Johnson confident with QB group
GAINESVILLE — UF quarterbacks coach Brian Johnson is confident he has the answer to many of the Gators’ long-standing problems on offense.
Johnson still has to identify the team’s next starting quarterback, develop him and prepare him to win in the SEC. But Johnson said he has seen enough during six spring practices to convince him a winning quarterback is on the current roster.
“I am,” Johnson said. “I mean, we don’t got nobody else coming through that door, so I mean these are our guys and we’re going to get them ready to go out there and compete at a high level and hold them to the Gator standard. “I mean, that’s what it’s all about.” The Gators’ inability to find a consistent, productive quarterback since Tim Tebow is a big reason UF’s offense has not ranked inside the top 10 in the SEC in total yards since 2009.
UF finished 13th of 14 SEC teams last season using three different starters, including Feleipe Franks. Franks opened 2017 under center, was benched three different times and ended the year with nine touchdown throws and eight interceptions.
But Johnson said Franks, now a redshirt sophomore, has emerged from UF’s miserable 4-7 season determined and prepared for a second chance under a new coaching staff.
“Whatever happened last year has happened ... you can’t change it,” Johnson said. “The only thing that you can worry about is becoming a better player each and every day. Putting yourself in the position to go out there and compete at a high level and to be at your best at all times.
“He had a great winter conditioning and put himself in the position to where he could come out and handle the install [of the offense] and stay ahead of the install and come out here and have a seamless transition on the practice field.”
Johnson calls Franks’ maturation taking it from “the class to the grass.”
On the field, Franks’ considerable physical gifts have wowed his new coaches.
The 6-foot-5, 227-pound Franks can effortlessly throw a football 75 yards and has impressed Johnson with his agility and ability to extend plays with his feet.
“I think it was either practice two or three,” Johnson recalled, “he made a throw and I remember I just looked over at [head coach] Dan [Mullen], we kind of just both just looked at each other and shook our heads. It was a pretty impressive throw.”
But Johnson said Franks is not the only quarterback making plays and turning heads.
Redshirt sophomore Kyle Trask, who sat out last season following foot surgery, made a throw Monday every QB coach loves to see from a young signal caller.
“He threw off a play-action pass and it was a great read,” Johnson said. “He got to No. 3 in his progression and put it right on the guy in stride for a touchdown.”
Trask’s passing ability has impressed since he arrived in the summer of 2016. But after serving as a backup in high school, Trask has had to develop his leadership skills.
First-year freshman Emory Jones has farther to go than any of the Gators’ QBs. An early enrollee in January, the 17-year-old has not backed down from the challenge.
Johnson will continue to evaluate his quarterbacks during the coming weeks. Eight more spring practices remain, followed by the Orange and Blue game April 14.