GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- As Florida struggled at the quarterback position in 2014, going from starter Jeff Driskel to backup Treon Harris, freshman Will Grier watched from the bench.

That was the plan all along, and Grier redshirted as he added weight and prepared for his moment.

"I think it was a blessing, just getting a year to work on my body, work on the mental side of the game and still getting to travel and see everything," Grier said. "I had a back thing I’d been dealing with. I got to rehab that and do that the right way. I think it helped me overall."

Now a second-year player, Grier hopes his back issues, which he said stemmed from overuse and getting "lazy on form" on lifts, are fully behind him so he can compete for the starting job going into 2015.

He had an epidural in the fall but hasn't undergone any treatment since and hasn't had any further issues.

That's good news for the Gators, who are counting on him or returning sophomore Treon Harris to win the job and lead the Gators into the Jim McElwain era.

Grier has a rocket arm with pinpoint precision, though he can get a little loose with the football at times. Winning the job, he said, will come down to things that aren't necessarily physical. Namely, command of the offense and leadership.

"Right now, it’s just learning the offense," Grier said. "Being vocal. This team needs leadership, this team needs a voice, needs identity."

The job likely won't be won this spring, and that's something the redshirt freshman is well aware of.

"A lot of things that [McElwain is] teaching us as a group right now is just a lot of the off field stuff," Grier said. "A lot of the attitude, the vocal leadership, setting an example. Things like that are really where coach Mac is trying to attack right now."

Regardless how the competition goes, Grier is just glad to be a part of it now. The best man will win the job. No more redshirt.

And if he can get the mental side of the game down and flash the leadership McElwain wants, Grier's got as good a shot to win the job as anyone.

But he knows there's a lot of work to be done.

"I think the biggest thing for everybody at this point is growing in the offense," he said. "Everybody has their skillset and different things they do well, but knowing the offense, getting the offense down, being able to move the ball and take care of the ball is going to be the biggest thing."