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Florida Football: 5 reasons why Malik Zaire isn’t guaranteed to start

By Connor Muldowney

Sep 5, 2015; South Bend, IN, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish quarterback Malik Zaire (8) throws a pass against the Texas Longhorns at Notre Dame Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 5, 2015; South Bend, IN, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish quarterback Malik Zaire (8) throws a pass against the Texas Longhorns at Notre Dame Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports /
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Florida football added a major piece to its 2017 puzzle, but why isn’t Malik Zaire guaranteed to start for the Gators?

If there’s one position that Florida football could afford to upgrade after years of mediocrity, it’s the quarterback. Ever since Will Grier began the 2015 for the Gators with a 6-0 mark before getting suspended for the remainder of the season, Florida’s quarterback situation has been dire.

That was until recently when the Gators landed Notre Dame grad transfer Malik Zaire. After month of deliberating and an SEC rules change, the former highly-touted recruit who was once the starter for the Fighting Irish has decided to finish his career in The Swamp.

Jim McElwain recruited Zaire to Gainesville over the past couple of months and he made the decision official over the weekend. The long wait is over and Zaire can officially join his new team on Wednesday.

While it seems like Zaire is the clear option to start for the Gators in 2017, which may have been promised to him, it shouldn’t be looked at as a sure thing.

Here’s why Zaire isn’t guaranteed the starting job in 2017.

5. Injury concerns

Sep 12, 2015; Charlottesville, VA, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish quarterback Malik Zaire (8) is looked at by team medical staff after he was injured on a play in the third quarter against the Virginia Cavaliers at Scott Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 12, 2015; Charlottesville, VA, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish quarterback Malik Zaire (8) is looked at by team medical staff after he was injured on a play in the third quarter against the Virginia Cavaliers at Scott Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports /

It’s not so much the fact that Malik Zaire broke his ankle during the second game of the 2015 season, but the fact that he didn’t quite have the confidence the following year to win back his starting job from DeShone Kizer.

Will his ankle be fully-healed while playing for Florida in 2017? Absolutely, but it will always be in the back of his mind whenever his gets hit low if his ankle will hold up. That can cause any player to act passively and not fully have confidence in his own body to hold up under those circumstances.

The injury concerns are mostly in his head and that inability to trust himself could change his game drastically from what the Gators believed they were getting. Can he shake it off and get back to the late-2014, early-2015 version of himself?

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