Billy Napier Breaks Down Gators' Backup QB Competition

Who will the Gators turn to at backup quarterback following Jack Miller III's thumb surgery?

Photo: Jalen Kitna; Credit: Zach Goodall 

The Florida Gators understand that their 2022 season hinges on good quarterback play, particularly from Anthony Richardson as he enters his redshirt sophomore campaign and his first as the team's starting signal-caller.

"I do think that for us to win, Anthony Richardson's got to," head coach Billy Napier began to ponder on Sunday, "we're going to play to his strengths, right?"

The goal is that, by utilizing a scheme that meshes with his skill-set, Richardson's big arm and great athleticism will elevate the squad above and beyond the expectations Florida has received entering Napier's first year on the job. 

But if there is one reason to worry about the quarterback situation at Florida, it's the potential for injuries. Richardson missed several games in 2021 while recovering from a concussion, a hamstring injury and a torn meniscus. 

This reality has begged the following question: If Richardson were to go down with another injury in 2022, who will step in as the Gators' starting quarterback?

To start the season, it won't be redshirt sophomore and former Ohio State transfer Jack Miller III, who has been expected to man the role since his arrival in January. Napier confirmed on Sunday that Miller will miss at least the first two games of the season after undergoing surgery on his right thumb.

"Jack had a thumb avulsion fracture which is the same surgery that [former New Orleans Saints quarterback] Drew Brees had just a couple of years ago," Napier said. "So, we anticipate him missing I’m going to say the first two games and we’re hopeful we get him back for Week 3. He’ll be in a cast in a couple of weeks as that thing grows back together and he’ll start the rehab process."

Naturally, Miller's procedure leaves Florida in a tricky spot when it comes to the backup plan behind Richardson. Currently, the team's options for the role are redshirt freshman Jalen Kitna, true freshman Max Brown, and redshirt sophomore walk-ons Kyle Engel and Jack Anders.

Kitna missed eight practice sessions this fall while recovering from a knee procedure but, since returning on day 12, has entered a battle with Engel to back Richardson up, according to Napier. Engel has impressed Napier and the coaching staff this offseason as a part of the limited walk-on roster, enough to where he earned scholarships for the spring and summer semesters.

The duo showed enough in Florida's Saturday scrimmage to give Napier confidence in their ability to fill the QB2 spot on the depth chart.

"I think we’re very much [in] a competition there for the backup spot," Napier claimed. "I think we’ve seen Kitna do some good things, we’ve seen Engel do some good things. Max is a little behind, obviously, being a rookie. So those two we’ll be observing over the next couple of days here.

"We obviously have some time. Both those guys are very smart and have a good understanding of what we do and move the team. This scrimmage showed they have the ability to move the team.”

Napier went on to praise Kitna specifically for his football IQ, which he proved to the head coach during the offseason program. Kitna has certainly had help in that respect throughout his upbringing as the son of former NFL quarterback Jon Kitna, who also served as the younger Kitna's high school coach.

"Mentally, he’s probably one of the brighter kids in that room and really has probably worked as hard as anybody to get to a point," Napier said of Kitna.

"It's the beautiful thing about the way we practice, the number of repetitions throughout the summer OTA, that experience for the quarterback and really our year-round plan for the quarterback — in the summer, in particular — is a gauntlet. The amount of work we asked those guys to do independent of the team, I think he really jumped in with both feet there and has a really good understanding, I would say as good as anybody in the room of what's going on out there.”

The Gators will wrap up fall camp this week before transitioning to game prep for the season-opener against the No. 7 Utah Utes on Sept. 3. Expect Kitna and Engel to continue competing for the backup role up until kickoff.

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