Louisiana Tech coach: Jeff Driskel a ‘scapegoat’ in ‘toxic environment’ of Florida Gators football

By Adam Silverstein
September 10, 2015

It was no surprise when former Florida Gators quarterback Jeff Driskel transferred from the program prior to the 2015 season.

Set to be coached by his second staff (not counting the one that initially recruited him) and fourth offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach, Driskel decided that enough was enough; he was sick of failing as the starting signal caller for the Gators and wanted to try his luck elsewhere. Similarly, Florida fans were happy to move on from Driskel after being constantly disappointed in the performance of the five-star prospect, who failed to live up to his hype despite the tough circumstances he faced from a coaching perspective at UF.

Now Driskel’s new head coach, Louisiana Tech’s Skip Holtz, has spoken out about his new quarterback’s time with the Gators and unsurprisingly placed the blame solely on Florida, not his current player.


“I think down at Florida, it got very toxic for him. He became the scapegoat,” Holtz said on his weekly radio show, according to 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.”

He also took a shot at the athletes the Gators had surrounding Driskel.

“There are some guys [at Louisiana Tech] that are really helping him, and I don’t know how much he got that when he was at Florida,” Holtz continued. “I don’t know how much he had the help around that he has here right now.”

While Driskel’s performance on the field was seriously lacking, he showed tremendous character while with the Gators, always standing up in front of the media to answer questions about his and the team’s play. Driskel never shied away from being the face of the program, even when that was a face disliked by the fan base.

Last Saturday, in the Bulldogs’ dominant 62-15 victory over Southern, Driskel racked up five touchdowns (four passing, one rushing) and 247 yards.

Tip of the hat: Tampa Bay Times

Photo Credit: Associated Press

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