BOCA RATON – Lane Kiffin enters the summer months without much more of an opinion regarding quarterback Daniel Parr than he possessed upon arriving at FAU six months ago.
Parr, the most heralded recruit of Kiffin’s predecessor, Charlie Partridge, missed all of spring after undergoing foot surgery to repair an injury that occurred during offseason training.
The redshirt sophomore QB took part in meetings and learned new offensive coordinator Kendal Briles’ system, but didn’t have the opportunity to apply what he learned on the practice field.
Kiffin doesn’t want to make a judgment as to where Parr fits in the current FAU quarterback battle based on classroom performance.
“I think that’s overrated,” Kiffin said. “So many guys can answer the questions right, do well on the board and not necessarily play well, and vice versa. There are some guys that are terrible on the board and are great players.”
Parr spent last season battling Jason Driskel for the starting spot. He started one game, the ninth game of the season, completing 1-of-4 passes against Rice. Driskel reclaimed the starting role following that game. Overall Parr completed 41.7 percent of his passes for 106 yards.
He is expected to be ready for fall camp.
“I know that the last staff was very high on him and was excited about him, so we’ll be excited to get him healthy,” Kiffin said.
Even with Parr sidelined, Driskel still found himself in a quarterback battle this spring. He split snaps with transfer De’Andre Johnson and appeared to emerge from the spring game as the competition’s leader heading into fall camp.
Parr’s inability to participate opened more snaps for redshirt freshman Steven Frank, who impressed.
“I thought he did really good,” Kiffin said. “Not knowing about him when we got here, I think everybody kind of counted him out. I think he’s got some great potential – a really strong arm, big frame – and so we’re excited about him.”
Fall camp will highlight the uncertainty at the quarterback spot – a condition that doesn’t bother Kiffin.
“Not at all,” Kiffin said. “I think it’s great. It makes all of us better to have competition. I’m fine that it hasn’t been settled.”
Leave a Reply