GAINESVILLE — Part of the lore of SEC football is the struggle to find who’s next.

Alabama went through a legion of coaches, even winning a national championship under Gene Stallings, but still longed for anyone who won like Bear Bryan until Nick Saban arrived in 2007. Georgia has spent nearly four decades chasing the ghost of Herschel, no matter how many hobnail boots the likes of Garrison Hearst, Knowshon Moreno or Nick Chubb have run over opponents with.

At Florida, they’ve now spent nearly a decade trying to find someone worthy of carrying the mantle of Tim Tebow, Chris Leak, Rex Grossman, Danny Wuerffel, Shane Matthews and Steve Spurrier. A school famed for producing glorious collegiate quarterbacks can’t even find a competent one.

Since Tebow left town after the January 2010 Sugar Bowl, Florida has given nine quarterbacks at least three starts: John Brantley, Jeff Driskel, Jacoby Brissett, Tyler Murphy, Skyler Mornhinweg, Treon Harris, Will Grier, Luke Del Rio and Austin Appleby.

Brantley started 24 of 26 games in 2010 and 2011 and was the last Gator quarterback to start every game in a season, in 2010. Driskel had 12 starts in 2012, but was relieved in one of those games — a homecoming come from behind win orchestrated by Brissett. Brissett and Driskel eventually transferred and found success — the former started multiple games for the Patriots as a rookie quarterback in the NFL. Tyler Murphy also transferred — to Boston College — where he helped former Gator offensive coordinator Steve Addazio reach a bowl game.

Florida thought this season would offer solutions. Feleipe Franks shook off a rough early-entry spring with a dominant spring game and strong summer. Del Rio’s command of the playbook remained impressive, keeping him in the mix to start until late in summer camp. And best of all, Malik Zaire, with multiple years of experience at Notre Dame, transferred into UF early this summer, promising to give Florida a veteran option with big program credentials.

Florida ultimately opted from Franks, but when he struggled early in the second half against Michigan, on came Zaire.

The Notre Dame transfer’s first drive was promising, as his presence in the huddle seemed to settle the Gators, and the team moved the ball to around midfield and flipped the field position. But the Gators gained a total of 10 yards on ten plays on their next two possessions, and worse, suffered multiple sacks. In the end, Zaire averaged only 6.2 yards per attempt to Franks’s 8.3, and he was sacked four times, including once in the end zone that resulted in a fumble and Michigan touchdown.

Florida saw enough of Zaire on Saturday to know they shouldn’t need to see him again, except in isolated packages.

Zaire’s strength has always been his ability to extend and make plays with his legs, but RPO’s are rarely effective when the defense doesn’t respect the run, and with Michigan unfazed by Florida’s front or running backs, all Florida’s RPO’s did was force plays to take too long to develop. Nevertheless, Doug Nussmeier and the offensive staff stuck with the senior instead of going back to Franks or even Del Rio, who could have more effectively thrown the quick slants and downfield passes the Gators needed to establish a rhythm and make up a two-score deficit.

Bringing in Zaire was probably net beneficial for the UF staff, especially with a young quarterback. After all, Zaire’s been in meeting rooms preparing for big games for four years, always on the edge of winning a quarterback job. But Florida saw enough Saturday in Texas to know they don’t need to add Zaire to the list of quarterbacks who have started three games since Tebow.

Zaire is just not a good fit for Nussmeier’s offense, just as Devin Gardner wasn’t in Nussmeier’s ill-fated stop at Michigan. It’s not an offense that can be mastered in one camp, and given Zaire’s skill set, rather than adapt to Zaire, Jim McElwain is correct to stick with Franks, putting the season, and probably, McElwain’s control over the program, on his young shoulders.

Florida won’t grow at the position, and find out whether there’s life after Tebow, until it commits to a guy and develops him.

McElwain was hired to do this precisely because he has done it before, at Alabama and Colorado State. Jeremy Foley hired McElwain for this moment. If the coach is to leave an imprint on this program Scott Stricklin believes merits keeping, he’ll do it with a player like Franks.