South Florida Sun-Sentinel Palm Beach (Sunday)
QB Jones’ time has arrived
Patient 2018 recruit finally stepping in now that Trask has gone
GAINESVILLE — Florida quarterback Emory Jones will miss playing with Kyle Trask.
The two signal-callers even FaceTimed on Wednesday.
Trask was throwing passes with tight end Kyle Pitts as the record-setting duo prepared for the NFL. Jones, on the eve of Gators spring practices, was readying himself to fill the big shoes Trask left behind after the 2020 season.
“I’ve been waiting for this time right here,” Jones said.
Three years is a long time, especially for a guy who does not turn 21 until April. Jones, the centerpiece of the Gators’ 2018 recruiting class, has shown a level of patience many players in his position — literally and figuratively — would not have accepted.
“It has been hard,” he said. “But it’s all been for a reason.”
Rather than enter the transfer portal, Jones was willing to watch, learn and grow into a better quarterback, serving as Trask’s backup and heir apparent the past two seasons.
Trask left behind a proven blueprint.
“Just how he conducts himself every day, how he walks around the building, how he takes notes in the meeting rooms and how he translates everything from the classroom to the field,” Jones
said. “I just really learned all that from him and then obviously it’s him being patient waiting on his time to come.
“I definitely learned a lot out of that just watching him.”
Jones plans to carry those lessons forward.
The 6-foot-2, 210-pound Jones and his teammates also expect him to bring another dimension Gators’ attack due to his dual-threat ability.
“I love Kyle, but Emory, he brings a different flavor to the offense,” senior defensive lineman Zachary Carter said. “Athletic guy, he makes you miss. He keeps you on your toes. You never know what the offense is going to do so.
“I’m excited with our offense with the ball in Emory’s hands.”
Jones came off the bench to offer a change-of-pace to Trask, a pure pocket passer who ran the ball primarily to keep defenses honest or in short-yardage situations on third down.
Jones’ appearances were hard to predict, at times even for himself. But he said those moments should pay off in 2021.
“I mean, just starting from my freshman year I played in the biggest game that year, the Georgia game, and made a couple of plays,” Jones said. “It helps me out now because I’ve been on the big stage, so now I’m more comfortable wherever I am.”
When Jones stepped onto the practice field Thursday for the first of 15 spring practices, he was ready to seize the reins of coach Dan Mullen’s offense.
“I had a chip on my shoulder,” Jones said.
Jones’ athletic ability, experience and grasp of Mullen’s schemes give him an inside track to start the Sept. 4 season opener against FAU.
Redshirt freshman Anthony Richardson is his primary challenger, while first-year freshmen Carlos Del Rio-Wilson and Jalen
Kitna are in their first college semesters.
The 6-4, 232-pound Richardson is a physical marvel who captivated his teammates by performing backflips during Thursday’s practice.
“Yeah, I can’t do that right now,” Jones said with a smile.
Jones, though, is presently better equipped to handle the demands of Mullen’s playbook and pressure of playing quarterback at Florida.
Yet Jones said he realized how much he still had to learn during the Gators’ humbling, humiliating 55-20 Cotton Bowl loss to Oklahoma.
Jones replaced Trask and finished 8-of-16 passing for just 86 yards while adding 60 rushing yards and a touchdown on 10 carries. The performance provided a glimpse of Jones’ potential in some areas and shortcomings in others.
“It really was an eye-opening experience to me, just going out there and actually getting a lot of reps,” Jones said. “It really just showed me that me and the guys have a lot of work to do.
“That’s all we’re focused on right now.”
Jones knew much work lay ahead for him from the time he arrived in January 2018 as an Under Armour All-American expected to be the Gators’ quarterback of the future. The future was further away than Jones imagined, but Mullen made sure he knew how to get there.
“The first thing he always said to me was, ‘Development, development, development,’ ” Jones recalled. “And I always tried to keep that in the back of my head.
“It was tough going through all the years just playing a couple plays. It definitely was tough, but just going in made me confident.
“So I’ve just been working my tail off every year just trying to get better.”