Florida QB Tyler Murphy a game-time decision; Skyler Mornhinweg likely to start Saturday

Florida Gators redshirt junior quarterback Tyler Murphy, who has been dealing with but playing through a shoulder injury he suffered on Oct. 12 at LSU, is not in line to start Saturday on the road against the South Carolina Gamecocks.

Head coach Will Muschamp said Thursday on his weekly Gator Hotline radio show that redshirt freshman Skyler Mornhinweg has practiced with the first team all week and is set to start barring Murphy suddenly feeling a whole lot better.

“Well, Skyler’s taken most of the reps all week. Tyler could be a game-time decision depending if he continues to loosen up through the week. He hasn’t taken any reps at all this week, to be honest with you,” Muschamp explained.

“Skyler’s looked good and we feel good about him moving forward and being ready to go. That’s the way it’s looking right now.”

He added that Murphy’s status is “not totally certain yet,” and he could lead the Gators if he suddenly feels much more comfortable during the team’s walk-through on Friday.

“We rep a script of about 30 plays on offense, 30 plays on defense. We’ll see what Tyler can do in those situations, but Skyler has had a good week of practice.”

Offensive coordinator Brent Pease on Tuesday revealed that Mornhinweg nearly got his first career start the week after LSU when Florida faced Missouri on the road.

“We were in [this situation] a couple of weeks ago when Skyler was taking all the reps going into the Missouri game,” he said. “He’s ready to go. The thing that’s tough on a kid in his situation is just experience.

“You hope you never really have to play with a redshirt freshman, and nothing against him, because he’s a smart kid, he works hard. In a developmental situation, you hope you get into your sophomore or junior year before you get into that situation whether you’re competing for the job or in a back-up role ready to play.”

Should Murphy be ruled out of action and Mornhinweg start on Saturday, redshirt junior walk-on Christian Provancha would serve as the Gators’ back-up quarterback.

Mornhinweg, a three-star prospect who committed to UF just one week before National Signing Day in 2012, is the son of current New York Jets offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg, who has spent the last 19 years coaching in the NFL.

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