Jones keeping up with the process

GAINESVILLE — UF quarterback Emory Jones’ best throw still might be an incomplete pass.

That on-the-money neartouchdown toss to Van Jefferson last fall against Georgia offered a glimpse of Jones’ potential while facing a team the Gators are trying to catch in the SEC.

To preserve his redshirt status, Jones did not get many chances to show his stuff against quality competition a season ago. How many chances he receives this time around remains to be seen.

Jones plans to be ready.

Since his much-anticipated arrival at UF, Jones has built his body, ingested Dan Mullen’s offense and proven himself to be a stand-up teammate. The 19-year-old is even a member of the team’s 11-player leadership council.

Now Jones waits.

“I mean, it’s kind of hard,” he said. “But I trust [Mullen], and I trust in his system and his program. So I’m just going with it.”

When Jones’ chance does arrive, he will have earned his shot and will have his team’s full support.

Starting quarterback Feleipe Franks appreciates his backup’s approach, knowing himself what it is like to arrive as a top recruit surrounded by expectations.

“You never hear him complain one time about, ‘I didn’t get this rep,’ or ‘I’m not getting in the game,’ ” Franks said. “It’s not the kind of guy he is. He’s a team player.”

The centerpiece of the Gators’ 2018 recruiting class, Jones ultimately expects to benefit from his patient, measured approach.

“It’s probably my fourth time going through the install [of the offense], so it’s obviously more smooth for me,” he said. “I feel more comfortable out there. Instead of just focusing on myself, I can like coach other guys up.

“So that’ll make us better as a team.”

Franks said Jones never takes off a play during practice, even when he is not taking a snap.

“Emory could just as well be off in a corner pouting or anything like that, but he’s always engaged in what’s going on,” Franks said. “I might be in on my rep and Emory might be over there coaching something that a receiver ran the wrong route or something that I can’t coach him on right now because I’m in the middle of a rep. Little things like that, which I think ultimately improves the play of a quarterback.

“That’s one of the best traits he has, just being unselfish.”

Franks would be the first to tell Jones there is no rush to get on the field. Franks started the 2017 season opener against Michigan as a redshirt freshman and was benched by former coach Jim McElwain for the first time during a soul-crushing season. Franks twice lost his job and ended the season searching for his lost confidence.

Jones would arrive the following January at age 17, with many expecting the former Under Armour All-American to challenge Franks for the starting job. The quarterback battle never materialized. By the end of last season, Franks had established himself at the position, thereby postponing Jones’ ascension.

Jones did, however, get a taste of big-time college football thanks to a new NCAA rule allowing first-year players to appear in up to four games and still maintain their redshirt status. The Georgia game was an eyeopener while a two-touchdown day against overmatched Idaho was a confidence booster.

“It definitely helps because he might put me on a big stage with a small package, so it’s not a lot for me to do,” Jones said of the Georgia game. “So it’s not that hard, but then I’m on a big stage. So then, when that time comes that he gives me the whole offense on those type of stages, I’ve already been there. It’s just a bigger package.”

Expect Mullen and his staff this season to use Jones, who has dual-treat abilities. During his first stint in Gainesville as the Gators’ offensive coordinator, Mullen found the right situations to deploy a freshman quarterback named Tim Tebow back in 2006.

At 6-foot-2, 199 pounds, Jones does not have Tebow’s stature, but he does have talent. Maybe more important, Jones has the belief and respect of his teammates.

Earning a spot on the leadership council is almost as gratifying to Jones as earning some snaps under center.

“They chose me to be on that, that committee, so it means a lot to me from them,” he said. “It means that they trust me in a lot of situations. They trust me. I mean I put a lot of work in to get to that point.”