Column: Emory Jones and Florida Gators Prove, Dan Mullen Should Still Be Trusted With Quarterbacks
Updated: Oct 1, 2021
There are but a few things I know for sure in this crazy mixed up life; my mama and Jesus will always love me, the fries at the bottom of the bag are the best and when it comes to quarterbacks, there’s no coach I would trust more than Dan Mullen.
Coming into this season, we already knew Mullen was the quarterback guru, the “whisperer” if you will. But the past four weeks have solidified, in my opinion, his knack for perfectly managing the most important position on the field. For even as he introduced us to the next big thing with the Florida Gators—Anthony Richardson, and with him, discord—he also deftly handled Emory Jones’ transition to full-time starter.
Perhaps it’s ironic or serendipitous or poetic in that way only sports can be, that this shift—nay reaffirmation—in mindset around Mullen’s handling of quarterbacks comes as the No. 10 Gators travel to Lexington to take on the undefeated Kentucky Wildcats, with a promise of the return of Anthony Richardson from a hamstring injury. For it was there, two years ago, that we saw one of the greatest legends in the game begin, and with it, one of Dan Mullen’s finest coaching jobs in his career.
So before fully jumping in to Mullen’s work with the quarterbacks this 2021 season, let’s look back at how he navigated that time with Feleipe Franks and Kyle Trask. It’s important to understand that situation in order to fully appreciate what he’s doing now. Because it is also that situation that caused some of this distrust to begin with in early September.
I think at times we like to use revisionist history to bend an argument to our will. I can’t in good conscience give credence to this argument that says Dan Mullen should be ridiculed for starting Emory Jones over Anthony Richardson. Said argument leans on this thought that Mullen has proven he can’t identify talent, by keeping Kyle Trask on the bench while playing Feleipe Franks.
Kyle Trask was an incredible quarterback for the University of Florida and I truly believe he’ll have a long NFL career. He set records and was responsible for wins and saved a season that could have easily been lost. Those are indisputable facts. But before Feleipe Franks went down with a season ending leg injury that fateful night in Lexington, there wasn’t much to make anyone think—even the QB guru—that Kyle Trask had what it took to become a Heisman finalist. Saying so otherwise is romanticizing what really happened for the sake of a good story.
There is so much that goes into playing quarterback—especially at a place like Florida—beyond just making a throw. We’ll get into that more below. But that is what set Trask and Franks apart. That’s not a knock on Kyle Trask. He’d never been in a position where he had to take on those extra responsibilities so it was still a learning process for him as well, one he eventually excelled at…but that wasn’t always the case.
I tell this story a lot, because I think it perfectly encapsulates what Mullen saw in Franks and Trask when he was first making a decision between the two. Franks was always the first one in to the practice field. He’d lead the team across the road and around the O’Connell Center into the indoor facility for warm-up’s. One day, several minutes after Franks had entered the practice field, Trask and Jones brought up the rear of the team. Strength and Conditioning Coach Nick Savage told the two in no uncertain terms, quarterbacks were always the first on the field, never the last.
The next day, Trask and Jones were at the front of the pack, a good 30 yards ahead of their nearest teammate coming from the locker room to the practice facility. When they were about 20 yards or so away, you started to hear the cleats behind them. As Trask and Jones neared the gate, the running picked up steam and just before the duo could pass through the entrance, Feleipe Franks came sprinting past them, glancing over his shoulder to make sure he’d slipped by them in time to still be the first player at practice.
Feleipe had a knack for excelling when plays broke down. Trask had such pinpoint accuracy and poise that he often didn’t have to worry about plays breaking down. For an offensive play caller that could adjust to both, neither of those skills outweighed the others, so on the field, the competition was a wash. It was the extra stuff, in my opinion, the little things that make a starting quarterback a leader that won Franks the job. He was the heartbeat of that locker room and removing him unjustly would be like removing its soul.
It took a while for Kyle Trask to learn how to fill that void. He was able to adjust quickly enough on the field, making mistakes at times but rarely the same mistake twice. But he had to learn how to lead that team and keep them fighting. We like to overlook the 2019 Orange Bowl game against Virginia when the Gators did everything they could to let the Cavaliers win that game, before Kaiir Elam finally said enough is enough and clinched it for the Gators with a late interception.
But it was those sort of instances Trask had to learn from. He ended up doing so, leading to one of the most exciting offensive performances Florida football has seen in a season since Steve Spurrier was calling plays. That’s a huge credit to Kyle Trask and all he was able to take on, adapt to and become not only a field general but a true starting quarterback.
An argument against Mullen’s ability to handle quarterbacks though, it is not. And we didn’t even touch on the complete transformation Mullen wrought in Franks, taking him from a lopsided touchdown to interception ratio under Jim McElwain, to a 30 touchdown, six interception performance in 2018. Or the fact that there did come a time the coach in fact elected to start Kyle Trask but a broken foot in practice ahead of the South Carolina game gave Franks a second chance.
Ok now that that’s settled.
As the Gators rolled to wins in their first two games this season, Mullen rotated redshirt freshman Anthony Richardson in for a few plays at a time. On his 22 touches, he threw for 192 yards and two touchdowns, while running for 275 yards and two more scores on the ground. It was enough to start the outcries, the clamoring for the new guy. Ironically, it sounded remarkably similar to the cries for Emory Jones at times before this season.
But Mullen remained adamant, Jones was and will remain the starter. He asked for patience—an unknown personality trait for many a college football fan—and promised a developing star with his redshirt junior.
After the week one win against Florida Atlantic, Mullen noted Jones’ “decision-making and getting us through every part of the game” as aspects of the passers game that made the coach confident in him as a starter.
“Obviously, when you look at what happened and with Anthony coming in, did some nice things. I mean, you know, you got to run the whole offense. And so I think and Anthony’s really growing with that and growing with situations. So I think he’ll continue to grow with situations as we move forward and Emory’s going to continue to grow.”
Then, versus USF, Richardson was electric once again, tearing off an 80-yard touchdown run that exhibited elusiveness, speed and power. Admittedly, in the fours years I’ve watched Dan Mullen coach the Florida Gators, this game held the only moment I’ve really and truly questioned his decision with a quarterback.
After Richardson threw a deep pass to Jacob Copeland to get to the seven-yard line, he had to exit the game since his helmet flew off. Jones’ entered for the next play…proceeded to stay in for the four straight plays, all goal-to-go in the redzone. The Gators came away with no points and Jones went back to the bench under a chorus of boo’s from his own fans.
Still, after the win, Mullen yet again complimented Richardson but threw his support behind Emory as a starter. He wanted fans to understand he had a plan that included both guys; they just needed to trust him.
“We have two quarterbacks that are pretty talented guys, can make plays happen out there on the field. But there's a lot of things. You got to read, there's a lot that the quarterback has to do, a lot of different reads that are out there on the field, so if that makes sense, I mean a lot.
“And you're like, 'oh what a spectacular run.' The long touchdown was a great read. [Anthony] read it properly, broke a tackle, scored a touchdown...But I mean, there's, I mean, I don't know I mean, I have great appreciation, our fans, have great appreciation of, you know, watching things and watching great athletes out there on the field. And great guys make great plays out there on the field.
“We're pretty fortunate, we have two quarterbacks right now that can make great plays out there on the field, play both of them. Both of them, I thought were pretty efficient in the first half. Both of them were so-so at times with different situations in the second half with things that go on. You know, it's a long season and we have young quarterbacks that I got to continue to grow and continue to develop into being really good football players.”
I had a Mississippi State fan tell me recently that the only time State fans have ever clamored for the backup quarterback that he could remember was when Mullen was the coach. It was never a problem before that he could remember and hasn’t been a problem since. The “issue,” this fan believes, is how Mullen insists on showing just enough of the second guy to give fans and opponents a taste. That little taste makes fans greedy and want more and more and more.
I think there’s definitely something to the thought that Mullen’s tactic with quarterbacks is what makes fans of his teams so much more familiar with the backup. But it’s also what saves them. Texas A&M fans, still reeling from their loss to the Arkansas Razorbacks, can attest to the downside of not having a competent and experienced backup.
And perhaps it’s that word, backup, that is also causing confusion. The way Dan Mullen trains quarterbacks is unique, in that he evenly splits the reps amongst the first team offense with the top two passers. During spring practice and fall camp, he splits it amongst the entire QB unit. He doesn’t want a QB1 and a QB2. He wants QB1a and QB1b.
But his usage of Richardson and the accelerated development for the sure-fire star is not what reaffirmed my faith in Mullen’s ability to handle quarterbacks. Instead it’s the development of Emory Jones.
Each time Jones threw an interception in the first two games (four total), I heard the cry, “this is his fourth year in the system. How is he still making these mistakes?!”
It’s the “still” that got me. Emory Jones wasn’t still making mistakes. He was making them for the first time. Four years in the system means he knows the playbook backwards and forwards, he knows the checks and the calls and the reads that Mullen is so high on as mentioned above. But that doesn’t always mean he knows how fast certain defensive backs close in or which defensive end has a nasty get off or what will happen when the crowd gets going and the blood starts pumping and all of a sudden the game is completely in your hands.
There is no teacher like experience and that is what Emory Jones was learning the first three weeks. Now he is sixth in the SEC in completion percentage (not great but much better) and fifth in total rushing yards, the highest of any quarterback.
“I’m definitely just warming up,” promised Jones after the Tennessee win last Saturday. “Everything I’m doing I’ve done before. All my teammates have seen me do all this and more for us. They are confident in me. They trust and believe in me. Like I said, I’m just trying to get better week to week and keep pushing these guys and keep this thing rolling.”
Emory Jones is rolling and now he’ll get his guy back, Anthony Richardson, to help with a one-two punch. They’re a dynamic duo and both being worthy of staying on the field now is a good problem to have for the Florida Gators. It’s also a reminder that when it comes to Dan Mullen, we should still trust him with his quarterbacks.
WOW! Love this article and how you show that Mullen really knows what he is doing!
AR15 will have plenty of chances while Emory will still be the starter! Thanks Kassidy😘
So well said! Thank you! By the end of this season Emory will be regarded as high as the third best SEC quarterback behind Matt Corral and Bryce Young. The combination of Emory and AR15 is lethal when Mullen’s offense is fully engaged.