Florida Football: Malik Zaire named starter ahead of Missouri game

Malik Zaire will finally get his chance to start for Florida football. Interim head coach Randy Shannon named him the starter Thursday.

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Zaire steps in for Feleipe Franks to face Missouri on Saturday, just days after Jim McElwain was replaced by Shannon as head coach. The Gators (3-4, 3-3 SEC) are in the midst of a three-game losing streak and have not scored over 17 points in any of the three games.

In an announcement this week, Shannon named Zaire the starting quarterback

"Malik is the starting quarterback for this upcoming game at Missouri. This is his opportunity to get this team where it needs to be and not to be satisfied just because he’s the starter. Today is an opportunity for him to run the offense and understand the expectations that we have for him. This is not a time for him to feel comfortable and feel like he’s made it. We want him to keep grinding and understand that competition is very good.”"

The Ohio native has served as a backup since losing the job to Franks, appearing in two games and completing 12 of 23 for 142 yards. Those game in the season opener vs. Florida and against Georgia. During the game with the Bulldogs, Zaire directed a nine-play drive that resulted in the lone score for the Gators.

Zaire transferred to Florida after a four-year career at Notre Dame. He enrolled in graduate classes to be eligible for the Gators, but was unable to top Franks on the depth chart.

In 2014, Zaire made his first career start in the Music City Bowl, leading the Irish to a win over LSU. He completed 12 of 15 for 96 yards, adding 96 more yards on the ground. An injury two games into 2015 cut short his sophomore season, and Zaire lost his job in 2016.

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Franks, a freshman, will now be the backup. He has thrown for 830 yards and four touchdowns with four interceptions. He was replaced for a short time by Luke Del Rio before Del Rio was lost for the season with an injury.