For the second year in a row, the Florida Gators will be faced with a concerning lack of depth at the quarterback position. What once looked like a six-week issue has become a permanent one with the transfer of Will Grier.

At the conclusion of the Citrus Bowl, the Gators will be down to one scholarship quarterback, Treon Harris. In 2015, Harris simply hasn’t put up the numbers (111-of-214, 1,530 yards, 9 TD, 5 INT) that look like they belong to the starting quarterback for an SEC division champion.

Based on Florida’s limp to the 2015 finish line, particularly on offense, it seems highly doubtful Harris will be the Week 1 starter next season.

But if not Harris, then who will be the UF signal-caller?

Two-time walk-on transfer Luke Del Rio likely will be considered the favorite to claim the QB1 designation on the depth chart in spring practice. While Del Rio is the polar opposite of a prized recruit waiting in the wings, he will be four years removed from high school and plenty familiar with Florida’s offense.

The first stop for Del Rio was at Alabama in 2013, when current UF offensive coordinator Doug Nussmeier held the same position on the Crimson Tide staff. Del Rio did not see the field that season, and transferred upon Nussmeier’s departure. In his 2014 season at Oregon State, Del Rio saw limited action (8-of-18, 141 yards). When the Beavers changed coaching staffs, and offensive schemes, Del Rio decided to transfer a second time, landing at UF.

Del Rio’s offensive coordinator from OSU, John Garrett, is now on the Florida secondary staff as a quality control assistant. With a year of learning the Gators offense from two familiar coaches already in the books, the journeyman quarterback should have a leg up on incoming freshmen Feleipe Franks and Kyle Trask.

The high school highlights of Franks, a 247Sports composite four-star recruit, show raw talent and a strong arm. As an early enrollee, Franks will have the benefit of participating in spring practice, but if the Gators trust the offense in the hands of a true freshman, they should expect plenty of growing pains along the way.

If Florida’s other early enrollee quarterback, two-star commit Kyle Trask, sees the field in 2016, it’s probably a bad sign for the Gators. Trask impressed Nussmeier and head coach Jim McElwain at UF’s Friday Night Lights camp, but is not the starting quarterback for his high school team. While he does get first-half reps, it is difficult to imagine a high school backup dealing with the speed of SEC defenses as a true freshman.

Grier’s suspension had already made the first six weeks of Florida’s 2016 schedule a period of uncertainty. His transfer makes all 13 weeks of the season a giant question mark now.

If McElwain lacks confidence in his quarterbacks after spring practice, the Gators might find themselves seeking their own transfer quarterback to address the depth chart issue left by Grier’s departure.