Malik Zaire is ready to run the Florida offense. His teammates say he already can

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Malik Zaire’s favorite color is orange, so he feels at home on the UF campus. He also knows it’s where you come if you want to be in the spotlight. After spending his first four years at one quarterback “mecca,” it was only natural to finish his career at another.

“Notre Dame, as a quarterback, is like the mecca of quarterbacks,” Zaire said Wednesday. “If you can be a quarterback at the University of Notre Dame, you’re on top.

“The same goes for Florida. If you’re a great quarterback at Florida, and you care a lot about being a quarterback, and you care a lot about winning games and being in the position where you can be in the spotlight because that’s how you’re made as a quarterback, Florida is the most perfect place to be.

“Who doesn’t want to be a Florida quarterback? Not many people get that opportunity. Being able to be a Florida quarterback, and left-handed, and knowing the history behind that and being in the SEC where the competition is great, you can’t really pass that up.”

Zaire is a dual-threat quarterback who can make plays with his legs and throws with his left hand, just like a certain quarterback who has a statue outside The Swamp.

“There’s something about left-handers,” Zaire said when asked about having something in common with Tim Tebow. “There’s not a lot of us. We stick together. We have to show, too, that we belong in the whole quarterback world.”

Some questioned the fit of Zaire at Florida as a summer graduate transfer. Zaire, who made only three starts at Notre Dame but flashed potential, announced he was picking Florida in early June and enrolled later that month. He only has about six weeks of workout and player-organized practices at Florida, but one wide receiver is already impressed by his grasp of the offense.

“He knew the offense. He lined everybody up. He was pointing out the blitzes,” Tyrie Cleveland said of his first time on the field with Zaire.

As one might expect, Zaire was asked a lot at Wednesday’s media day about learning the new offense. Some critics, like ESPN’s Tom Luginbill, don’t think he even belongs in the starting quarterback discussion with only weeks to learn the Gators’ playbook. Zaire, who called adjusting to the Florida heat his biggest obstacle as a transfer, repeatedly stressed the similarities in his offense at Notre Dame to what he’ll be asked to run at Florida.

“You can only draw up a play so many different ways,” Zaire said. “I’ve been in college football for a good amount of time. It’s not like I’m just learning something new for the first time. I like a lot of the concepts that Coach Mac and Coach Nuss have put together, and a lot of that is similar to stuff I’ve been doing. There’s nothing too new for me. It’s all about terminology.”

There are many basics that carry over regardless of the offensive scheme.

“In terms of putting guys in the right place,” Zaire said,” I know the spacing between where routes should be or where linemen should be because the concepts don’t change.”

The goal in any passing offense is the same – receivers need to get to the place where the quarterbacks can get them the ball.

“As a quarterback, you don’t see the receiver’s whole route,” Zaire said. “You say, ‘I’m looking here and I’m looking here. So if you don’t show up in this window or that window, I can’t get you the ball.’ It’s pretty much just being able to be on the same page from a connection standpoint.”

Whether it’s about left-handers belonging or learning the offense on short notice, there’s no doubting Zaire’s drive to prove his doubters wrong. Florida coach Jim McElwain called Zaire a man on a mission Wednesday.

“All indications, are he is a great teammate,” McElwain said. “He’s done a great job of getting along with and introducing himself and bringing a certain energy and understanding what it takes. He’s obviously on a mission, and he’s here to help us win a game and win a bunch of games.”

Zaire believes the sky’s the limit for the Gators in 2017, and that they could have one of the nation’s best offenses. More often than not, Florida’s success in the SEC East under McElwain has come in spite of poor play on offense. Florida was No. 14 in the SEC in total offense last season, but won its division thanks to an elite defense. Zaire thinks people will be surprised this fall.

“I think we’re bringing something new this year. I think we’re bringing something that a lot of people don’t think we have in us,” Zaire said. “I think we’re bringing something that a lot of people don’t think we can do well. I think we have the potential to be the best offense in the country. I think we have the potential to be the best show on TV.”

After years of watching Steve Spurrier and Urban Meyer’s offenses put up plenty of points, there’s no denying Gators fans have come to expect a show on offense.

Andrew Olson

Andrew writes about sports to fund his love of live music and collection of concert posters. He strongly endorses the Hall of Fame campaigns of Fred Taylor and Andruw Jones.