Why Will Grier ultimately transferred from Florida

[BMF]

I know this story has been beaten to death, but here it is again on SDS....as Grier is about to make his first start this weekend at WVU:

Why Will Grier ultimately transferred from Florida

https://www.saturdaydownsouth.com/florida-football/will-grier-ultimately-transferred-florida/


Since Tim Tebow left Gainesville, the Florid Gators have been searching for their next star quarterback.

The search has been a long one, as no quarterback has seemed to take the reins for the offense-starved squad.

This year, the Gators will start redshirt freshman Feleipe Franks in Week 1 against Michigan, hoping the young gun can put his stamp on the program over the next four years.

The best quarterback of the post-Tebow era may have been Will Grier, who had a good six games for the Gators in 2015 before he was suspended for taking a banned supplement.

According to Matt Hayes on Saturday Down South’s First and 10 podcast, that was enough for coach Jim McElwain to be done with Grier, basically forcing Grier to leave Florida:




“There was hope there with Grier. Two years ago when they started out 6-0 with the big win against Tennessee at home and absolutely demolished Ole Miss, it looked like the Gators had themselves a QB of the future in Will Grier. Until Grier messed up and took a supplement that he shouldn’t have taken and was suspended for a year by the NCAA.


“There’s a little backstory to that. Last fall, I went out to West Virginia to speak to Will Grier to get his side of the story. And Will told me that when the season ended at Florida, he wanted to meet with Jim McElwain and find out what the situation was — was he still welcome back; was he part of the team? McElwain initially said that Grier was searching for ‘guarantees.’ Grier completely denies that. McElwain kind of backed off of that later when I talked to him about that.

“The reality is that McElwain didn’t really want him there and Grier moved on.”


Hayes continues by saying Grier simply felt like McElwain would rather roll the dice with Luke Del Rio and Feleipe Franks and let Grier go pursue other opportunities:


“Grier wanted to return. When I was speaking to him last year in West Virginia for a story I did at Bleacher Report, he was emotional about it. There were tears in his eyes talking about it. Not only did he love Florida, he loved the community. He loved the city. He wanted to win a national championship there. He talked about how he still couldn’t sleep at night sometimes thinking about how it went wrong. He felt like McElwain pushed him out.

“For whatever reason, McElwain had a choice. His choice was Luke Del Rio and the guy he was recruiting, Feleipe Franks. Ironically enough everyone, Grier swears that before that meeting when he met with McElwain to figure out what was going on and where his future was, he says that McElwain was two hours late because he was recruiting Feleipe Franks. And that’s why Grier and his dad had to sit in the office and wait on McElwain to come back.”


Obviously, that’s just Grier’s side of the story, so the truth is likely a mix of McElwain’s and Grier’s, but it is interesting to hear what the former Florida quarterback had to say about why he decided to transfer to West Virginia.

 

[Gator Fever]

It probably is a mix of both. Seeing some of Grier's fathers statements on twitter while he was here I am sure there were certain questions asked. Heck it might work out better for Grier being with an OC that has QBs routinely throwing for 300 plus yards in his system. I doubt Grier makes that team any better however and think they will have a worse record this season.

 

[soflagator]

Broken record mode here, but if Mac is ultimately successful here, it will be because of the way he addressed the OL problem in his first 6 months on the job. If he's ultimately a failure, it will be because of how he handled the Grier situation. That simple, in my eyes.

I was there in 2015 as fans departed the Swamp fresh off a last second victory over the vols. That elation was partly the comeback win. It was partly the 11th straight over ut. But it was mostly the fact that, having suffered through 5 consecutive years of abysmal QB play, we finally had someone to be excited about going forward.

I give JM a lot ot leniency on certain areas, but finding a way to keep Grier in the fold--regardless of the what was "demanded"--should've been his top priority. By all accounts it wasn't and it may very well cost him his job.

 

[GatorJ]

Yeah. He ****ed up the Grier situation.

He better hope that Franks has it.

I don't get why so many on this board hate Grier.

 

[ChiefGator]

If you truly are a Gator and believe in yourself you sit out your suspension and perform so well that nobody can keep you from being the starting QB. He wanted a guarantee, he wanted to be seen as the only option, no coach would do that under these circumstances. Now if say Tebow as a junior was the player he would not have asked, he would have believed he would be the QB.

 

[GatorJ]

He wanted a guarantee, he wanted to be seen as the only option, no coach would do that under these circumstances.

The article says that that didn't happen. That Mac retracted that.

 

[78]

Yeah. He ****ed up the Grier situation.

He better hope that Franks has it.

I don't get why so many on this board hate Grier.

Same reason they hate Meyer -- he's no longer a Gator.

I tend to believe Grier more than Mac, who has more to gain by distorting. Besides, Mac had Grier and Harris even to start the 2015 season, which is insane. That tells you all you need to know about Mac's prejudice.

 

[InstiGATOR1]

I know I know, if I think this thread is irrelevant, I should just ignore it. Still why in the world anyone care about this the day before UF plays its season openner.

McElwain's tenure will not be defined by any one player decision. He will ultimately will rise or fall on various decisions, including QB, OC, etc.

Finally, I just turned into Army v. Fordham and noticed that Army, yes Army had about 6 or 7 guys suspended for various academic issues and team rule violations.

 

[Gator Fever]

While the truth is probably in the middle somewhere the Grier family stunt of hiring that ambulance chaser to represent them in addition to the UF attorneys on his positive drug test shows you their mindset I think. It was also probably the reason the NCAA wasn't going to budge on the suspension length while he was here.

 

[gatormandan]

Who?

 

[soflagator]

If you truly are a Gator and believe in yourself you sit out your suspension and perform so well that nobody can keep you from being the starting QB. He wanted a guarantee, he wanted to be seen as the only option, no coach would do that under these circumstances. Now if say Tebow as a junior was the player he would not have asked, he would have believed he would be the QB.

The problem is that "guarantee" talk is ony Mac's side of things. Just as I don't take every word of Grier's to be exact truth, I don't buy that either. All we can really go of of are the few facts. And one of those is that Grier handled the 2013 season better than any recruit we had, never wavered, and--if I recall correctly--never even had a comment about his HC and OC being canned at the end of 2014. With all of the questions about whether or not Muschamp would be fired, I would imagine a top flight QB with an over bearing father could've easily demanded a guarantee that the staff he was committing to would be kept in place, especially since he was coming from out of state.

But in any event, there is a measure of salesmanship involved in being a head coach. Based on his recruiting struggles in the first few years, I think that's likely the issue. It's not as if there was a contract. Even if they wanted to be assured that when he came back his starting role was there, the answer to that question is "yes". If circumstances change, so be it. That's recruiting. No different than sitting across from a prospect and telling him he's the future, knowing full well you're going to be having the same conversation with a kid the next year. Its business and I think Mac took a while to really grasp that.

 

[NavetG8r]

Congratulations, you just drove Crete's blood pressure back up again. Way to go.

 

[78]

Another thing about 2015. The Mac we saw then doesn't seem quite the Mac we see now. Maybe because he was new and out to prove himself, he became testy out of the gate. The sideline encounter with Kelvin Taylor, then the Grier flap. He's so laid back now by comparison.

Is it possible he overreacted with Grier? I think it's possible. I'd love to hear him under truth serum. What do you think, Crete?

 

[gatormandan]

Hahahaha....

 

[ChiefGator]

The problem is that "guarantee" talk is ony Mac's side of things. Just as I don't take every word of Grier's to be exact truth, I don't buy that either. All we can really go of of are the few facts. And one of those is that Grier handled the 2013 season better than any recruit we had, never wavered, and--if I recall correctly--never even had a comment about his HC and OC being canned at the end of 2014. With all of the questions about whether or not Muschamp would be fired, I would imagine a top flight QB with an over bearing father could've easily demanded a guarantee that the staff he was committing to would be kept in place, especially since he was coming from out of state.

If he asked me I would have told him and his father that the penalty would have to be met, and as always the best player plays. He would be welcome to continue under the penalties imposed by the NCAA. Why would you even need a meeting, coach had publicly supported him.

But in any event, there is a measure of salesmanship involved in being a head coach. Based on his recruiting struggles in the first few years, I think that's likely the issue. It's not as if there was a contract. Even if they wanted to be assured that when he came back his starting role was there, the answer to that question is "yes". If circumstances change, so be it. That's recruiting. No different than sitting across from a prospect and telling him he's the future, knowing full well you're going to be having the same conversation with a kid the next year. Its business and I think Mac took a while to really grasp that.

 

[BMF]

I know I know, if I think this thread is irrelevant, I should just ignore it. Still why in the world anyone care about this the day before UF plays its season openner.

McElwain's tenure will not be defined by any one player decision. He will ultimately will rise or fall on various decisions, including QB, OC, etc.

Finally, I just turned into Army v. Fordham and noticed that Army, yes Army had about 6 or 7 guys suspended for various academic issues and team rule violations.

Yeah, they probably got a B in an engineering class and were suspended so they could concentrate more on their academics.....and team rules? They probably got a demerit during their room or uniform inspection...

 

[t-gator]

I get a kick out of the peckerwoods that swear grier left because mac wouldn't guarantee him the job. Lol, grier knew he was better than delrio. He didn't need no guarantee. Mac ****ed us out of a decent qb. Meanwhile, callaway can smoke, rape and now fraud his way though his career here. I just don't get it.

 

[t-gator]

And don't give me whole mac shouldn't have to deal with the griers egos. He gets paid damn near 5 mil a year to manage egos. He's eff'd this program in so many ways. Gosh i hate talking about the grier situation.

 

[78]

And yet.

 

[MJMGator]

I know this story has been beaten to death, but here it is again on SDS....as Grier is about to make his first start this weekend at WVU:

Why Will Grier ultimately transferred from Florida

https://www.saturdaydownsouth.com/florida-football/will-grier-ultimately-transferred-florida/


Since Tim Tebow left Gainesville, the Florid Gators have been searching for their next star quarterback.

The search has been a long one, as no quarterback has seemed to take the reins for the offense-starved squad.

This year, the Gators will start redshirt freshman Feleipe Franks in Week 1 against Michigan, hoping the young gun can put his stamp on the program over the next four years.

The best quarterback of the post-Tebow era may have been Will Grier, who had a good six games for the Gators in 2015 before he was suspended for taking a banned supplement.

According to Matt Hayes on Saturday Down South’s First and 10 podcast, that was enough for coach Jim McElwain to be done with Grier, basically forcing Grier to leave Florida:




“There was hope there with Grier. Two years ago when they started out 6-0 with the big win against Tennessee at home and absolutely demolished Ole Miss, it looked like the Gators had themselves a QB of the future in Will Grier. Until Grier messed up and took a supplement that he shouldn’t have taken and was suspended for a year by the NCAA.


“There’s a little backstory to that. Last fall, I went out to West Virginia to speak to Will Grier to get his side of the story. And Will told me that when the season ended at Florida, he wanted to meet with Jim McElwain and find out what the situation was — was he still welcome back; was he part of the team? McElwain initially said that Grier was searching for ‘guarantees.’ Grier completely denies that. McElwain kind of backed off of that later when I talked to him about that.

“The reality is that McElwain didn’t really want him there and Grier moved on.”


Hayes continues by saying Grier simply felt like McElwain would rather roll the dice with Luke Del Rio and Feleipe Franks and let Grier go pursue other opportunities:


“Grier wanted to return. When I was speaking to him last year in West Virginia for a story I did at Bleacher Report, he was emotional about it. There were tears in his eyes talking about it. Not only did he love Florida, he loved the community. He loved the city. He wanted to win a national championship there. He talked about how he still couldn’t sleep at night sometimes thinking about how it went wrong. He felt like McElwain pushed him out.

“For whatever reason, McElwain had a choice. His choice was Luke Del Rio and the guy he was recruiting, Feleipe Franks. Ironically enough everyone, Grier swears that before that meeting when he met with McElwain to figure out what was going on and where his future was, he says that McElwain was two hours late because he was recruiting Feleipe Franks. And that’s why Grier and his dad had to sit in the office and wait on McElwain to come back.”


Obviously, that’s just Grier’s side of the story, so the truth is likely a mix of McElwain’s and Grier’s, but it is interesting to hear what the former Florida quarterback had to say about why he decided to transfer to West Virginia.

F*ck Grier. And as I'm sure you know, I'm no fan of Mac's.