Back-to-back losses to Florida State (27-2) and Alabama (29-15) has drastically changed the trajectory of Jim McElwain’s first season at Florida. Even though the No. 19 Gators (10-3) are playing in the Citrus Bowl now instead of the College Football Playoff, there’s plenty of reasons for Florida fans to be excited about the team’s future with McElwain on the sidelines.

Here are the five best reasons:

5. His offensive recruits already have flashed greatness: McElwain signed 19 recruits in his first class, landing 15 commitments in the final 11 days leading up to National Signing Day. Two freshmen running backs, Jordan Scarlett and Jordan Cronkrite, delivered key plays that contributed to Florida victories over Georgia and South Carolina. The biggest get was  WR Antonio Callaway, already Florida’s top pass-catcher (30 catches, 603 yards, 4 TD). Callaway’s freshman highlights include the 63-yard go-ahead touchdown reception against Tennessee, a 72-yard punt return for a touchdown at LSU, a 66-yard touchdown against Georgia and a record-setting 85-yard punt return for a score in the SEC Championship Game. With Scarlett, Cronkrite and Callaway, the offense already has a solid core for the next two seasons.

4. Players have bought in to McElwain’s way: The first-year coach identified one of his biggest challenges this season as getting his players to believe they can be great after going 11-13 the past two seasons. The change in attitude was best reflected in Florida’s thrilling come-from-behind win against Tennessee. The Gators trailed 27-14 late in the fourth quarter, but the players believed they had two scoring drives in them, and they delivered in epic fashion for a 28-27 win that eventually decided the SEC East.

3. He sees the big picture: On and off the field, McElwain has displayed an awareness for the big picture. When QB Will Grier was suspended in October, McElwain faced a choice of whether to coach his pro-style offense or implement more spread elements to better fit backup QB Treon Harris’ skill set. McElwain stuck to his system, to keep his running backs, receivers and linemen practicing and learning the same plays. By coaching Harris to adapt, instead of adapting to Harris, McElwain’s team is in better shape for the 2016 season and beyond.

2. He’s already shown what his teams are capable of: Florida’s 38-10 win against Ole Miss on Oct. 3, when Grier (24-of-29, 271 yards, 4 TD) was still eligible, provided fans a taste of what the Gators are capable of when the McElwain offense is firing on all cylinders. Grier’s accuracy, quick decision-making and ability to distribute the ball (four different receivers caught touchdowns) proved a perfect fit for McElwain’s system. Grier, a redshirt freshman, will be back for Week 7 in 2016.

1. Help is on the way: The Harris era at quarterback has approximately four quarters remaining. Even with Grier suspended until Oct. 12, 2016, it seems clear at the moment that Harris will not be the starting quarterback when the 2016 starts. Whether it is walk-on Luke Del Rio, current four-star commitment Feleipe Franks or Georgia commitment and recent visitor Jacob Eason, the Gators should have a signal-caller next season who fits the McElwain offense better than Harris.

Whichever quarterback wins the competition, he’ll have the opportunity to throw to wideouts including Callaway, Brandon Powell (28 catches, 364 yards, 3 TD) and four-star commitment Freddie Swain (6-foot-1, 188 pounds), who plans to enroll for UF’s spring semester.