By MARK LONG
AP Sports Writer
GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) -- South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier has played quarterback, coached quarterbacks, swapped quarterbacks, benched quarterbacks and rotated quarterbacks.
So he's seen just about everything at the position.
Even this.
No. 24 Florida plans to stick with a three-quarterback rotation against 22nd-ranked South Carolina on Saturday night, a game that will decide the Southeastern Conference's Eastern Division and give the winner a berth in the league title game in Atlanta.
The Gators (6-3, 4-3 SEC) unveiled their newfangled offense following a bye week, and it worked well in wins against Georgia and Vanderbilt. So they're going to continue rotating John Brantley, Trey Burton and Jordan Reed against the conference's worst pass defense.
It certainly won't surprise the Gamecocks (6-3, 4-3). Heck, Spurrier's even seen it before. The head ball coach recalled watching famed coach Howard "Red" Hickey use three QBs with the 1961 San Francisco 49ers. Hickey, best known for inventing the shotgun formation, rotated John Brodie, Billy Kilmer and Bob Waters.
So Florida's not breaking any new ground with Brantley, Burton and Reed.
"They are three good players," Spurrier said. "They all have their specialties. Coach Urban (Meyer) and his guys are trying to maximize the talents of his team, so I can certainly understand it."
It's the first time Meyer or anyone on his staff has rotated three quarterbacks. The three-man rotation sparked an offense that looked inept during the team's three-game losing streak.
Against Alabama, LSU and Mississippi State, the Gators averaged 295 yards and 14 points. They stumbled in the red zone, turned the ball over way too much and couldn't find any rhythm.
In the past two games, with three QBs taking snaps, the Gators have averaged 465 yards and 44.5 points. They look efficient, effective and re-energized.
"For us, it's working right now," offensive coordinator Steve Addazio said. "It's working because we've got some really unselfish guys that are all for the team and winning. That's very evident. It's created a level of excitement and energy. It's been a real positive thing for us."
Each quarterback provides a different look for defenses.
Brantley is the prototypical drop-back passer. Even though he has just eight TD passes and six interceptions this season -- and been sacked 12 times in the last four games -- he's thrown for 1,616 yards and completed 62 percent of his passes.
Burton is the option guy, deciding when to pitch and when to tuck it and run. He has 10 rushing touchdowns to go with 25 receptions.
Reed is probably the best athlete of the group. He's bigger and faster than Burton and he might have a stronger arm than Brantley. Reed got significant snaps at Vanderbilt last week, completing 11 of 19 passes for 120 yards. He had a touchdown and an interception, and ran 16 times for 84 yards and a score.
Coaches probably would have used Reed earlier in the season, but he missed all but two practices in fall camp and fell way behind.
"He has a very strong arm. He's a great thrower," Brantley said. "To see him come in and do what he did, that's awesome. That just shows that he is a heck of an athlete. He still remembers his quarterback days from high school. He could be a great quarterback and a great tight end."
Together, the three will face a South Carolina defense that has been burned repeatedly this season. The Gamecocks have given up at least 300 yards passing in three of their last four games. Alabama's Julio Jones, Kentucky's Chris Matthews, Tennessee's Denarius Moore and Arkansas' Cobi Hamilton all torched South Carolina's shaky secondary.
Only 11 teams in the country rank below South Carolina in pass defense.
"We know what we are capable of," linebacker Rodney Paulk said. "We have some great DBs. Unfortunately, we've had some missed assignments, and that's killing us. It's all about pulling together and showing you guys and everybody else that we are capable of having a top-notch secondary."
Florida, meanwhile, has a chance to keep rolling with an unconventional, yet not unprecedented, QB system.
"It's opening up our offense," Brantley said. "The defense has to play two different kinds of defense. They have to game-plan for Trey and Jordan, and they also have to game plan for myself. It gets them into a lot more man (coverage) and lets us be able to take more shots."
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Jeffrey Collins of The Associated Press in Columbia, S.C., contributed to this report.
Received 11/11/10 08:23 pm ET
