Florida Football: Notre Dame QB transfer Malik Zaire officially commits

Oct 15, 2016; South Bend, IN, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish quarterback Malik Zaire (9) is pressured by Stanford Cardinal defensive tackle Harrison Phillips (66) in the third quarter at Notre Dame Stadium. Stanford won 17-10. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 15, 2016; South Bend, IN, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish quarterback Malik Zaire (9) is pressured by Stanford Cardinal defensive tackle Harrison Phillips (66) in the third quarter at Notre Dame Stadium. Stanford won 17-10. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports /
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Florida football has officially added Notre Dame quarterback transfer Malik Zaire  and he will be eligible immediately.

It didn’t take long for the SEC to amend its rules regarding Florida football’s ability to accept transfers over the next few seasons. In turn, that allowed the Gators to snag the top quarterback transfer still on the market, Notre Dame’s Malik Zaire.

The Gators have one of the better young quarterbacks in college football waiting for his chance to take the reigns — Feleipe Franks — but Jim McElwain may not be completely ready to put all of his trust in an unproven redshirt freshman.

Moreover, the addition of Zaire would essentially close the door on any quarterback battle — at least for now. Zaire didn’t want to pick a school where he’d have to compete for the job and maybe come out on the losing end. That begs the question, ‘Did McElwain guarantee Zaire the job?’

We may never know the answer to that, but he has to feel good that he got a dual-threat with starting experience. Although he’s started just three games before his injury, Zaire has a career mark of 3-0. He will join the Gators on Wednesday to get his final season started. He’s immediately eligible as he’s a grad transfer.

Franks might end up having a great career at Florida, but you have to imagine this would shake his confidence. However, if he could somehow win the starting job, he could have all the confidence in the world on his side.

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Do you think Florida made the right move or should the Gators have trusted the redshirt freshman and former highly-touted recruit?