Why new Florida football QB coach calls freshman Will Griffin 'a wild stallion'

Shortly after taking the job as Florida football quarterbacks coach, Joe Craddock drove past The Swamp and the statues of Heisman-winning quarterbacks Steve Spurrier, Danny Wuerffel and Tim Tebow.

"Unbelievable tradition, especially for quarterbacks," Craddock said. "I mean, you talk about three Heisman Trophy winners that played quarterback here. You know, and this is where you want to be. This is the place to be if you want to be a quarterback."

Craddock is eager for the challenge of coaching quarterbacks for the Florida Gators after serving as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach over the last four years at Tulane and Troy under new Florida coach Jon Sumrall. His prior power four coaching experience includes stints as quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator at SMU (2015-17) and Arkansas (2018-19) under Chad Morris.

A former starting quarterback at Middle Tennessee from 2004-08, Craddock looks for certain traits at the position.

"You want a guy that makes good decisions in the pocket," Craddock said. "You want a winner, a guy that's coming from a winning program, a guy that's used to winning. That's what this thing's all about. You're looking for a competitive grit, or a guy that wants the ball in his hand when the game’s on the line. You're looking for toughness … guys are getting hit on tape in the game, and they keep getting up and they keep wanting that ball.

"Another thing is accuracy, I think that's a huge thing nowadays. It kind of gets overlooked. A lot of guys are looking for the arm strength, the arm talent, but a guy that can put it where it needs to go is huge."

Georgia Tech transfer Aaron Philo and returning sophomore Tramell Jones Jr. are expected to compete for the starting Florida football quarterback job this season. But Craddock is high on the potential of the entire room, including incoming freshman Will Griffin, a four-star recruit from Tampa Jesuit High who earned Florida Gatorade player of the year honors in 2025. Craddock compared Griffin to a "wild stallion."

"You go out on the prairie, you find a horse that's big, strong, looks pretty, but he's wild, you got to tame him a little bit to be able to ride him," Craddock said. "And I told him, I was like, 'Dude, if you'll just listen first instead of talk first, you're going to be really, really good player.' I'm really excited about him. Very talented, arm talent, gets the ball out quick. You know, has a good football IQ as well for a very young guy …

"He wants more all the time. You know, he's got to learn, like, this is a little bit of a process. You know, he wants to hit a triple right now; it takes looking at a couple of pitches before you can hit the triple. But he's a very talented player. Very excited that he's here."

Kevin Brockway is The Gainesville Sun’s Florida beat writer. Contact him at kbrockway@gannett.com. Follow him on X @KevinBrockwayG1. Read his coverage of the Gators’ national championship basketball season in “CHOMP-IONS!” — a hardcover coffee-table collector’s book from The Sun. Details at Florida.ChampsBook.com

This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Florida football QB coach Joe Craddock high on Will Griffin's potential