Florida Gators 2021 Roster Outlook: Quarterbacks
Who can follow in the footsteps of 2020 Heisman Trophy finalist Kyle Trask at quarterback for the Florida Gators moving forward?
Right now, the expectation is that Emory Jones is the man for the job. A rising redshirt junior, Jones was the first signal-caller to sign with UF after Dan Mullen landed the head coaching gig in late 2017. The former four-star prospect and consensus No. 5 dual-threat quarterback in his class, Jones would flip from Ohio State to Florida during the early signing period.
What can be anticipated from Jones in the starting role, and who will serve as the depth behind him? Like Jones did over the past three years, could Anthony Richardson take on a complementary role in the offense?
After previously reviewing each contributor's performance at quarterback for Florida during the 2020 season, it's time to look forward to 2021 by previewing the talent at the position. Each positional outlook story will feature starting projections from AllGators.
Starter: Emory Jones, redshirt junior
After learning Mullen's system and the intricacies of the position from Trask and former starter Feleipe Franks for three years, Jones is set to take the reigns to Florida's offense in 2021 with meaningful snaps under his belt.
He'll do so with a new quarterbacks coach in Garrick McGee, replacing Brian Johnson who spent the past three years grooming Trask, Jones, and the rest of Florida's quarterbacks alongside Mullen.
Jones has appeared in 24 games during his three seasons with the Gators, including four as a true freshman where he immediately flashed his talents. Particularly with Trask, a true pocket passer, at the helm, Jones rotated into the lineup on occasion to offer a rushing threat and throw occasional passes.
The 6-foot-2, 210-pound Jones has compiled 613 passing yards, seven touchdowns, and one interception during his Florida career, completing 64% of his passes. Jones has also added 514 rushing yards on 92 attempts - 5.6 yards per run - and six touchdowns on the ground.
Despite not starting a game for UF in his career, Jones has more than enough experience, and shown enough promise in those appearances, to instill confidence in his ability to take over as the starting quarterback.
Where Jones will have to take steps forward in his game as starter - perhaps he is capable and we just haven't seen enough given his limited sample size - is his deep ball consistency and passing under pressure. Jones has a live arm that can zip the ball on short-to-intermediate throws, but he's sometimes struggled with placement on deep passes.
Pro Football Focus has Jones down for completing 4-of-13 passes of 20+ yards for 130 yards and an interception, and 7-of-21 for 122 yards under pressure. In fairness to Jones, his elusiveness and mobility allow him to escape pressure rather than forcing passes, which has led to a minimal interception count on 86 career passing attempts.
Jones has also been pretty money on passes from behind of the line of scrimmage up to ten yards downfield, going 51-of-71 (71.8%) for 478 yards and all seven of his scores via the air (PFF). Trask could throw a pretty deep pass, but he thrived with shorter passing concepts that allowed Florida to develop a rhythm on offense. Jones' short-to-intermediate accuracy should translate well into similar play-calls.
It's hard to ask or expect Jones to replicate Trask's success, as Trask set UF's single-season record for passing yards in 2020. However, Jones has given UF fans, media, and onlookers a reason to believe he can manage the job and offer an exciting style of play.
Depth
Jones played in four games as a true freshman, 11 as a redshirt freshman, and nine as a redshirt sophomore - taking a step back due to injury. Richardson, a true freshman in 2020, played in three games as Jones worked his way back onto the field and in the Cotton Bowl.
Mullen is clearly comfortable with utilizing numerous quarterbacks instead of riding for one, and he likes what Richardson has to offer the offense given his early playing time. As a true freshman, Richardson completed 1-of-2 passes for 27 yards, a touchdown, and an interception, rushing for 61 yards on seven attempts as well.
There is little doubt that the 6-foot-4, 234-pound Gainesville native will see an uptick from his 14 snaps during his first collegiate season. Maybe even on trick plays and in unique packages as Richardson lined up as a slot receiver on three of those snaps, once against Alabama in the SEC Championship and Oklahoma in the Cotton Bowl.
Richardson was a bit of a raw prospect coming out of high school with a 53.2% completion rate, but possessed a cannon for an arm and impressive, often physical mobility as a rusher and within the pocket to pass for his size. So long as his accuracy has come along, Richardson could be used to throw deep passes and offer a bruising rushing style to complement Jones' more elusive skill-set.
In the case where Jones and/or Richardson were to get injured in the future, Florida welcomed two quarterbacks in the class of 2021 who have both enrolled early and will participate in spring practice: Carlos Del Rio-Wilson and Jalen Kitna.
Final thoughts
The pressure is on Jones to deliver as Florida's starting quarterback as the position is performing as well as it has since Florida's 2000s national championship teams with Tim Tebow and Chris Leak. Expectations will need to be tempered as Trask's accomplishments exceeded all expectations, but there's no reason to believe that Jones isn't qualified to take over and produce.
Florida expects to shift its offensive philosophy slightly with Jones taking snaps, in order to utilize his athletic ability to extend the passing game outside of the pocket and incorporate a multi-faceted rushing attack after two seasons of average production in that department, at best.
Look for Jones to take the lion's share of snaps in Mullen's offense in 2021, with Richardson seeing an increase in activity as well - especially in power run packages and goal-line situations, possibly in occasional deep passing situations too.
