Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Dan Mullen Has Established a Quarterback Pipeline at Florida
With guys like Tim Tebow, Dak Prescott and Alex Smith on his résumé, the title of “quarterback guru” isn’t a bad one for Florida’s head coach Dan Mullen. And while this is a title he may have already earned, it seems as though he might just be getting started.
Ahead of Mullen’s arrival in 2018, it had been years since Florida had seen quarterback play that was anything better than pedestrian.
While Feleipe Franks proved his ceiling was much higher than most gave him credit for, before Mullen polished No. 13, he, too, struggled in Gainesville.
In the season before Mullen’s arrival, Franks threw just nine touchdowns while tallying eight interceptions. With another year under his belt and some Mullen magic, Franks’ numbers improved to 24 touchdowns and six interceptions.
In Mullen’s second year in Gainesville, he proved that he can still manage to muster impressive quarterback play despite any adversity thrown his direction. When Franks went down in Lexington, Kentucky after a season-ending ankle injury, Mullen didn’t skip a beat.
Meanwhile, Florida fans everywhere worried if they were going to see their offense resemble days of old. Instead, Gator Nation witnessed just the opposite as Mullen proved he had developed an arsenal of weapons under center.
the absence of the incumbent Franks, Mullen gave Kyle Trask the keys to the Florida offense. As the season progressed, Trask began turning heads with his poise and precision. And while Trask’s preparedness is certainly a testament to his patience, his impressive season speaks volumes about the waves Mullen is making in Gainesville.
However, the ebbs and flows of the Mullen era are just getting started -- and he’s not letting you forget that anytime soon.
“I think everyone knows I plan on being here for a long time,” Dan Mullen said earlier this week.
Well, coach, not everyone knows that. Mullen’s clarification came after his name swirled around with rumors of him heading to Dallas to take the not-even-vacant Dallas Cowboys job. “I love being here,” Mullen said in continuation of stomping out the buzz.
And if the quarterback guru loved being in Gainesville before, his adoration of being Florida’s head coach is likely to grow just as his quarterback room grows deeper.
With Trask, a redshirt junior, returning for his final year of eligibility and Emory Jones also on the roster, who will compete with Trask to start in 2020 as Mullen strives for competition at each position, the quarterback room in the depths of Ben Hill Griffin Stadium was looking attractive as is.
However, with the addition of early enrollee Anthony Richardson, and a QB commitment in the 2021 class by Carlos Del Rio (McEachern HS - Powder Springs, GA), Dan Mullen is likely licking his chops at the pipeline he and QB coach Brian Johnson are establishing at the position for Florida.
And thankfully, he won’t have to wait long to get to molding Richardson's game.
While Richardson is indeed an early enrollee, perhaps very-early enrollee is a better fit for the Gainesville native. To put it simply, Richardson is already practicing in the orange and blue… and he hasn’t even taken his finals as Eastside High.
Richardson, who is rated at the 190th overall player in the country is already making a name for himself during the few practices he’s been a part of.
"Yeah, he is a stud," Trask said. "He is going to be great for this university as well. He has only been here a couple of days so I can’t say too much, but my first impression is that he is really athletic and he has a very strong arm. He is a very talented kid."
Richardson, a dual-threat quarterback, boasted offers from Florida, Penn State, Georgia, Michigan and Louisville, among others. At the end of the day, the University of Florida, which is just 20 minutes from his high school campus, won Richardson’s bid.
And many feel that it’s a perfect fit -- including Jonathan Greenard, one of Florida’s leaders on defense. "He’s got some zip, the way he throws the ball. I’ve seen him just throwing it around, tossing it around -- he’s got an arm. He’s got good size,” Greenard said.
“He’s very mature coming in so far, kid of gelling with the older guys and young guys really well. Still trying to find himself a little bit on the team. But he’s going to be really good. ... But for what I’ve seen the past couple of days, he can throw it now. So, be on the lookout for him, with the right coach, and obviously with coach Mullen, he’s the guru with molding quarterbacks. I expect nothing but great things from him. He’s going to be really good."
There’s that term again -- guru. Until now, anything after the Tebow era has meant mediocre quarterback play for the Gators. But now, with the way things are moving along under Dan Mullen, there will be nothing mediocre about Florida’s quarterback play in the future.
