GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Florida will go into its bowl game with more questions at quarterback. Jim McElwain has yet to reveal who will start, with the second-year coach saying after the SEC Championship Game that potentially playing a true freshman would be under discussion.

Neither Feleipe Franks nor Kyle Trask, who both enrolled in January, has taken a snap yet this fall for Florida. McElwain said he planned to talk with each player and their families to discuss options should the Gators start one in the Outback Bowl, a move that would burn a redshirt.

But there may also be another option. Starting quarterback Luke Del Rio has missed the last three games with a shoulder injury he picked up at Arkansas, but could he be ready to play again after a month of rest?

"I've been pretty open about making a mistake putting him out there in the Arkansas game," McElwain said, "not realizing how bad it was. It's obviously getting better, but that's still to be determined."

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Del Rio showed glimpses of being very effective early in the season, particularly in a 45-7 win over Kentucky in the second game. However, a sprained MCL sustained against North Texas the following week sidelined him for the next two games.

He was never the same when he returned, looking far less like a player who was capable of taking Florida to the next level from a physical standpoint.

Is it time to turn it over to one of the freshman? Franks has backed up veteran Austin Appleby, who will exhaust his eligibility following the Outback Bowl. And the true freshman is ready to play if called on.

"(McElwain) does a great job at what he does and how he prepares everybody," Franks said. "He makes all the decisions like that, and I leave it up to him. That's why he's the coach of the Florida Gators. What I do is I sit back and learn from guys like Appleby that have been there and played the game and know what they're doing and know a lot about what they're doing. I think it's a big thing for me to do that. Just learning from them, it's helped me a lot in just every aspect of the game."

One other factor to consider is that Appleby offers some experience playing against Iowa, Florida's opponent in the Outback Bowl.

A graduate transfer from Purdue, Appleby took on the Hawkeyes three times as a Boilermaker, something that may also give McElwain an additional reason to start him.

Whatever the decision ends up being, it's clear that McElwain would like to win to avoid a second consecutive three-game skid to end the season. The program needs the momentum, both on the recruiting trail and within the fanbase.

That makes Appleby's experience against the Hawkeyes all the more intriguing.

"When we found out (the matchup) all the guys actually looked at Austin, kind of 'you're the one that's got to tell us what this is all about,'" McElwain said. "That's one of those things where I think for him, some familiarity and I'm sure he'll be able to lean, because he's a smart guy now, and he'll be able to lean back on some of his scouting reports and things that they did and he'll be able to help us as well. He'll be excited to play again against them."

Should he get the call, anyway. Time will tell.

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Contact Thomas Goldkamp by 247Sports' personal messaging system or on Twitter at @ThomasGoldkamp.