GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Florida made a quarterback change last week against Missouri, handing things over to Notre Dame graduate transfer Malik Zaire.

He'll be the starter again on Saturday against South Carolina.

"Still Malik. He didn't do anything to hurt us," interim coach Randy Shannon said. "He did a nice job of getting the ball down the field, making some throws and doing some certain things. We just have to build on what he's done and just keep moving forward."

Zaire finished 13-19 passing with 158 yards and no touchdowns, while also throwing one interception. He added six carries for 17 yards, perhaps not running quite as much as many expected.

He's certainly got the capability, but the Gators didn't seem to have many designed runs for him other than a few zone read plays.

"They're reads, depending on what the defensive end is doing," Shannon said. "Everybody in college football is doing it. You read on what the defensive end is doing. He closes, quarterback keeps. He stays with the quarterback, running back runs. It’s just a read deal."

Teammates seemed to like how Zaire performed, particularly receiver Dre Massey, who had his best outing of the season with two catches for 75 yards.

"He’s good at getting the ball out of his hands quick and putting it where it needs to be," Massey said. "We’ve got pretty good chemistry."

Though the coaches eventually opted to lift Zaire for redshirt freshman Feleipe Franks -- who went on to lead a late touchdown drive -- guys like Massey are ready to see what Zaire can do in a second start.

There were some definite positives from the first.

"He just did the plays that were called," Massey said. "He threw a pick, you know, trying to make a play. Can't really fault him for that, but I think he did his best."

Shannon's looking for the next step out of Zaire on Saturday.

"Overall game. Every week you want a quarterback to improve his overall game," Shannon said. "He did a nice job, but now he’s got to do a great job this upcoming week."

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