The bill pile at Oakland Raiders coach Jack Del Rio's home is about to get lighter.
By a lot.
Del Rio's son, Luke, who had been a walk-on quarterback with the Florida Gators, has been placed on scholarship, according to 247 Sports. It was all but inevitable, of course, once Del Rio emerged from spring practice as the Gators' most readily apparent option for a starting quarterback this fall.
It would be an awfully bad look for a major college program to have a walk-on starting at the most important position on the field. Just ask Oklahoma's Baker Mayfield, who walked on at two schools (Texas Tech and Oklahoma) and won the starting quarterback job in both places. Del Rio has bounced around plenty as a walk-on, from Alabama to Oregon State and, since 2014, with the Gators. Florida coach Jim McElwain -- when he was Alabama's offensive coordinator -- coached Del Rio as a walk-on reserve at UA.
Florida's most experienced passer, Treon Harris, was recently switched to wide receiver and subsequently decided to transfer, clearing Del Rio's path to the starting role all the more. Graduate transfer Austin Appleby, formerly of Purdue, and a few freshmen will vie with Del Rio for the job. If the Florida spring game was any indication, however, Del Rio will be tough to beat out. He led a 44-6 win in the annual Orange and Blue game, completing 10 of 11 passes for 176 yards and two touchdowns.
The Gators open fall camp Aug. 4 and open the season Sept. 3 at home against UMass.
*Follow Chase Goodbread on Twitter **@ChaseGoodbread*.
