GAINESVILLE — For the second time in a month, Florida announced a new starting quarterback on the same day there was updated and breaking news regarding the suspensions to nine Gator football players that have clouded this football team since summer camp.

This time, according to a report by ESPN analyst Paul Finebaum that was later confirmed by Jim McElwain, Luke Del Rio was named the starter for the upcoming game against Vanderbilt. Del Rio, fresh off leading the Gators’ fourth-quarter comeback victory at Kentucky, will make his first start of the 2017 campaign and seventh overall as a Gator.

The Gators certainly seemed to move the ball better with Del Rio under center against Kentucky. Familiarity with the playbook and protections seemed to be the largest reason for Del Rio’s success, rather than anything he did with his arm. Blown coverages certainly helped, too.

Kentucky troubled the Gators’ front with various blitzes throughout the first three quarters in Lexington, and playing his first road game in an electric environment, Feleipe Franks was unable to make the proper protection adjustments. Del Rio corrected that, and Florida’s line began to get a push.

Florida will play another stout defense this weekend when Vanderbilt visits The Swamp. The Gators have managed only 22 points in two narrow victories against Derek Mason’s Commodores in the previous two meetings, and each win featured different Florida quarterbacks in Treon Harris and Austin Appleby.

Del Rio will hope to improve on those point totals, but will have to do it against a defense that even after a 59-0 debacle against Alabama ranks 17th nationally in S&P+ defense, 31st in total defense, and fourth nationally in pass efficiency defense.

The decision to start Del Rio is understandable given what occurred in Lexington, but there are still fair questions about what the ceiling is for the Florida offense under Del Rio instead of Franks.

I wrote that Florida’s best bet to move the program forward was to win or lose sticking with Franks following the Michigan game, and in large part, that argument not just in Franks’s arm strength and upside but also in a statistical analysis of Del Rio vs. other Gator quarterbacks under McElwain.

The results weren’t flattering. Of the five players to start at quarterback for Florida under Jim McElwain, Del Rio is clearly the most limited — and mistake prone — in the passing game. (Note: Stats for Harris are under McElwain only)

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Del Rio does have an effective record as a starter, of course, and he seems to be a player with leadership qualities his teammates and coaches value. But the nine career interceptions suggest he isn’t, at least as of yet, the reliable game manager many hoped they’d get when he was named the starting quarterback before the 2016 season.

Still, he looked that part Saturday night in a tough environment, and he’s healthy now and coming off a summer camp where he pushed Franks and transfer Malik Zaire closely for the starting job. If the Gators get a less-turnover prone version of Del Rio (he threw an interception against Kentucky), perhaps the offense will continue to show flashes of the rhythm and flow on display in the fourth quarter at Kentucky. That could spell good things for the East division leaders moving forward.

The trouble is what happens if Del Rio is turnover prone and limited stretching the filed again. If that happens, the quarterback carousel will continue, and the program will move deeper into the McElwain era, still without long-term answers.