Jeff Driskel thinks he could have thrown for 4,000 yards had he returned for his senior year at Florida, he told SEC Country on Thursday at the NFL Combine. When asked whether he would have matched his 4,026 yards passing from his lone year with Louisiana Tech, Driskel said, "“I believe that I could’ve.”

In 29 games over the course of three seasons with the Gators, Driskel only threw for 3,411 yards. He exceeded his career total by a full 600 yards in one season with the Bulldogs, who play in Conference USA. Not without good reason, some are questioning whether Driskel's huge step forward in projection is owed merely to having moved down a rung in competition.

“I don’t think it was a matter of competition," Driskel said. "I think it was a matter of me playing well and throwing it to the right guy with certain looks. I grew as a quarterback. That’s what happens when you get more playing time.”

“It was just a matter of moving forward and getting in a new situation,” he said. “It turned out to be a really good decision on my part.”

Even though this alternate universe where Driskel didn't transfer from Florida is purely academic, Driskel probably wouldn't have thrown for 4,000 yards with the Gators. Apart from going up against better defenses, there's a question of whether even a much-improved Driskel could have had that kind of production in an offense that didn't ask terribly much of its quarterbacks. Driskel was starting to open it up a bit in the games leading up to his suspension, but they didn't attempt anywhere near the number of passes Tech did.

Would UF's approach on offense been different with a veteran passer? Maybe. But Driskel hadn't done much in his previous three years to suggest the new Gators staff would have had the confidence to let him air it out.

But then again what did you expect Driskel to say when he was asked this question?