Can Emory Jones and Anthony Richardson Create A Harmonious Florida Gators Offense?

Dan Mullen watches on as Emory Jones practices. Photo Credit: Alex Shepherd

The old adage states, if you have two quarterbacks, you have no quarterbacks. The rotating door and swings in styles, the quick switch of quarterbacks for stretches of plays or drives can often disrupt an offense more than help. Whenever coaches or players try to justify the experiment, they point to the only time it’s worked in recent years; Chris Leak and Tim Tebow in 2006 with the Florida Gators.

Arguably the only successful installment of the two quarterback system in this generation of college football, Leak and Tebow dominated defenses. Their differing but complimentary styles kept every opponent on their toes and won the Gators a National Championship.

It would stand to reason, if anyone could recreate that magic, it would be the man who wrote the original formula.

Since returning to the Gators, now as head coach, Dan Mullen has prodded defenses with two passers in a game. The offensive coordinator who expertly wove together two players at one position over a decade ago has toyed with the idea of trying again in the past three seasons. He supplemented Feleipe Franks with freshman Emory Jones in 2018. He broke up the pass attack from Kyle Trask, with the legs of Jones in 2019 and 2020.

Now, with Emory Jones set to take the reins as the starter for the 2021 season, Mullen is preparing to also introduce the world to redshirt freshman, Anthony Richardson.

As every coach, team and player that have tried to replicate the two-quarterback system over the years will tell you though, it’s not as easy as “insert player A, then insert player B.” It requires conducting, striking the exact note needed to hit a harmonious tone, or risk bumbling to a cacophonous disaster. Even Mullen has struggled at times.

So what goes in to the system? More importantly, can the Gators pull it off with Emory Jones and Anthony Richardson?

UNDERSTAND THE BALANCE

For Richardson, the Gainesville native, his most important role this season is to be the man that props Emory Jones up, rather than the one trying to knock him off.

“He’s been there throughout my recruitment,” Richardson said recently of Jones. “He’s like a big brother to me. He’s also my teammate and he’s also a leader, so you got to support the leader. You never know because it’s a lot of pressure just being a quarterback, just being a college athlete. It’s a lot of pressure. Sometimes you need that moral support in your background from people. I feel like I need to be that guy for sure.”

He also mentally understands he’s there to bat clean-up.

“My role I believe is to just to go out there and be clean-up, kind of,” explains Richardson. “I feel like whenever Emory needs a break and they need me to come out there, I have to bring the same intensity Emory’s bringing and bring the same energy, just all of that, just be the clean-up. So whenever he does his thing, I come in there - just a 1-2 punch. Never let off the gas.”

A 1-2 punch is a good way to describe this duo. Because as Mullen wants to remind Richardson, the clean-up hitter can often be the most powerful man in the lineup. Mullen needs both guys to be home run hitters.

“I think [Richardson’s] prepared himself to be the starter, which is what you want, you know,” points out the coach. “He’s going to be ready to get on the field in just about any situation that it is. Now it’s our job to kind of put him in the different situations, so that he has that experience in every different possible scenario for when he is on the field.”

It’s a strategy employed with Feleipe Franks and Kyle Trask. While the former entered 2019 as the incumbent and unquestioned starter, the latter prepared with an equal number of reps in practice. When Franks suffered a season ending injury, Trask was mentally, physically and instinctually prepared to step in right away. He rode that insertion into the game to a Heisman Trophy finalist selection.

And if you ask Richardson, no person has better exemplified knowing the balance—knowing your role—than Emory Jones. While most passers Jones’ age were transferring to find another “instant play” situation, Jones bided his time. It’s the blueprint Richardson is now following, to be ready when his time comes and patient while waiting.

“Just trust the process. I've learned that in high school, just trust the process because not everything is going to be sweet for you. Just trust the process and let everything work out in your favor,” Richardson says of what he’s seen in Jones. “Seeing Emory do that is encouraging because you never know if that's going to be you in that situation, so trust in the process.”

Adds quarterback coach Garrick McGee, “one thing I really respect about how Coach Mullen is doing things—and I learned last year—is that, you know everybody that's ready to play gets to run out there and play. You know there's times in games where you know, it's an important part of the game and the first quarter of the game and all the backups are out there. And I think that that's his vision of building depth in the team.

“It gives everybody a chance to get prepared for the game and have passion about their preparation because they know at some point they're going to be out on the field. You know, so I think it's, you know, a really good thing for our program and that's how we'll go about it, you know with our two guys that are ready to play right now.”

PLAY OFF THE SAME SHEET

Mullen is the first to admit, his strategy with two QB’s this fall will look vastly different than in previous years.

How much can Richardson contribute this season to the Gators? Photo Credit: UAA

“You’re in a different scenario this year, so they’re very different. It’d be hard to compare the two.”

As mentioned, there were times Mullen hit a sour note with his two quarterback piece; trying to insert Emory Jones into a game plan that was tailored for Kyle Trask. He’ll have a smoother transition this season, with Jones and Richardson playing more off of the same sheet.

"It helps in a way that they have similar skill sets even though they’re a little different in their sets and what they do well. But there are similarities in their ability to create, both with great arm talent and their arm talent to create and extend plays with their legs.

“You don’t have to have one package or this package, and you can kind of coach in a similar style where if you see this look don’t be afraid to take off running. If they give you this, take it, right away. If they give us this look we want to take this play every time because this is a problem for them and both of them have that skillset that they can execute.”

In other words, they’re different enough to force a defense to prepare for both—providing a different swell of notes in the game, if we can stick with our metaphor—but they’re playing at the same tempo, with the ability to keep the same orchestra.

"Emory is an electric, electrifying guy. He's very talented. He has a strong arm. I feel like I have the same things,” explains Richardson. “I’m capable of doing the same things he's doing. I feel bad for a lot of teams this year because once he does his thing I'm going to come in there and try to do the same thing. That's why I call it a one-two punch."

LET EACH WORK WITHIN THEMSELVES

Since we’re deep within this musical metaphor now, let’s talk about movements. A movement is defined as a self-contained part of a musical composition. It can stand on its own individually, but is a part of a larger composition.

So even though the quarterbacks are playing the same music—as Mullen alluded to when describing their similar skill sets—they’re also capable of doing their own thing. Much like in jazz music, when a saxophonist will stay true to the rhythm of the song, but break free to a ride it’s own sequence.

Knowing the limit of a quarterbacks capabilities, and understanding what they do well—versus what they don’t—is the most fundamental part of creating a functioning offense. For it to truly sing, the man in front has to be playing in a way he understands. It’s a simple lesson but one that came in a hard way for Dan Mullen.

“I remember that going back to coaching Alex Smith. I'm a young coach coaching Alex Smith. I coached the No. 1 pick in the draft and then you're thinking, hey, I must be this unbelievable, spectacular coach, I coached this guy to be the No. 1 pick in the draft so when the next guy comes on I'm just going to coach him the same way and he'll be the No.1 pick in the draft. It doesn't work that way.

“I don't need Emory [Jones] to ever be like Kyle [Trask]. I need Emory to be like Emory and my job is to get the best Emory I can get. Kind of like last year, we needed Kyle to become the best Kyle he could be and Feleipe [Franks] the best Feliepe he could be. You go back through the years that way.

“I think you learn that as you go along as a coach and as a young coach that was a big learning step for me. I went from Alex Smith to Chris Leak and very different talent sets. I had to coach, and all of a sudden you think what works for one doesn't work for the other. You better learn that. As a coach you gotta not only do what the individual does well but coach to the style of the individual to make him learn the best as possible in how he learns.”

Mullen has always been known as a QB whisperer, with an ability to get the most out of his passers than even the guy himself thought possible. He’s done it with every guy at every stop. It stems from that lesson he learned from Smith to Leak. It’s why the two quarterback system worked with Leak and Tebow, since one was never asked to do more than they could; never asked to do what the other did simply to copy what the other did. And it’s why Emory Jones feels confident whatever way he and Anthony Richardson are used this fall, it will benefit each passer.

“Coach Mullen he definitely uses his offense around the quarterback. Whatever type, style quarterback you are, he’s going to make it happen. For me, just a different skill set. I feel I can do anything on the field. The offense is looking pretty good right now. We’re just taking it in stride every day, trying to get better every day.”

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Emory Jones was the first quarterback commit Dan Mullen garnered after becoming the Gators head coach. He’s known this day was coming, but even he admits that when committing he didn’t think it would take till now.

Says Jones, “It actually made me feel a little bit better that I’m the guy he chose to go with when he first got here. That made me actually feel better. But I did not know it was going to take this long. But I was getting better every day and developing, and that’s all he preached to me and we’re here now.”

Still there are things each guy can work on, improve on. Richardson as the back up, and Jones as the (finally) starter.

“I feel like I've grown a lot throughout this fall camp, becoming a better passer,” notes Richardson. “I feel like I’ve grown a lot when it comes to reading defenses. You know, I feel like that's something I always struggled with, even in high school. I knew the basics and everything, but knowing that advanced things, I didn’t really know that as much. But coach McGee, he’s been helping us a lot with that. I feel like I've prepared enough to know certain things on defense that will help me excel on the field. I feel like that's the biggest thing that I have accomplished so far, and I think that’s getting me ready for the field this year.”

As for Jones? His physicality has been honed over the past three years. Now he’s preparing himself mentally.

“Just mentally, just trying to make myself more comfortable in different situations and be able to just make things work in different situations when everything isn’t going the way it’s supposed to. And leadership wise, we’re going to face adversity. You don’t know when. You’re going to face adversity in a game this year. I’ve been trying to find different ways to bring the team together and get us back on track whenever that time comes.”

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The old adage states, if you have two quarterbacks, you have no quarterbacks…but if the two can be complimentary? If they can understand the balance in a piece, play off the same sheet and feel comfortable enough to work with themselves? It could make music.