Florida quarterback Austin Appleby will start in place of injuried Luke Del Rio against Tennessee.
The cradle of quarterbacks runneth over, much to the benefit of needy teams in the Southeastern Conference.
Graduate transfer Austin Appleby gets the start for Florida this weekend after Luke Del Rio was ruled out with a knee injury. No. 18 LSU will start Danny Etling for the second straight week when it travels to Auburn.
Appleby and Etling are both transfers from Purdue.
Florida coach Jim McElwain, who has been focused on preparing the No. 14 Gators for this week’s showdown at No. 19 Tennessee, didn’t know anything about it until someone asked during Wednesday’s teleconference.
“Is someone starting Gary Danielson? That’s kind of cool,” McElwain said. “I guess it gives us something to write about. That’s really good trivia. I love useless information so I’m going to log that one. Let me put some thought into that Purdue thing.”
Appleby played in 17 games with 11 starts the last two years at Purdue He caused a little bit of a stir on Monday when he said “I’ve never been around a place where our coach truly cared” until he got to Florida.
"Everything that happened at Purdue, the good, bad and indifferent, has prepared me for right now," Appleby added. "I've learned what it means when I have to go into a game and win a shootout. I've also learned what it's like when you try to cover too many people and you make mistakes.”
Etling started 13 games for the Boilermakes in 2013-14 and sat out last season after transferring to LSU. The junior was 19 of 30 passes for 215 yards and one touchdown in last week’s victory over Mississippi State. He replaced Brandon Harris during the Sept. 10 game against Jacksonville State and has revived a struggling offense.
Danny Etling is starting for the second week in a row for LSU.
LSU coach Les Miles said two Purdue transfers playing in the SEC is an “unusual set of circumstances but we’re glad we have our Purdue guy.”
Purdue coach Darrell Hazell has taken the transfers in stride. When asked during the Big Ten coaches teleconference on Tuesday his feelings about his former players, Hazell said he was happy for them and hope they do well.
“Purdue has always been the cradle of quarterbacks and will continue to be that. It’s a proud moment for the Boilermakers,” added Hazell, who is in his fourth season at the school and has a 7-31 record, including 1-1 this season.
This article was written by The Associated Press from The Associated Press and was legally licensed through the NewsCred publisher network.
