On the final play of Florida's fastball period that ushered in spring practice on Tuesday, quarterback Feleipe Franks fired a pass down the right sideline.
Tyrie Cleveland rose up, caught the pass over cornerback Duke Dawson and landed in the end zone. Touchdown.
"Those guys aren’t afraid to throw the ball down the field, no doubt about it," UF coach Jim McElwain said. "We’ve got a couple guys that can chase it down. That’s fun to see."
It was a solid start to the first practice of the season for the redshirt freshman.
And it was the type of performance McElwain wanted to see from both Franks and fellow redshirt freshman Kyle Trask as they begin their battle to be the Gators' next starting quarterback.
Both Franks and Trask had more positives than negatives during the portion of practice the media was able to watch on Tuesday. Their teammates have been supporter as well.
"They both were trying to compete. They were both trying to make plays," senior wide receiver Brandon Powell said. "That's what you want to see out of your quarterbacks. I mean, it's Day 1, but we'll see how it progresses."
Left tackle Martez Ivey added: "They got to get their first-game jitter out, and after that there’s no ceiling for them. The sky’s the limit.”
More practice notes
McElwain said the team was ahead of schedule following their first practice and was happy with the carry over from the returning players.
That's something he'll need with a new starting quarterback expected to lead the team and eight defensive starters from a year ago no longer on the roster.
"As you look roster wise, we are relatively young in age and yet we've got some experience," McElwain said. "And you can see that a lot of the guys really carried through on that, and I was really excited about the tempo in which they practiced, the way they attacked it and really the way they helped each other get better -- the competition part was fantastic. And that's exciting to see."
Opening fastball starters
Quarterback: Feleipe Franks
Running back: Jordan Scarlett
Wide receivers: Antonio Callaway and Tyrie Cleveland
Tight ends: DeAndre Goolsby and C'yontai Lewis
Offensive line (L-R): Martez Ivey, Tyler Jordan, TJ McCoy, Fred Johnson, Jawaan Taylor
Defensive line: CeCe Jefferson, Taven Bryan, Khairi Clark, Keivonnis Davis
Linebacker: Vosean Joseph, Cristian Garcia, Kylan Johnson
Cornerback: Chauncey Gardner and Duke Dawson
Safeties: Marcell Harris and Nick Washington
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