Two UF quarterbacks battling for backup job with Jack Miller out

On3 imageby:Zach Abolverdi•08/21/22•

ZachAbolverdi

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — A pair of quarterbacks are in contention for the Gators’ backup job following thumb surgery on Jack Miller III, which will sideline him for two games.

Florida’s depth chart at QB behind Anthony Richardson consists of redshirt freshman Jalen Kitna, true freshman Max Brown and walk-on Kyle Engel, a redshirt junior.

UF coach Billy Napier revealed Sunday that Engel is challenging Kitna for the No. 2 role.

“I think we’re very much in a competition there for the backup spot. I think we’ve seen Kitna do some good things, we’ve seen Engel do some good things,” Napier said. “Max is a little behind, obviously, being a rookie. So those two we’ll be observing over the next couple of days here.

“We obviously have some time. Both those guys are very smart and have a good understanding of what we do and move the team. This scrimmage showed they have the ability to move the team.” 

The 6-foot-1, 190-pound Engel joined the team as a walk-on in 2019 after leading St. Thomas Aquinas to a 13-2 record and the 2018 FHSAA Class 7A State Championship Game. He completed 67 percent of his passes with nine touchdowns and no interceptions as a senior but hasn’t appeared in a game at UF.

Engel received reps with the second-team offense in the scrimmage and completed a handful of passes, while Kitna had a few completions and scored a touchdown, according to Gators Online’s intel report.

Saturday marked Kitna’s first time in action since the third practice, sitting out 10 consecutive sessions. Despite missing time in camp, Napier would be comfortable playing Kitna in a game.

“No doubt,” he said of Kitna, the son of former NFL QB Jon Kitna. “Mentally, he’s probably one of the brighter kids in that room and really has probably worked as hard as anybody to get to a point. And it’s the beautiful thing about the way we practice, right? The number of repetitions throughout the summer OTA.

“That experience for the quarterback and really our year-round plan for the quarterback — in the summer, in particular — is a gauntlet. The amount of work we asked those guys to do independent of the team, I think he really jumped in with both feet there and has a really good understanding. I would say as good as anybody in the room of what’s going on out there.” 

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