Tech press release:
By: Kane McGuire
RUSTON, La. (Nov. 3, 2015) – As a 17-year-old kid, it is probably hard to say no to college head coaches who have won multiple national championships like Les Miles and Nick Saban.
That was the difficulty presented to Jeff Driskel, the Maxwell Football Club National Player of the Year and the consensus No. 1-ranked high school quarterback in the country.
With a lot of guidance from his parents, Jerry and Mary, he narrowed his list down to three SEC schools before choosing to play in “The Swamp” for the Florida Gators.
And why not. It was two hours from home. It was a great university. There was an opportunity to play early. The Gators had won two national titles in the past four years.
The choice seemed, well, seamless … and perfect.
“It was down to Auburn, Ole Miss and Florida,” Driskel remembered after fielding offers from Alabama and LSU among several others. “My parents helped me out in the whole process. They didn’t force me to go anywhere. They didn’t want to, but they really helped me out and kept me humble. You can let all of that get to you at times and they never let me do that. Everything kind of lined up there and I was happy I made my decision to go there.”
After getting his feet dipped into the football wetlands of Gainesville as a true freshman, Driskel took control of the offense and led the proud Gators back into the national spotlight where they were accustomed to being.
As the starting quarterback his sophomore year, Florida posted an 11-1 regular season record, a five-win improvement, which was the biggest one-year leap for the program in 32 years at the time.
They ended up finishing No. 9 in the final AP poll after defeating three Top 10 teams (No. 4 LSU, No. 9 South Carolina and No. 10 Florida State) while playing the nation’s toughest schedule.
All was right in Gator nation.
Then just five minutes into the third game of 2013 versus Tennessee, Driskel threw a pick-six. That was nowhere near the worst part of that play though. A low tackle by a defensive end forced Driskel to limp off the field and eventually use crutches to get back to the training room.
The diagnosis was a fractured right fibula. His season was over and Gator nation slowly started to turn on him as his comeback was not greeted with the same level of success as before.
The boos grew louder and louder. The negative threads on message boards got longer and longer. The hate tweets were stockpiling. They all reached their volcanic peak in 2014 when Driskel had four turnovers in a blowout loss at home.
“Last year we played Missouri and I played awful, ended up getting benched for the rest of the season,” Driskel said. “That was a low point. I was disappointed with my play, but I knew that I was defined as a person and not a player. I was alright with it.
“In college football, it is about performance and what have you done for me lately. That can get to you, especially when you are seeing it everywhere on the internet, on social media, on TV. At the end of the day, that is what you sign up for. I think at times, especially when I was younger, I let the situation get a bit too big.”
The fandom at Florida was not shy in sharing their opinion to the world. And with such a passionate fan base like everywhere else in the SEC, it was hard for him to avoid.
For various reasons, Driskel went from being a team captain and spearheading a nationally-ranked football team to nursing a broken bone physically and a broken spirit mentally. Rehab helped him heal physically. The spiritual healing ended up coming from up above.
“Maybe a month or so after I broke my leg, I had really good mentors that helped me learn what it is to have a relationship with Jesus,” Driskel said. “Once I found that out, I didn’t let football define me anymore. That really helped change what I was doing. I became a better person, a better son and a better brother, a better teammate, a better boyfriend.”
Through all of the scrutiny and hardships, Driskel said he gained invaluable experience at Florida. He earned a degree, made lifelong friends, found Jesus and found his future wife, Tarin Moses, who was a cheerleader captain for the Gators.
With his identity found, one thing he still was in search of was fun on the gridiron again. Enter Louisiana Tech.
“I decided to transfer after the regular season before the bowl game,” Driskel said. “I didn’t leave because the expectations were too high or I thought I wasn’t performing well enough. I just wanted a new start. I knew that I wanted something different. I wasn’t enjoying football as much as you should. It is a game. You should enjoy it and I am having a lot more fun now.
“Anytime you can get a fresh start, you just see things differently. You are going through things for the first time. The guys here are awesome. They are a really good group of guys that are fun to be around. I think the environment is exactly what I was looking for in my last year.”
Going through six months of spring practice, summer workouts and fall camp, Driskel worked hard to earn the respect of his new Bulldog teammates.
That respect culminated in a team meeting on Aug. 29. With head coach Skip Holtz at the podium addressing the players before the first showing of the state-of-the-art Davison Athletics Complex, the four team captains for 2015 were announced – Vernon Butler, Kentrell Brice, Kenneth Dixon … and Jeff Driskel.
“That was huge,” Driskel said of the moment. “It was really humbling. I didn’t anticipate them accepting me as soon as they did. The guys are just very welcoming, very open. Being named captain was something I will keep with me forever.
“We have been through a lot already in the few short months we have been together. Being a quarterback, you have to be a leader. I really think I took on that role this summer and am just happy that everyone noticed it and likes me being a leader.”
The fun of playing football was clearly back for Driskel in his first game as a Bulldog.
A jam-packed Joe Aillet Stadium watched on as he threw for 274 yards and four touchdowns, setting the highest QB efficiency rating in the country since 2006 thanks in large part to some incredible playmakers on the receiving end of his throws.
Driskel admitted that he was not playing with a chip on his shoulder. He was not out to prove anything to those who doubted him as a quarterback. He simply wanted to step onto the field, enjoy it, play hard and try to get better.
That he did. Then in the brand new locker room postgame, Driskel joined in for his first celebratory fight song with some jumping around tossed in.
“Just going through everything for the first time was really neat,” Driskel said. “There was a great crowd. People were fired up for the season, fired up for the new building. We came out and played really well. We had a big win at home. I had a bunch of family in town. It was a good day, all in all. I am looking forward to getting that feeling of jumping around in the locker room again.”
By: Kane McGuire
RUSTON, La. (Nov. 3, 2015) – As a 17-year-old kid, it is probably hard to say no to college head coaches who have won multiple national championships like Les Miles and Nick Saban.
That was the difficulty presented to Jeff Driskel, the Maxwell Football Club National Player of the Year and the consensus No. 1-ranked high school quarterback in the country.
With a lot of guidance from his parents, Jerry and Mary, he narrowed his list down to three SEC schools before choosing to play in “The Swamp” for the Florida Gators.
And why not. It was two hours from home. It was a great university. There was an opportunity to play early. The Gators had won two national titles in the past four years.
The choice seemed, well, seamless … and perfect.
“It was down to Auburn, Ole Miss and Florida,” Driskel remembered after fielding offers from Alabama and LSU among several others. “My parents helped me out in the whole process. They didn’t force me to go anywhere. They didn’t want to, but they really helped me out and kept me humble. You can let all of that get to you at times and they never let me do that. Everything kind of lined up there and I was happy I made my decision to go there.”
After getting his feet dipped into the football wetlands of Gainesville as a true freshman, Driskel took control of the offense and led the proud Gators back into the national spotlight where they were accustomed to being.
As the starting quarterback his sophomore year, Florida posted an 11-1 regular season record, a five-win improvement, which was the biggest one-year leap for the program in 32 years at the time.
They ended up finishing No. 9 in the final AP poll after defeating three Top 10 teams (No. 4 LSU, No. 9 South Carolina and No. 10 Florida State) while playing the nation’s toughest schedule.
All was right in Gator nation.
Then just five minutes into the third game of 2013 versus Tennessee, Driskel threw a pick-six. That was nowhere near the worst part of that play though. A low tackle by a defensive end forced Driskel to limp off the field and eventually use crutches to get back to the training room.
The diagnosis was a fractured right fibula. His season was over and Gator nation slowly started to turn on him as his comeback was not greeted with the same level of success as before.
The boos grew louder and louder. The negative threads on message boards got longer and longer. The hate tweets were stockpiling. They all reached their volcanic peak in 2014 when Driskel had four turnovers in a blowout loss at home.
“Last year we played Missouri and I played awful, ended up getting benched for the rest of the season,” Driskel said. “That was a low point. I was disappointed with my play, but I knew that I was defined as a person and not a player. I was alright with it.
“In college football, it is about performance and what have you done for me lately. That can get to you, especially when you are seeing it everywhere on the internet, on social media, on TV. At the end of the day, that is what you sign up for. I think at times, especially when I was younger, I let the situation get a bit too big.”
The fandom at Florida was not shy in sharing their opinion to the world. And with such a passionate fan base like everywhere else in the SEC, it was hard for him to avoid.
For various reasons, Driskel went from being a team captain and spearheading a nationally-ranked football team to nursing a broken bone physically and a broken spirit mentally. Rehab helped him heal physically. The spiritual healing ended up coming from up above.
“Maybe a month or so after I broke my leg, I had really good mentors that helped me learn what it is to have a relationship with Jesus,” Driskel said. “Once I found that out, I didn’t let football define me anymore. That really helped change what I was doing. I became a better person, a better son and a better brother, a better teammate, a better boyfriend.”
Through all of the scrutiny and hardships, Driskel said he gained invaluable experience at Florida. He earned a degree, made lifelong friends, found Jesus and found his future wife, Tarin Moses, who was a cheerleader captain for the Gators.
With his identity found, one thing he still was in search of was fun on the gridiron again. Enter Louisiana Tech.
“I decided to transfer after the regular season before the bowl game,” Driskel said. “I didn’t leave because the expectations were too high or I thought I wasn’t performing well enough. I just wanted a new start. I knew that I wanted something different. I wasn’t enjoying football as much as you should. It is a game. You should enjoy it and I am having a lot more fun now.
“Anytime you can get a fresh start, you just see things differently. You are going through things for the first time. The guys here are awesome. They are a really good group of guys that are fun to be around. I think the environment is exactly what I was looking for in my last year.”
Going through six months of spring practice, summer workouts and fall camp, Driskel worked hard to earn the respect of his new Bulldog teammates.
That respect culminated in a team meeting on Aug. 29. With head coach Skip Holtz at the podium addressing the players before the first showing of the state-of-the-art Davison Athletics Complex, the four team captains for 2015 were announced – Vernon Butler, Kentrell Brice, Kenneth Dixon … and Jeff Driskel.
“That was huge,” Driskel said of the moment. “It was really humbling. I didn’t anticipate them accepting me as soon as they did. The guys are just very welcoming, very open. Being named captain was something I will keep with me forever.
“We have been through a lot already in the few short months we have been together. Being a quarterback, you have to be a leader. I really think I took on that role this summer and am just happy that everyone noticed it and likes me being a leader.”
The fun of playing football was clearly back for Driskel in his first game as a Bulldog.
A jam-packed Joe Aillet Stadium watched on as he threw for 274 yards and four touchdowns, setting the highest QB efficiency rating in the country since 2006 thanks in large part to some incredible playmakers on the receiving end of his throws.
Driskel admitted that he was not playing with a chip on his shoulder. He was not out to prove anything to those who doubted him as a quarterback. He simply wanted to step onto the field, enjoy it, play hard and try to get better.
That he did. Then in the brand new locker room postgame, Driskel joined in for his first celebratory fight song with some jumping around tossed in.
“Just going through everything for the first time was really neat,” Driskel said. “There was a great crowd. People were fired up for the season, fired up for the new building. We came out and played really well. We had a big win at home. I had a bunch of family in town. It was a good day, all in all. I am looking forward to getting that feeling of jumping around in the locker room again.”
