Louisiana Tech head coach Skip Holtz is happy to have Florida quarterback transfer Jeff Driskel on his team.
Driskel had an up-and-down career in Gainesville and Holtz thinks he took too much of the blame for the program’s recent bout with mediocrity.
“I think down at Florida, it got very toxic for him. He became the scapegoat,” Holtz said per The News Star. “He became the guy that was tied to losing at Florida as a fan base that does not take very well to losing. It really became a negative situation, which is unfortunate because he’s such a great Christian young man with such great values who is a leader.”
Holtz said the La. Tech fan base has really embraced Driskel, something he wasn’t quite used to at Florida.
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Driskel was Rivals.com’s top-rated pro-style quarterback in the 2011 recruiting class and quickly moved into the starting lineup at Florida. He led the Gators to 11 wins and a Sugar Bowl appearance in 2012, but went down with a broken leg in 2013, forcing him to take a medical redshirt.
Driskel came back as the Gators’ quarterback in 2014, but underperformed and faced criticism from Florida fans (even Emmitt Smith got in on it) as the Will Muschamp era came to an end. He threw for only 1,140 yards, nine touchdowns and 10 interceptions in 2014 and was replaced as starter by true freshman Treon Harris.
After the season ended and Muschamp was fired, Driskel moved on to La. Tech and was named the team’s starting quarterback over the summer.
Holtz said football is fun for Driskel again now that he’s moved on to a new school.
From the News Star:
As for the fun part, Holtz noticed that against Southern. Holtz noted after one of Tech's touchdowns how Driskel came off the field with his eyes "real big," looked at Holtz and said "we got some playmakers!"
"There are some guys that are really helping him, and I don't know how much he got that when he was at Florida," Holtz said Tuesday. "I don't know how much he had the help around that he has here right now."
Holtz also recounted a story of when Driskel and his family realized Louisiana Tech was the place to finish his career.
One sticking point with Driskel and his family seemed to be how Holtz consoled former quarterback Cody Sokol after a crucial interception late in a loss to Marshall for the Conference USA title. Instead of barking at his quarterback after Sokol threw a pick with Tech trailing 26-23 and less than two minutes left on the clock, Holtz put his arm around Sokol for support. Driskel saw that on TV and knew he wanted to play for Holtz.
"It's certainly not what I wanted to say to him at the time when I went over to put my arm around him," Holtz joked. "You certainly can't condemn a young man because he made a mistake.
"There's time when the young man needs a pat on the back and there's sometimes where they need a kick in the seat to get them going and get them motivated."
Driskel’s Louisiana Tech career got off to a great start last Saturday against Southern. He completed 12-of-15 passes for 274 yards and four touchdowns. He also added a score on the ground in the 62-15 home win.
Next on the agenda for Driskel and the Bulldogs is Thursday night’s road game at Western Kentucky.
For more Louisiana Tech news, visit BleedTechBlue.com.
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Sam Cooper is a contributor for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!