GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Yet again Florida goes into spring practice with a quarterback battle on its hands, but things are different this time around.

No longer is it a two-man race. The Gators actually have four quarterbacks on the roster they expect to compete for the job this spring, though head coach Jim McElwain admitted Tuesday that Oregon State transfer Luke Del Rio will go into the spring with the lead for the job.

"Yeah, he’s been here obviously and been learning," McElwain said. "He and Austin (Appleby) have done an outstanding job together with those two young guys, Feleipe (Franks) and Kyle (Trask)."

GatorBait.net has learned that Del Rio was granted a waiver for an extra year of eligibility by the NCAA, confirming the news with a school spokesman on Wednesday. He will have three years of eligibility remaining and will compete as a redshirt sophomore in 2016.

Del Rio transferred to Florida from Oregon State in 2015, sitting out due to NCAA transfer rules. On top of that year in the system in Gainesville, he was also with Florida offensive coordinator Doug Nussmeier at Alabama as a walk-on in 2013.

Whether that knowledge of the offense translates to the field remains to be seen, but his competitors will be chasing him down this spring.

McElwain, for one, sounds thrilled about simply having enough guys to have a legitimate competition. Moreover, they all more closely fit the prototype he wants at the quarterback position: tall with a strong arm.

"I’m excited to see routes on air," McElwain said. "Obviously we haven’t been able to do that. You can have a ball out there, you just watch them condition. But you guys, (the media), will be there for that period, I think. I’m just looking for routes on air now. It should be a lot of fun."

On signing day, McElwain made no secret that he wasn't thrilled with his quarterback play in 2015. Starter Will Grier was busted by the NCAA for use of a performance-enhancing substance, while Treon Harris simply couldn't hit open receivers (hence McElwain's routes-on-air comments).

With a new crew at the position -- none of the four have ever taken a live game snap for the Gators -- spring offers the Florida offense a chance to start over. And the Gators will finally get a chance to turn things around after six years of hard-to-watch football on that side of the ball.

GatorBait.net will have complete practice coverage today, beginning around 3:30 p.m. ET.

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