Jim McElwain is bringing a breath of fresh air to the Florida Gators. Of course, the hope is that the nasty defenses that have been a staple seemingly forever will remain a fact of life in Gainesville. The real reason everyone is excited about McElwain, though, is that he brings the promise of restoring the offense to the levels fans became accustomed to during the Gators’ multiple heydays of the last two-plus decades.

The question is whether or not McElwain has the right quarterback on the roster to lead the offense back to its high-flying ways. Regardless of that answer, the Gators will go after the top quarterback recruits in the class of 2016 in hopes of landing a future star.

But who will be the man under center this season? Spring practice will give us the first glimpse into what should be a close quarterback battle. It’s worth noting that the starting quarterback likely won’t be decided until closer to the season. McElwain and offensive coordinator Doug Nussmeier have only been in town for a couple of months, and they’ll want to take their time in evaluation before deciding on who their quarterback will be.

It’s also worth mentioning that regardless of who takes the gig, it’s more than likely that the Gators will still run the ball quite a bit in 2015. They have a glut of talent in the backfield — Kelvin Taylor, Adam Lane and incoming freshmen Jordan Scarlett and D’Anfernee McGriff (who will also play in the slot) all have breakout potential — and the offensive line returns enough talent to let them rumble.

With Jeff Driskel heading to Louisiana Tech to finish his college career, that leaves Florida with two realistic options: Treon Harris, who started the final seven games of 2014 as a freshman, and Will Grier, a former four-star recruit coming off a redshirt year in 2014.

The cries for Harris got louder over the first two months of 2014 as Driskel floundered, and reached a fever pitch during the Missouri debacle. But even once Harris got into the lineup, it’s not as if the Gators offense took off. Kurt Roper, last year’s OC, seemed to game plan to hide Harris’ deficiencies as a passer. He attempted more than 20 passes just twice and averaged just 13.3 pass attempts per start.

In the Gators’ biggest win of the year, the 38-20 upset of Georgia, Harris threw just six times. When he was forced to throw, such as against Florida State and South Carolina, it became pretty apparent why the coaching staff was limiting his opportunities. Harris struggled to move the ball downfield through the air, as well as with his decision making.

Grier, the more touted quarterback from the 2014 class, will get an equal shot in spring ball. He was the No. 2 pro-style passer in the class and the Gatorade National Player of the Year as a senior, and Will Muschamp and his staff looked at Grier as their quarterback of the future.

The North Carolina native certainly lacks behind Harris in the athleticism department — although he wasn’t such a bad runner himself in high school — but has the more accurate arm of the two.

With a new coaching staff, both players start with a blank slate. That means Grier is no longer wearing the “QB of the future” tag, and Harris can’t really lean on his “incumbent starter” title, although the starting experience helps. McElwain and Nussmeier will work to develop both, and both will have an equal shot at claiming the title this spring.

Whether the new coaching staff can go all-in on the spread-out philosophy McElwain subscribes to remains to be seen. There are still a few months of evaluation ahead before we’ll have a clear picture of what Florida’s offense will look like this fall.