UF quarterback Luke Del Rio undergoing another shoulder surgery

Luke Del Rio will undergo his second shoulder surgery of the offseason on Wednesday.

UF coach Jim McElwain said the quarterback will have a minor operation on his throwing shoulder to get it cleaned out.

This comes about two months after Del Rio had surgery on his non-throwing shoulder that is keeping him out of spring practice.

Del Rio, the lone quarterback left on Florida’s roster with collegiate experience, missed the final five games of the season with the injury to his non-throwing shoulder.

Del Rio also missed two games after suffering a knee injury against North Texas.

In six games last season, Del Rio completed 56.7 percent of his passes for 1,358 yards and eight touchdowns. He also threw eight interceptions, six of which came in his final three games after returning from the knee injury.

“This guy played and didn’t bow out,” McElwain said. “Here’s the thing good thing, we’re going in and getting him fixed.”

McElwain said the second surgery will not keep Del Rio out of fall camp.

QB PACKAGES FOR TONEY

While redshirt freshmen Feleipe Franks and Kyle Trask are getting the bulk of the reps at quarterback this spring, don’t be surprised if early enrollee Kedarrius Toney is under center every now and then.

McElwain said he and offensive coordinator Doug Nussmeier are working on installing packages where Toney, a 5-11, 180-pound athlete who can also play wide receiver, will serve as the quarterback and give the Gators a run-pass option. UF hoped to do this last year as well with junior college transfer receiver Dre Massey, but Massey tore his ACL on the season-opening kickoff and did not play the rest of the season.

McElwain is also hoping the installation of a new package will help jumpstart an offense that finished last in the SEC and 116th out of 128 Football Bowl Subdivision teams in total offense (344 yards per game).

“It’s something that gives the defense something else to have to focus on and work on,” McElwain said. “It gives you a change of pace back there. I don’t know. You get bored sometimes too. It’s kind of fun to do.”

He’s done it before, too.

As the offensive coordinator at Alabama, McElwain had a stable of running backs at his disposal for Wildcat-type packages, including Mark Ingram, Trent Richardson and Eddie Lacy.

He used backup quarterback Drew Stanton in the packages during his time at Michigan State.

And during his three-year stint at Louisville from 2000-2002, Stefan LeFors and Dave Ragone got the call.

“We’ve used it kind of a little bit of everywhere we’ve been,” McElwain said.

THIS AND THAT

▪ Eastern Washington’s football coaching staff was in Gainesville on Tuesday and stayed in McElwain’s garage during their visit. McElwain played quarterback and graduated from Eastern Washington in 1983 and served as a member of the football team’s coaching staff from 1985-1994. “It’s amazing how you don’t get spoiled when you’re at those places,” McElwain said. “You appreciate all the little things.”

▪ After having last week off for spring break, Florida returned to practice on Tuesday for its third practice without pads. They will transition to wearing shells on Thursday before going into full pads for the first time this spring on Saturday.

▪ The football team received team rings at their team dinner on Sunday in honor of their back-to-back SEC East championship.

This story was originally published March 14, 2017 at 5:20 PM with the headline "UF quarterback Luke Del Rio undergoing another shoulder surgery."