GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Before Notre Dame graduate transfer quarterback Malik Zaire even walked into the room at Florida's media day on Wednesday, there was a horde of reporters circling a white placard with his name on it.

Cameramen jostled for position, trying to get the best angle for their first interview with the man many view as the favorite to win the starting job. Audio recorders littered the table in front of his seat.

"Who doesn't want to be a Florida quarterback?" Zaire said with a huge smile after he sat down, diving into how he decided to join the Gators.

Lights, cameras, national TV. Girls, parties, enthusiastic support from one of the nation's largest and most passionate fanbases. What's not to like?

If only.

That's only half the equation. Win and you're a demigod, the center of attention on campus. Lose, and it's a far different story. In fact, sometimes you don't even have to lose that much to watch that dream suddenly shift into nightmare.

Venture over to the other side of that media room, and you'd find redshirt junior quarterback Luke Del Rio. Del Rio's experience as a Florida quarterback has been a far different one, exposing the ugly underbelly of the passion that makes college football fandom what it is.

As clips from the first practice of fall camp rolled in on social media Thursday, so too did the all-too-familiar comments that nearly drove Del Rio out of football altogether.

"Only thing (Luke Del Rio) should throw is a towel," one fan tweeted in response to a clip of three Florida quarterbacks throwing in practice.

And mind you, that's coming more than nine months after Del Rio's last appearance as the Gators' quarterback, when most fans view him as a mere afterthought in the team's quarterback battle going into 2017. At a time when optimism is supposed to abound, before any games have been played and every team and its fans believe it can still win a national title.

In today's age of social media, athletes are exposed more than ever to the brutal and fickle nature of fans. They love hard and they often hate even harder.

"Let’s be honest, everybody lies when they say they don’t read it, I don’t read it," Del Rio said. "Everyone sees it. It’s a notification that pops up in your face. People see it. It happens everywhere. They’re fans, they just want to win. I get it. I do, too."

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Del Rio did plenty of that a year ago. He went 5-1 as a starter, with his lone loss coming in a game that he ultimately left with a season-ending shoulder injury. What many of those fans who blasted him -- and many who continue to do so -- don't know is that he was playing through some serious injuries.

Even before Del Rio suffered an MCL sprain late against North Texas that forced him to miss three games, he injured his throwing shoulder. Badly. On the third play of that North Texas game.

"It’s funny they say I don’t have a strong arm," Del Rio said. "I was playing with a Grade 3 AC joint sprain. Jimmy Garappolo stopped playing with a Grade 1.

"Arkansas it got to the point where I couldn’t even lift my arm. So people didn’t really realize how hurt I was. I understand the frustration with my performance; I didn’t play well. But I was injured and probably shouldn’t have played that Arkansas game. I did."

The injuries, coupled with a constant barrage of insults and jokes on social media made Del Rio consider hanging up the cleats for good.

At a certain point, he started to ask himself if it was even worth it.

"I think when you play you've got to be at peace with yourself, and that's a personal decision," offensive coordinator Doug Nussmeier said. "The discussions we had at first were take some time and really think about the body of work, where you've been, what you've done throughout your playing experience, and there's a lot more to just that moment in time.

"A lot of times you get caught up in the moment, and to think about all the hours, the sweat, all the things you've put into your whole career. You only get one opportunity to play the game, and it's a great game. So take some time, think about it, and obviously Luke is a smart guy. He was going to make the best decision for him and his family."

That decision was that this thing isn't over yet. Healthy again, Del Rio believed he'd have a chance to win the starting job again.

The shoulder pain is gone, replaced by anchors in his left shoulder that keep it from going back very far. The right shoulder, Del Rio's throwing shoulder, is "completely healthy," he said.

Florida's coaches certainly haven't written him off. There's a reason there was never a question that he would be the starting quarterback in 2016.

Del Rio knows the playbook better than anyone. Florida's offense boasts weapons at every position and what should be a much improved offensive line. The Gators just need someone who knows the offense and can get the ball to the right spots. And, well...

"I've said it; this guy was 5-1, and let's call it, he should have been a 5-0 quarterback a year ago had I not played him in the Arkansas game, which I shouldn't have," coach Jim McElwain said. "We'll see how he is. We'll see where he's at physically, but he's definitely in the plans."

Will Del Rio win the job?

He certainly has a lot more competition than a year ago, when Feleipe Franks was a very raw true freshman and Zaire was competing for the Notre Dame job. Both are favored to win the job, with Las Vegas listing both Zaire and Franks well ahead of him in its odds to win the gig.

Talk to the Florida coaches who brought the redshirt junior to Gainesville and made him the starter a year ago, though, and it's clear it's far too early to write the ending to Del Rio's story.

"When you go back and look at the body of work when he was healthy, Luke played some really good football for us last season, so we're excited," Nussmeier said. "Obviously he'll be right in the middle of that competition."

Social media turned off, shoulders healthy, refreshed and refocused on the task at hand, Del Rio is ready to compete.

"Whatever reps I get, I get," Del Rio said. "It’s my fifth season, I have a lot of perspective. I respect coach Mac and the decisions he makes, so I’ll leave it in his hands."

Does he expect to win the job?

"Absolutely I do."

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