Florida freshman quarterback Treon Harris has helped the Gators win the past two weeks over Georgia and Vanderbilt.Perhaps one day he'll be viewed as the savior of the Will Muschamp era at Florida.
For now, freshman quarterback Treon Harris has upgraded Muschamp's Gators to where they're accumulating more yards and points. Since replacing Jeff Driskel as the starter late last month, Harris has helped engineer comfortable victories over Georgia (38-20) and Vanderbilt (34-10).
Harris will make his third start and his first in Gainesville this weekend when the Gators host South Carolina.
"He's a guy who has been overly coachable since he's been on campus," Muschamp said last Saturday night in a news conference. "He works hard, and he's a guy who the game comes easy to. He'll continue to get better, and we've got all the confidence in him moving forward."
When Harris was tabbed the starter, Florida was 3-3 overall and 2-3 in Southeastern Conference play, and Muschamp was certain to be dismissed within a matter of weeks. The past two games may not have erased that predicament, but the Gators can become bowl-eligible with a win over the Gamecocks after missing out on the postseason a year ago.
Florida, which looked so inept offensively in its 10-9 escape of Tennessee and its 42-13 embarrassing defeat against Missouri, suddenly has a spark after amassing 445 yards against the Bulldogs and 429 against the Commodores. That spark has coincided with Harris taking the reins.
"He's a special player," sophomore cornerback Vernon Hargreaves III told reporters Saturday night. "For a freshman to come in and do just whatever the coaches ask of him, whether it's hand the ball off 56 times or throw the ball however many times he did tonight, he does it at a high level. It's impressive from a freshman."
Though the Gators have recorded similar offensive outputs the past two weeks, they have gone about them in very different ways. Harris completed just 3 of 6 passes against Georgia, when the tailback tandem of Kelvin Taylor and Matt Jones plowed through the Bulldogs for a combined 389 yards on 50 carries.
Florida was unable to gash Vanderbilt to that degree in Nashville -- Taylor and Jones combined for 137 yards on 30 carries -- forcing Harris to throw more. The 5-foot-11, 190-pounder from Booker T. Washington High in Miami responded by completing 13 of 21 passes for 215 yards.
Harris had a 60-yard completion to Quinton Dunbar and a 48-yarder to Ahmad Fullwood, creating a better-late-than-never excitement within the locker room.
"Our offense is scoring points, and our defense is doing its job," junior defensive lineman Jonathan Bullard told reporters. "We're playing together as a team. The defense is feeding off the offense, and the offense is feeding off the defense."
Harris was rated this past winter by Rivals.com as the nation's No. 3 dual-threat quarterback and the No. 69 prospect overall, and he became an instant favorite among Gators fans by signing with Florida after being committed to Florida State. In his last two seasons at BTW, which resulted in a pair of 4A state championships, Harris threw for 4,574 yards with 69 touchdowns and 10 interceptions.
After rallying Florida to the one-point win in Knoxville on Oct. 4, Harris was suspended on a sexual assault accusation that quickly was withdrawn. He has not been made available to the media, talking instead through his actions on the field.
"The thing that strikes me most about him is his maturity," Muschamp said. "He does not get fazed. He's been accurate in practice, and the maturity of carrying it to the game has been outstanding."
Harris has completed 28 of 45 passes (62.2 percent) this season for 505 yards with three touchdowns and an interception. In the past two weeks, he has rushed 16 times for 80 yards and two scores.
Should Florida win Saturday against the Gamecocks, Georgia lose to Auburn, and Missouri lose at Texas A&M, the Gators would be on the doorstep of their first SEC East title since 2009. Should those three things transpire this weekend and then Missouri lose again to Tennessee, Florida would be the East champ.
Muschamp just wants to focus on South Carolina, but he does recognize his program has improved.
"Winning solves a lot of things, but it doesn't cover up everything," he said. "We've got a lot of things we need to work on, but you work hard in this game and people are starting to see the benefits of their labor."
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.