Mullen Notebook: Gators QB Jones Ready For First Start, CB Depth Takes Shape
It is game week in Gainesville and the Florida Gators are revving up to kick off their season against the Florida Atlantic Owls on Saturday.
It will be the first time in nearly two years that a full house will pack Ben Hill Griffin Stadium and head coach Dan Mullen is excited to have the energy back in the building. He believes after a season with limited capacity, having a full crowd will bring back some of the energy that players lost without fans.
“You feel the crowd,” Mullen said. “You don’t just hear it, but you feel it. And I think that’s something that can really draw out things inside of you that you don’t get through last year, when your self-motivation and desire to go play. When you can feel the energy of a crowd, it lifts you up even more.”
Mullen is preparing for his 13th season opener as a head coach and his fourth at Florida. With the Gators transitioning into practice mode over the last week, the 49-year-old Mullen is expecting the Gators to play at a high level right out of the gate.
“Yeah, I don't like being messy,” Mullen said. “I don't care when we're playing. I want us to come out and play at an extremely high level. That's kind of our expectations. We've had a lot of time to practice, so we should be prepared to go execute."
The game also represents the first start for quarterback Emory Jones in a Gator uniform. Emory has had to wait patiently behind Feleipe Franks and Kyle Trask, but will finally get his shot on Saturday in The Swamp. Mullen believes Jones is ready to go and said there will be no holding him back.
“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 seasons. He’s a guy that I feel pretty comfortable [with]. We’ll just throw the whole thing out of him and let him go.”
This will not be the first time Mullen has dealt with a quarterback that has waited this long to make his debut. When he was at Mississippi State, a guy by the name of Dak Prescott made his first start as a redshirt sophomore. And we all know how that turned out.
Mullen said just because Jones has not played the first snap of a game does not mean he is prepared. Jones has played in big moments that have provided him experience throughout his career, including last year’s SEC Championship Game.
Mullen has never been shy to use two quarterbacks, and he said getting his young quarterbacks experience is key to him. It has allowed Jones to be prepared to be the starter, and also prepares younger guys like Anthony Richardson to be prepared if their number is called.
“If you sit there and look at somebody and say, ‘Hey I know you’ve never stepped foot on the field before, but in the fourth quarter of the game we expect you to go win the game for us,’” Mullen said. “That’s a hard situation to put people into. But if they’ve been on the field, if they’ve had experience, if they’ve played, then it is a little bit easier for that situation to put them into.”
Another big story on Monday was the release of the Gators depth chart. One of the biggest questions for the Gators would be who starts at the second cornerback spot opposite Kaiir Elam. On the initial depth chart, redshirt freshman Avery Helm was listed at the starter at that spot.
Mullen has never been keen on naming starters, and has preached that who plays the last snap of the game is more telling than who plays the first snap. He echoed that sentiment again when asked about the starter at cornerback on Monday.
“Yeah, well, I guess that’s today’s depth chart,” Mullen said. “It changes every day. Show up on Saturday, you get to see who starts...We’re going to play a bunch of guys on the back end.”
Mullen did speak highly of Helm, though, saying he has been impressed by his growth since he arrived at Florida.
“It’s the maturity of learning how to play within the scheme,” Mullen said, “play within what we’re doing and do what’s expected of him beyond just his physical talents. And he’s worked hard to go learn that, having missed all the time from an injury when he got here.”
Freshman cornerback Jason Marshall was listed as Elam’s backup, while transfer Elijah Blades, who arrived on campus just last week, was listed as the backup to Helm. Monitoring the snap load of the cornerbacks will be a major storyline to watch during Saturday’s game.
Other news and notes
--The Gators picked up a transfer along the defensive line on Monday, as it was reported nose tackle Tyrone Truesdell is heading to Gainesville from Auburn. Mullen said the Gators lacked depth at that spot and Truesdell provides enough experience to adjust quickly and make an impact right away.
“I think you’re looking at your depth and that was a position really, to me, it was a little bit of a recruiting gap in the middle that we’ve had from my first and second year here,” Mullen said. “Then you have some injuries and some guys not able to perform. It was somebody that we looked at immediately at the start of training camp and it’s just something that you look at the depth chart, where you’re at, the needs, and you got a guy that started a lot of games in this league.”
Defensive coordinator Todd Grantham said that Truesdell will play against Florida Atlantic on Saturday, an extremely quick turnaround for the transfer.
--Mullen classified defensive lineman Jalen Lee is listed as questionable and said that Daquan Newkirk, another Auburn transfer on the front seven, is good to go.
--Mullen expects heavy rotation at the running back position, and hopes to get Lorenzo Lingard and Demarkus Bowman some game experience on Saturday night.
“I'm pretty comfortable with those guys being in the game,” Mullen said. “We’ll have certain packages that we want certain guys in for. But beyond that, [running backs coach Greg Knox] kind of rolls them through.”
