Florida Gators QB Recruiting and Development Under Dan Mullen
On Tuesday, Dan Mullen secured his fifth quarterback commitment since taking over as head coach for the Florida Gators in late 2017.
2021 Burleson (Texas) quarterback Jalen Kitna made it known on Twitter that he was a Gator, making him the second signal-caller commit in the 2021 haul. He joins Carlos Del Rio of Grayson (Ga.), who is excited to have some competition in the class.
As Kitna's commitment is yet another move made by Mullen regarding the quarterback room, let's take a look at Mullen's QB recruiting and development since taking the Florida gig. His track record at the position had fans excited when he signed on, and in two years he's already lived up to his end of the bargain.
We'll only be looking over Mullen's quarterback development and recruitment during his time as Florida's head coach and what it means for the future of the team, and not Mullen's previous success at the position during his tenure as quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator from 2005-08.
Feleipe Franks
Mullen inherited Franks as his incumbent starter entering the 2018 season, banking on Franks' intangibles to all come together.
The 6-6, 238 lb. former four-star had 11 games of experience under his belt when Mullen first arrived and already looked like a lost cause, completing just 54.6% of his 125 passes in 2017. However, Franks fit the mold of what Mullen tends to look for at quarterback with great arm strength and mobility, and the staff got to work on grooming up his game.
It wasn't perfect, and at one point during the 2018 season, Franks was benched in favor of Kyle Trask. However, when Trask suffered a season-ending injury the next week in practice, Franks held onto the starting role and saw an upward trend in his performance.
From the 2018 South Carolina game through week three of 2019 when he dislocated his ankle, Franks completed 69.6% of his 168 passes for 1,560 yards, 13 touchdowns, and three interceptions. He also rushed for 285 yards and five touchdowns on 50 attempts, according to Pro Football Focus, not accounting for sack yardage.
That dislocated ankle ended Franks' time at Florida, though, as Trask reemerged with strong play in place of Franks. He has since transferred to Arkansas as a graduate student.
Kyle Trask
Stepping into action in place of Franks down 11 points on the road against Kentucky, Trask found immediate rhythm within the offense, and Florida didn't appear to miss a beat offensively moving forward.
Trask finished his redshirt junior season, playing 12 games and starting 10, completing 66.9% of his passes for 2,941 yards, 25 touchdowns, and seven interceptions, adding 170 yards and four touchdowns on 33 rushes, per PFF.
After spending the previous six years of his football career - in high school and at UF - as a backup, Trask enters the 2020 season with 30/1 Heisman Trophy odds. He returns his most dynamic weapon in tight end Kyle Pitts and several talented receivers in Trevon Grimes, Jacob Copeland, Kadarius Toney, and others, so the expectations will be high.
Should Trask meet those expectations, he should go down as one of Mullen's best quarterback developments in his head coaching career, up there with Dak Prescott at Mississippi State.
Emory Jones
Jones was Mullen's first quarterback commitment after taking over the role as head coach in late 2017, flipping Jones' services from a previous Ohio State pledge.
As seen throughout Mullen's career as a head coach, offensive coordinator, and quarterbacks coach, he's tended towards strong passers that offer great mobility. Jones fit that bill and Mullen picked up immediate momentum on the trail. As Franks went on to grasp the starting role in 2018, it seemed that Jones' time would come whenever Franks would declare or graduate.
However, as Jones was early in his redshirt freshman season when Franks went down, Trask took the reigns to the offense while Jones was utilized as a rotational quarterback to change the pace in 2019.
Jones finished his second season at Florida completing 65.8% of his 38 attempts for 267 yards, three touchdowns, and zero interceptions. Adding a rushing threat, Jones tallied 42 rushing attempts for 256 yards and four touchdowns as well.
Jones has at least two years of experience over the remaining quarterbacks Mullen has earned pledges from and is expected to take over the staring role in 2021. He will be allowed to compete for the job whenever fall camp kicks off, though.
Jalon Jones
It appeared at one point that Mullen was looking to add a quarterback in every recruiting class, and Jones established that trend in 2019 when he signed as the 247Sports Composite's No. 10 dual-threat quarterback in the nation.
However, Jones entered the NCAA transfer portal shortly after enrolling early, and was accused of a previous sexual battery incident on campus later that week. No charges were pursued.
Jones elected to transfer to Jackson State (Miss.). As a freshman, Jones played in 11 games and finished with a 48.6% completion percentage on 111 attempts. He tallied 882 yards, nine touchdowns, and six interceptions, while creating 395 yards and two scores on the ground.
Anthony Richardson
Hailing from Eastside High School just 15 minutes down the road from Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, Richardson enrolled early after signing in the 2020 recruiting class as the consensus No. 9 dual-threat quarterback in the nation. He ended up practicing with the team prior to the Orange Bowl, serving as the scout team quarterback impersonating Virginia quarterback Bryce Perkins.
His teammates were impressed.
"He is a stud," Trask said in December of Richardson. "He is going to be great for this university as well. He has only been here a couple of days but 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's skill-set has drawn comparisons to that of Cam Newton, and while no one is saying Richardson is poised to win the Heisman Trophy and go No. 1 in the NFL Draft, the comparison makes sense on tape. Richardson has a cannon for a throwing arm and, impressive for his 6-4, 233 lb. size, he's a huge threat on the run.
He finished his 32-game career at Eastside High School completing 53.2% of his passes, up to 64.5% as a senior, throwing for 4,633 yards, 37 touchdowns, and 19 interceptions, while rushing for 1,633 yards and 41 touchdowns on 250 attempts.
Carlos Del Rio
The next in line and one of the two quarterback commits in the 2021 recruiting class, Del Rio is one of Florida's most valuable pledges in this cycle and has held firm since committing in July of 2019.
The 6-3, 201 lb. Grayson (Ga.) prospect is considered the No. 11 pro-style quarterback in his class and Florida's second-highest rated commit, although he certainly looks the part of a dual-threat on film. He has served as an influential recruiter in his class, helping contain the services of his new Grayson teammate, wide receiver Daejon Reynolds, while being in the ear of top 2021 offensive tackle Amarius Mims, among others.
Before transferring to Grayson, Del Rio spent three years at McEachern (Ga.) and compiled a completion percentage of 58.3%, increasing yearly and up to 64% as a junior, throwing for 4,655 yards, 40 touchdowns, and 21 interceptions. He also ran 158 times for 666 yards and eight touchdowns.
Jalen Kitna
The latest quarterback commit is the son of former NFL quarterback Jon Kitna, Jalen, who pledged on Tuesday.
Kitna is not as highly rated on recruiting services as Florida's previous commits under Mullen, but that doesn't really matter as there's a pipeline established in the room that should carry a strong starter into the mid-2020s, assuming Richardson and Del Rio redshirt and don't transfer.
Standing at 6-4, 200 lbs. with growing arm strength and solid mobility, Kitna has the intangibles that Mullen and quarterbacks coach look to develop. He may end up serving as a high-end backup during his time at Florida, but that type of security has benefitted Mullen and the Gators in the past. See: Trask's 2019 season.
Overall
Success at the quarterback position appears to have come and gone throughout the first 20 years of the 21st century with Dan Mullen. In the 2000s, Chris Leak and Tim Tebow... well, you know the story.
That success disappeared when Mullen left to take the head coaching reigns at Mississippi State, leaving the Gators in a near-decade-long drought of talent, security, and confidence at the position. There were flashes of talent in moments, but nothing concrete ever came about while Mullen was away.
Now, in less than three total years on the job, Mullen - with the help of Johnson - has given Florida's quarterback room life once again. He's not only squeezed the potential out of the quarterbacks left to him at the end of the McElwain era, but Mullen and Johnson have also signed three quarterbacks and earned commitments from two more within their first four recruiting cycles on the job.
The last position anyone needs to worry about on the Gators' roster for the foreseeable future at quarterback. Not many teams at the high school, college, or pro level have the luxury of saying that.
