Emory Jones is now the most important player on the Gators roster

In the least ideal fashion that they could imagine, Kyle Trask and Emory Jones are now the faces of the Florida Gators' offense.

Both will step into action as the signal-caller in place of quarterback Feleipe Franks, who suffered a season-ending ankle injury in Florida's 29-21 Kentucky on Saturday. Gators head coach Dan Mullen refused to label either as a starter going forward, and rather expressed that both will receive snaps moving forward.

Trask played really well in place of Franks, mounting a comeback victory over the Wildcats behind 9 completions on 13 attempts for 126 yards and a rushing touchdown. His performance will earn him playing time next week, and rightfully so.

But it shouldn't last.

My $0.02: Jones needs these snaps. There's a reason why Trask was never capable of unseating Franks - both redshirt juniors - from his starting position, despite an apparent QB battle entering the 2018 season and Trask replacing Franks against Missouri last year as the latter was benched for poor performance.

Despite him playing well - and not lights out, but well - in Franks' absence, it's unknown if Trask can sustain playing at a high level as Florida begins their SEC schedule. This isn't meant as hate towards Trask, either. The leadership he displayed against Kentucky was necessary for this team. But this situation must be viewed in hindsight.

No, Franks certainly isn't the most polished, complete, or accurate QB on the planet. But you'd better believe he has been Florida's guy. He's been Dan Mullen's guy. And his teammates stood by him through thick and through thin, encouraging his celebrations and antics despite criticism coming from fans and national analysts alike.

There isn't a player on Florida's roster - offense or defense, starter or backup - that had a bad word to say about Franks entering and into the 2019 season. The team has revolved around him. He's been their catalyst, motivating the team out of rough patches and helping his teammates learn to block out any outside criticism.

Without Franks - inconsistent quarterbacking be damned - I'm afraid Florida loses its outside chance to compete for the College Football Playoff this year. Beyond Franks, the roster isn't balanced in terms of depth, and other injuries are adding up.

Cornerback C.J. Henderson and wide receiver Kadarius Toney missed Saturday's game, and Toney will miss at least a couple more weeks. Defensive end Jabari Zuniga was banged up in the Kentucky game - a tough blow should it slow his game down or if he were to miss any time. Not to mention, several depth players were lost for the season in fall camp or shortly after.

Considering injury issues paired with a lack of depth from head-to-toe across the roster, Florida's chances at truly competing are slim. Perhaps - and hopefully - Trask will help prove that wrong. But the odds aren't in the Gators' favor at this point.

In which case, keep Trask's age in mind, and compare it to Jones'. Trask isn't the future of this team, and he has never been viewed as the "now" until Franks' injury.

Whereas, Jones is considered the future at quarterback. He was Mullen's first quarterback signing at Florida, flipping from Ohio State and buying into a development plan under this coaching staff. Without the pressure of an expectation to compete - as I've stated appear to be going out the window - the Gators need to give Jones all of the playing time that they can.

Every rep is valuable for Jones heading forward, with a certain future ahead of him for the Gators. Trask - and honestly, Franks, as we don't know the severity of his injury beyond quickly being ruled out for the year - don't have a certain future at Florida beyond their graduation.

With that being said, reps should be slanted in Jones' favor in order to give him a legitimate foundation under his belt for when he officially takes the reigns to the offense in the very near future.

Whether he becomes the full-time starter or splits snaps with Trask - and no, he shouldn't only be used in special packages should he split snaps - every play that Emory Jones is on the field for going forward will be crucial to his growth as a quarterback.

Every snap he takes will be crucial for the future of Florida football.