Thoughts of the Day: August 31, 2021

A few thoughts to jump start your Tuesday morning:

THE WAITING IS ALMOST OVER FOR EMORY JONES

“You take it on faith, you take it to the heart, the waiting is the hardest part” – Tom Petty

It couldn’t have been easy these last three years but give Emory Jones credit for seeing a bigger picture and realizing there was something worth waiting for if he could simply remain patient.

He’s watched fellow Georgians Trevor Lawrence and Justin Fields, who were also recruits in 2018, play for national championships, make it to the Heisman Trophy podium in New York and hear their name called out as first round NFL Draft picks. At Florida he spent his true freshman season watching Feleipe Franks have the best year of any UF quarterback since Tim Tebow in 2009. Then he spent two seasons watching Kyle Trask completely outdo Franks and become a Heisman finalist. Franks transferred to Arkansas after the 2018 season but he will be on the Atlanta Falcons roster this fall. Trask was a second round pick of the Tampa Bay Bucs.

Now, after all that watching it is Emory Jones time at the University of Florida. He’s gotten into a lot of games and even played significant snaps the last two years but Saturday night when the Gators take on Florida Atlantic, Jones will finally be the starting quarterback, able to show that the last three years haven’t been a waste of his time.

“It has been hard but it’s all been for a reason,” Jones said, putting everything into perspective. “That’s what I’ve realized over the past years. I have been playing a little bit, so that keeps me going. I’ve just been watching guys in front of me do their best and watching how they move and how they operate and it’s definitely just helping me.”

The waiting may have been hard, but it has given Jones a chance to absorb the Dan Mullen offense to the point that Mullen won’t be spoon feeding him Saturday night.

“It’s not like he’s a freshman or hasn’t been around,” Mullen said. “That’s part of the experience. He’s played meaningful snaps in each of the last couple of seasons. He’s a guy I feel pretty comfortable [with]. We’ll just throw the whole thing out of him and let him go.”

And if Jones doesn’t like what he sees at the line of scrimmage?

“He’s a guy I have the confidence in that if he sees something he can check to it and go take what he sees,” Mullen said.

Confidence. It’s obvious Dan Mullen has complete confidence in Emory Jones.

It’s also evident that Emory Jones believes in Emory Jones, too, and Saturday night will be his first chance to really prove he’s not just a gifted runner but a quarterback who can do it all.

“Whatever type, style quarterback you are, he’s [Mullen] going to make it happen,” Jones said. “For me, it’s just a different skill set. I feel I can do anything on the field.”

TYRONE TRUESDELL IS A GATOR Is there a coach out there better at bringing in talent via transfer than Dan Mullen? Mullen has figured out how to make up for deficiencies in his roster by strategic transfer additions who have proven to be difference makers once they arrive in Gainesville. At least five transfers were already slated to be regulars in the 2021 defensive rotation, but now Mullen has added another experienced defensive tackle in Tyrone Truesdell (6-2, 326), who started the last two years at Auburn. Truesdale is already in school and has to go through the mandatory number of practices before he can suit up, but he’s going to be a huge help in the middle of the D-line where he can control two gaps at the nose. He is a grad transfer who could actually play two seasons at UF since the 2020 season won’t count against his eligibility.

WHERE THEY WERE RANKED IN HIGH SCHOOL: TE

Here are the top ten tight ends in the country every year since 2010.

2010 1. Xavier Grimble (Las Vegas, NV), Southern Cal; 2. Gerald Christian (Palm Beach Gardens, FL), Florida; 3. Curtis White (Eugene, OR), Oregon; 4. C.J Fiedorowicz (McHenry, IL), Iowa; 5. Austin Haywood (Moore, OK), Oklahoma; 6. Brian Vogler (Columbus, GA), Alabama; 7. Christian Thomas (Palmdale, CA), Southern Cal; 8. Randall Telfer (Rancho Cucamonga, CA), Southern Cal); 9. Travis Dickson (Pascagoula, MS), LSU; 10. Alex Welch (Cincinnati, OH), Notre Dame

2011 1. Nick O’Leary (Palm Beach Gardens, FL), Florida State; 2. Austin Sefarian-Jenkins (Gig Harbor, WA), Washington; 3. Ben Koyack (Oil City, PA), Notre Dame; 4. A.C. Leonard (Jacksonville, FL), Florida; 5. Jay Rome (Valdosta, GA), Georgia; 6. Jace Amaro (San Antonio, TX), Texas Tech; 7. Brandon Fulse (Fort Meade, FL), Auburn; 8. Jon Davis (Lousivlle, KY), Illinois; 9. Eric MacLain (Fayetteville, NC), Clemson; 10. Malcolm Faciane (Picayune, MS), Alabama

2012 1. Kent Taylor (Land O’Lakes, FL), Florida; 2. Ricky Parks (Hogansville, GA), Auburn; 3. Jalen Cope-Fitzpatrick (Rocklin, CA), Southern Cal; 4. Colin Thompson (Warminster, PA), FL; 5. Sean Price (Citra, FL), South Florida; 6. Christo Kortzidis (Orange, CA), Florida State; 7. Evan Baylis (Aurora, CO), Oregon; 8. John Thomas (Bossier City, LA), LSU; 9. Taylor McNamara (San Diego, CA), Oklahoma; 10. Devin Funchess (Farmington, MI), Michigan

2013 1. O.J. Henry (Prattville, AL), Alabama; 2. Adam Breneman (Camp Hill, PA), Penn State; 3. Hunter Henry (Little Rock, AR), Arkansas; 4. Marcus Baugh (Riverside, CA), Ohio State; 5. DeSean Smith (Lake Charles, LA), LSU; 6. Jake Butt (Pickerington, OH), Michigan; 7. Standish Dobard (New Orleans, LA), Miami; 8. Mike Heuerman (Naples, FL), Notre Dame; 9. Durham Smythe (Belton, TX), Notre Dame; 10. Josh McNeil (Durham, NC), Copiah-Lincoln CC

2014 1. Dalton Schultz (South Jordan, UT), Stanford; 2. Bryce Dixon (Ventura, CA), Southern Cal; 3. Jeb Blazevich (Charlotte, NC), Georgia; 4. Jacory Washington (Westlake, LA), LSU; 5. Daniel Helm (Chatham, IL), Tennessee; 6. Mike Gesicki (Manahawkin, NJ); 7. Nic Weishar (Chicago, IL), Notre Dame; 8. Marvin Saunders (Houston, TX), Florida State; 9. K.C. Crosby (Bamberg, SC), South Carolina; 10. Tyler Luatua (LaMiranda, CA), Notre Dame

2015 1. Alize Mack (Las Vegas, NV), Notre Dame; 2. Chris Clark (Avon, CT), UCLA; 3. Hale Hentges (Jefferson City, MO), Alabama; 4. Jackson Harris (Columbia, TN), Georgia; 5. Garrett Williams (Orlando, FL), Clemson; 6. Cheyenne O’Grady (Fayetteville, AR), Arkansas; 7. Will Gragg (Dumas, AR), Arkansas; 8. Devonaire Clarington (Miami, FL), Texas; 9. Tyler Petite (Moraga, CA), Southern Cal; 10. Jordan Davis (Houston, TX), Texas A&M

2016 1. Isaac Nauta (Buford, GA), Georgia; 2. Kaden Smith (Flower Mound, TX), Stanford; 3. Devin Asiasi (Concord, CA), Michigan; 4. Jake Hausmann (Cincinnati, OH), Ohio State; 5. Nasier Upshur (Philadelphia, PA), Florida State; 6. Octavious Cooley (Laurel, MS), Ole Miss; 7. Luke Farrell (Perry, OH), Ohio State; 8. Landon Rice (Calhoun, GA), Auburn; 9. Jamal Pettigrew (New Orleans, LA), LSU; 10. Carey Angeline (Exton, PA), Southern Cal

2017 1. Colby Parkinson (Thousand Oaks, CA), Stanford; 2. Brock Wright (Cypress, TX), Notre Dame; 3. Cole Kmet (Arlington Heights, IL), Notre Dame; 4. Josh Falo (Sacramento, CA), Southern Cal; 5. Hunter Bryant (Bellevue, WA), Washington; 6. Grant Calcaterra (Rancho Santa Margarita, CA), Oklahoma; 7. Kemore Gamble (Miami, FL), Florida; 8. Matt Dotson (Cincinnati, OH), Michigan State; 9. Major Tennison (Bullard, TX), Alabama; 10. Jimmy Jaggers (Roseville, CA), UCLA

2018 1. Brevin Jordan (Las Vegas, NV), Miami; 2. Jeremy Ruckert (Lindenhurst, NY), Ohio State; 3. Luke Ford (Carterville, IL), Georgia; 4. Zack Kuntz (Camp Hill, PA), Penn State; 5. Kyle Pitts (Warminster, PA), Florida; 6. Mustapha Muhammad (Missouri City, TX), Michigan; 7.Cameron Jurgens (Beatrice, NE), Nebraska; 8. Will Mallory (Jacksonville, FL), Miami; 9. Pat Freiermuth (North Andover, MA), Penn State; 10. Malcolm Epps (Houston, TX), Texas

2019 1. Baylor Cupp (Brock, TX), Texas A&M; 2. Keon Zipperer (Lakeland, FL), Florida; 3. Austin Stogner (Plano, TX), Oklahoma; 4. Hudson Henry (Little Rock, AR), Arkansas; 5. Brayden Liebrock (Chandler, AZ), Texas; 6. Grayson Boomer (Collinsville, OK), Oklahoma State; 7. Ryland Goode (Acworth, GA), Georgia; 8. Jud Wolfe (Belleflower, CA), Southern Cal; 9. Patrick Herbert (Eugene, OR), Oregon; 10. Jaelyn Lay (Riverdale, GA), Clemson

2020 1. Arik Gilbert (Marietta, GA), LSU; 2. Malcolm Mayer (Alexandria, KY), Notre Dame; 3. Theo Johnson (Windsor, Ontario), Penn State; 4. Maliq Carr (Oak Park, MI), Purdue; 5. Jalin Conyers (Gruver, TX), Oklahoma; 6. Kevin Bauman (Red Bank, NJ), Notre Dame; 7. Mark Redman (Newport Beach, CA), Washington; 8. D.J. Rogers (Sammamish, WA), California; 9. Brandon Frazier (McKinney, TX), Auburn; 10. Jack Yary (Murrieta, CA), Washington

2021 1. Jake Briningstool (Brentwood, TN), Clemson; 2. Thomas Fidone (Council Bluffs, IA), Nebraska; 3. Brock Bowers (Napa, CA), Georgia; 4. Michael Trigg (Tampa, FL), Southern Cal; 5. Moliki Matavao (Henderson, NV), Oregon; 6. Jermaine Terry (Richmond, CA), California; 7. Elijah Arroyo (Frisco, TX), Miami; 8. Hudson Wolfe (Savannah, TN), Ole Miss; 9. Cane Berrong (Hartwell, GA), Notre Dame; 10. Terrance Ferguson (Littleton, CO), Oregon

OVER, UNDER, AROUND AND THROUGH THE SEC Alabama: Linebacker Quandarrius Robinson has been suspended indefinitely following his arrest and DUI charge after a three-car collision in Tuscaloosa.

Arkansas: Wide receiver Treylon Burks and defensive tackle John Ridgeway remain questionable for Saturday’s season opener with Rice.

Auburn: There is a bit of indecision about Auburn’s starting O-line for the opener with Akron. While Alex Troxell is set at LT with Nick Brahms at C and Brodarious Hamm at RT, Auburn lists Brandon Council or Alec Johnson at LG with Keiondre Jones or Tashawn Manning at RG.

Georgia: Both tight end Darnell Washington and defensive back Tykee Smith are getting better according to HBC Kirby Smart. Both are considered highly doubtful for the season opener with Clemson in Charlotte.

Kentucky: Scott Woodward is now the wide receivers coach. Former WR coach Jovon Bouknight, who pled guilty to DUI earlier in the summer, will remain on staff but in an analyst role … Senior offensive tackle Nasir Watkins has been suspended for the first four games of the season for unspecified reasons. He played in all 13 games last year as a backup at both left and right tackle.

LSU: Mario Acitelli, who was the special teams coordinator at D1AA Elon, has joined the LSU staff as an offensive analyst. Acitelli worked with LSU quarterbacks coach DJ Mangas when the two were on staff at William and Mary.

Mississippi State: The newly released depth chart for the season opener with Louisiana Tech shows incumbent Will Rogers or South Alabama transfer Chance Lovertich as the starting quarterback, meaning Mike Leach still hasn’t decided who takes the first snaps.

Ole Miss: Kirk Herbstreit of ESPN named Ole Miss running back Jerrion Ealy as college football’s “Best Kept Secret” for 2021.

Tennessee: Michigan transfer Joe Milton III will be the starting quarterback Saturday against Bowling Green. At Michigan last year, Milton completed 56.7 percent of his passes for 1,077 yards and four TDs with four interceptions.

Texas A&M: Redshirt freshman Haynes King will start at QB. HBC Jimbo Fisher revealed why, noting, “There are a lot of guys on our team who can run. He’s one of them. I just hope he’s fast enough to outrun the guys chasing him.”

ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT: ESPN’s college football writers made their preseason predictions about the four teams that will make the College Football Playoff. Not surprisingly, all ten writers had Alabama and Clemson making up half the field. Eight of ten had Oklahoma. Four each had Georgia and Ohio State and there was a solitary vote for Texas A&M. Alabama, Clemson, Oklahoma and Ohio State are the four I would have picked all the way back to the day after Alabama won the 2020 national championship and those are the four I expect to be there with the playoff field is announced. That is precisely why the College Football Playoff has to expand, sooner and not later. When it’s the usual suspects every year, it’s time for change and the best option is the 12-team proposal that’s on the table now. The playoff has to give the Group of Five at least one seat at the table and possibly more. Those people play football, too, and they encompass a tremendous swath of the football-watching population. Cinderella has to have a chance for the glass slipper to fit or else college football will die of boredom. The longer we have the same four every year, the more college football is going to lose.