Former Notre Dame Quarterback Malik Zaire recently decided that he would be taking his talents to the University of Florida next season. Zaire chose Florida after narrowing his search to the Gators, Texas Longhorns, Wisconsin Badgers, and Harvard Crimson. Zaire again narrowed it down to the Gators and Longhorns and was expected to make a decision following his graduation from Notre Dame in mid-May. The QB then pushed his decision back—awaiting news from SEC Spring Meetings regarding when he would become eligible if he were to be headed to Gainesville—before announcing in early June that he would be suiting up for the Gators next fall.

Zaire officially became a Gator when he enrolled in Summer B Session classes this week.

With Zaire being eligible this year, another competitor is inserted into the quarterback competition with Luke Del Rio and redshirt freshmen Feleipe Franks and Kyle Trask. With the struggles Del Rio endured last year—especially regarding ball security—in addition to the fact that he is recovering from shoulder surgery, many believe the competition will eventually come down to Zaire and Franks. However, Del Rio should not be written off so quickly.

While Franks played well in this year’s spring game, he is yet to take a real time snap in a college football game so it is not clear what exactly to expect from him. At the same time, Zaire is not coming into Gainesville as some seasoned veteran. Zaire only made three starts for the Fighting Irish before seeing two years riddled with injuries before he lost the QB competition to eventual 2nd round draft pick, DeShone Kizer.

However, two of those three starts were very impressive as Zaire led the underdog Irish to a win over LSU in the Music City Bowl and then played a near-perfect game against Texas in the following season’s opener, putting up 313 yards and 3 touchdowns on 19-for-22 passing. He suffered a season-ending leg injury against Virginia in his next start and would see minimal time for the Irish in 2016 after losing a QB battle to Kizer, his replacement.

Del Rio, coming off of surgery after replacing suspended Will Grier who is now at West Virginia, did enough to get the Gators to the SEC Championship Game representing the weak East division, but the team clearly did not perform nearly as well under him as they did with Grier under center. However, Del Rio did have some shining moments that displayed his potential so he very much is still a part of this competition.

All things considered, the addition of Zaire just adds another element to an already difficult decision for head coach Jim McElwain. While Zaire does not have considerably more on field experience, he has been around college football longer and has been in this exact situation before. These factors could certainly play a role in who eventually starts for the Gators in their opener against Michigan.

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