Jeff Driskel certainly didn't end his Florida career the way he began it.

The top high school quarterback in the 2011 recruiting class arrived in Gainesville, Florida, with a mountain of hype attached to his name. Dubbed as the next Tim Tebow, five-star status and all, Driskel never lived up to his billing and is leaving Florida to begin a new football life at Louisiana Tech. Under the NCAA's graduate transfer rule, Driskel will be able to play right away as a fifth-year senior.

No divisional title, no conference title, no national title, and no Heisman. Driskel's departure is unceremonious and has some fans cheering. The kid who never got in trouble, smiled as much as a QB could, and lived with every mistake and coaching decision is searching for a new beginning to his much-maligned career.

It's only fitting that the head coach -- Will Muschamp -- who tied himself to Driskel for so long was fired before the 2014 season ended, so both are out to rediscover themselves.

This wasn't how it was supposed to go. Driskel, who I once watched post more than 500 yards of total offense in a playoff game for Paul J. Hagerty High School, was supposed to be a champion with awards piling up in his parents' home. Outside of winning 10 games as a starter in 2012, Driskel was never able to take hold of a winning mentality and struggled to find any sort of consistency with his arm. A talented runner, his passing skills never fully developed under three different offensive coordinators in four years.

A broken leg cut his 2013 season short, but 2014 came and went without much improvement and resulted in his eventual benching. Driskel went 15-6 as a starter at Florida, but got 10 of those wins during a 2012 season that featured an offense that finished the season ranked 103rd in total offense (334.4 yards per game) and 114th in passing (146.3).

Driskel's leg injury ruined his opportunity for growth in 2013, and this season was the final nail in Driskel's orange-and-blue coffin. Even with new offensive coordinator Kurt Roper installing a more Driskel-friendly spread offense, the quarterback, who continually wowed people in practice, could never put things together in games. We'd heard so much about his improvements, but they didn't make it to the playing field enough. Before being benched for the final month of the season, Driskel was 3-3 as a starter and averaged just 154.7 yards per game. He threw six touchdowns to 10 interceptions and completely lost a fan base as his on-field chemistry with players disintegrated.

It wasn't as if Driskel struggled because of a lack of effort. He tried harder than most to win games for the Gators. But his decision-making was his downfall. The turnovers piled up, and his inability to throw the deep ball repeatedly kept him and the offense back. He was more dangerous with his legs, but defenses keyed in on that more and weren't afraid to bring pressure over and over because of a lack of respect for this passing ability.

While there were some very good moments during Driskel's up-and-down career -- including his game-icing first-down run in the Gators'28-20 win against East Carolina in the Birmingham Bowl -- Driskel and an entire program are left wondering what might have been.

Driskel didn't lack athleticism, but he did lack consistency. He had three different offensive coordinators -- two tying him down to an uncomfortable pro-style offense -- and two different head coaches recruited him. See, Driskel originally committed to Florida in hopes of playing for spread-offense guru Urban Meyer, who is showcasing that stellar offense at national championship-bound Ohio State. But after Meyer stepped away from the game for some time off at the tail end of Driskel's recruitment, the QB signed on with Muschamp.

Driskel, who flourished in a spread offense in high school, was handcuffed to the pro style for three years, stunting his growth in Gainesville.

Driskel didn't arrive at UF with thoughts of being a savior. He was anointed one, and he'll probably tell you that he should have been better than he was at Florida. But sometimes players just need a fresh start, new scenery.

That's what Driskel is getting, and hopefully he'll find his way.