Battle lines were drawn in Gainesville between former Florida quarterback Will Grier and Gators head coach Jim McElwain. Grier wanted a guarantee he would return as Florida’s starter once his suspension was up. There would be no guarantees from Florida’s staff though, and that forced Grier to pursue other opportunities.
“(Grier and his father) wanted guarantees. The father came in there and said, ‘What’s the plan to get Will back in the lineup?’” Gainesville Sun columnist Pat Dooley said in a radio interview with 1010XL Jax Sports Radio on Wednesday. “(The coaches) were like, ‘There is no plan. He can’t even rep until the seventh week. We’re going forward without him.’”
So, to recap, Grier was suspended for a failed drug test and he and his dad demanded he get back in the starting lineup when his suspension expires midway through the 2016 season. That’s crazy, right?
Perhaps the Grier contingent thought they had some bargaining power considering the feeble status of the Florida passing game since his suspension. Florida’s offense was a train wreck the second half of the season and the Gators offense was steamrolled by Florida State, Alabama and Michigan to end the season. If he and his dad were adamant about getting back on the field following the suspension, as it is being described, then you can understand why Dooley went on to say there may not have been much angst over Grier’s departure from the program.
Florida may have been right to stand their ground on this situation. McElwain just wrapped up his first season on the job and he continues to try and assert he is the guy running the program. The last thing that was going to happen was a suspended player and his dad were going to force their way back into a key role on the team. Grier would have been better served to own up to his mistake and commit to winning back the job. Odds are he may have been Florida’s starter once he was reinstated, but pride may have gotten in the way in this case.
Where Grier lands remains unknown. Dooley said he has visited a couple of different spots, including Ohio State and West Virginia. Because he was not granted a full release form his scholarship, Grier is also prohibited from transferring to another SEC program.
