra from McElwain is that every player has a fresh start. All eyes will be on Harris and Grier this spring to see how each performs during a fresh start for Florida football.
They are on equal footing in many ways. Both must learn a new offensive scheme under McElwain, who has used a variety of offenses in his career to produce results.
The one constant has been productive quarterback play, an element the Gators desperately need to reverse their fortunes.
