Florida QB Brissett earns second start at Auburn

After seeing his first action of the 2011 season by starting at quarterback for the Florida Gators just one week ago, freshman Jacoby Brissett has earned his second-straight start on the road Saturday against the Auburn Tigers.

Florida head coach Will Muschamp made the announcement Friday through the school’s website but did not provide specific reasoning for the decision. He said on Wednesday that no decision had been made because the skill sets of Brissett and fellow freshman QB Jeff Driskel are “so similar, so it’s not like we’re having to drastically change what we do when one young man is in the game as opposed to the other.”

Driskel, who missed Saturday’s game at LSU due to a sprained ankle, practiced all week but was unable to beat out Brissett head-to-head for the open job created when redshirt senior QB John Brantley went down with a high-ankle sprain against Alabama.

The hope around the team is that Brantley will be able to return after the bye week to face Georgia on Oct. 29 in Jacksonville, FL.

Offensive coordinator Charlie Weis said Tuesday that Brissett and Driskel would both be ready to play and that they took even reps in practice much of the week. He also said there is a chance that Driskel will still see the field even if he is not the starter.

“Yeah, there’d be a chance of both playing in the game,” Weis noted.

Brissett completed 8-of-14 passes last week for 94 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions. His scoring toss came on a 65-yard bomb to redshirt sophomore wide receiver Andre Debose down the left sideline, and his second interception was the result of a pass to Debose in the end zone.

Sophomore running back Trey Burton took nearly a dozen snaps behind center in the game, and redshirt senior RB Chris Rainey received some direct snaps as well. Weis said he plans continue using plays from those packages at least until Brantley returns.

Photo Credit: Jonathan Bachman/Associated Press