Which offensive system at Florida fits Treon Harris?
The Florida Gators coaching staff should look much different next season.
Now that Will Muschamp is on his way out, so could the offensive woes next year. Of course, that all depends on the new head coach.
With the new head coach and his staff, he will bring in a new mentality, new energy and likely a new system.
Offensively, the Gators have had a lot of struggles but with a plethora of young talent, the potential is there for the Gators to make hugh offensive strides under the new regime.
The most important part of that progress will have to come with true freshman starting quarterback Treon Harris.
The 5-foot-11, 190-pound quarterback took over as the full-time starter on Nov. 1 and hasn’t looked back.
So what offensive system would best fit his talents under a new coaching staff next season?
Strengths and weaknesses
The first aspect of Harris’ game that sticks out the most is his athleticism. He’s definitely on the smaller side as a quarterback, but his speed is elite at the position.
So much so, many colleges considered him an athlete rather than a quarterback. He was recruited to play wide receiver, cornerback as well as quarterback at the next level.
And in just a few games this season, Harris has displayed that electrifying speed several times.
While his speed allows him to have great success at escaping pressure when the pocket breaks down or at executing any designed run plays, it also can often compensate for his inconsistency in the passing game.
The Gators haven’t hidden their lack of trust in Harris’ arm during his starts. Against Vanderbilt, he threw for 215 yards, but that’s beginning to look more like the exception. In his two other starts this season, he’s thrown just 17 times and completed eight passes for 87 yards and one touchdown.
For Harris, the throws are usually the same — either short dump-off passes or 50-yard bombs downfield. He hasn’t had many opportunities for those mid-range passes and that could be for two reasons: the coaching staff doesn’t trust him or his receivers aren’t getting open. In the Gators’ case, it’s likely a combination of both.
Regardless, it’s clear that Harris is more of a threat with his legs than his arm.
Which means…?
Based off of Harris’ skills, it should come as no surprise that his ideal offense is a zone-read option offense.
This kind of offensive system plays to Harris’ strengths and would do a great job of keeping opposing defenses honest because it puts Harris in the position to make plays with his legs. Consequently, that would open up things for the running backs since the defense would have to worry about Harris keeping the football.
The one con with running a zone-read option would be that Harris would be vulnerable to taking a lot of hits. And with his smaller frame, could he hold up for an entire season?
However, until Harris can become more of a threat with his arm on other than bubble screens or deep passes, the zone-read may be the best option for the Gators moving forward. Of course, it’s all about personnel, but there’s no doubting that Harris’ biggest strength his is speed and until that changes a zone-read would be the best fit.