Clarity or Questions? What we learned from the QBs during the spring game

GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- It’s the biggest and most asked question on the team; who is going to be the quarterback under Dan Mullen in year No. 1?

Throughout spring practice, Feliepe Franks, Kyle Trask, Jake Allen and Emory Jones have been battling for the starting role in Mullen’s new system, but much of the attention has been directed towards Trask and Franks.

The competition will carry over into fall camp, but incumbent starter Feliepe Franks and redshirt sophomore Kyle Trask seem to have separated themselves at this point.

But that’s where the clarity at the position stops.

The annual Orange and Blue Game provides the best glimpse into how the quarterbacks have looked up to this point, so we decided to break down how each quarterback performed and what we saw.

We’ll start with Kyle Trask.

Trask was the first to lead the offense for Team Blue. Starting out 5-of-7 on the opening drive for 33 yards, Trask got off to a good start but that drive stalled and Team Blue was forced to kick a 45-yard field goal by Jorge Powell.

“I felt like I threw decently,” Trask said of his performance. “I missed a couple open guys, but overall I felt like I did a good job.”

His highlight throw of the day was a 19-yard back shoulder throw to Tyrie Cleveland that went to the Orange two-yard line, resulting in a Jordan Scarlett TD run.

Trask finished the up-and-down day with 178 yards and a touchdown on 12-of-24 passing

On the opposing sideline was last year’s starter, Feliepe Franks.

Franks finished the day 8-of-12 for 117 yards and a touchdown. His numbers don’t tell the whole story, though. Looking at it, it looks like Franks had a fantastic day.

Well, he did have great numbers and showed some good things, but was throwing a lot of swing passes out into the flats that perpetuated his stats.

For Franks, the biggest play was a 60-yard touchdown run. Franks ran off the left sideline and into open space, and then turned on the jets en route to the end zone. For Franks though, it’s all about learning how to manage the game better.

"Yeah, whatever they ask me to do, whether it be run the ball, pass the ball,” Franks said. “He (Mullen) said it a second ago, being a game manager, whether you throw the ball two times a game, five times, whether you throw it 60 times a game.

”That's one of the things about it, as long as you win, whatever he asks us to do. It just, like he said, be a game with 60 passes, it might be a game with two passes, 3-0, 42-2, you know, it doesn't matter. As long as you get the win, that's all that matters."

Franks and Trask are the guys in the spotlight right now, but early enrollee Emory Jones and sophomore Jake Allen came into the game during the second half to show what they could do.

Allen didn’t have a very memorable performance today, as he only went 4-of-7 for seven yards. He didn’t have any terrible plays but just didn’t really make an impact.

Jones on the other hand, had a very interesting day. He started out on the wrong foot with some incompletions; one in particular that could have been a big-time play over the middle to Kemore Gamble.

Jones eventually settled in and made some great plays. His biggest, a 58-yard TD pass to tight end R.J. Raymond. It was a great find as Raymond was wide open on an outward crossing route. Jones hit him in stride, and then Raymond took care of the rest.

Jones finished the day 3-of-7 for 93 yards and two touchdowns and an interception. He has a ways to go, as they all do, but showed some great flashes today.

Overall, the quarterback competition is a two-man race between Franks and Trask. Jones should be able to have a package or be involved in some way, but he’s not ready to take on the starting role yet.

After the game, Dan Mullen shared his assessment of the group.

"I want to see a lot more out of them moving forward,” Mullen said. “I saw some really good things. I saw them miss simple things. It gets into the speed of the decision-making, comfort of the offense. I'll watch them make a great read and get to a second or third read in the progression pretty quickly and make a great throw, move the chains. And then the next one I'll watch them miss the first read and try to launch one down the field or miss an easy throw that they should make.

”So that's part of the time for me. I'll be honest. There's no more important position during the summer than for those guys to work on their own, every day, muscle-memory, taking steps, footwork, throwing motion. I don't care if they're even throwing to receivers.

"Everything over and over and over again, so that they're much better players August 4th than they were today. That's our projected possible start date. I haven't done the calendar yet.

"And then we've got 25. Of those 25, really four of them are game weeks, so you're down to 21. A couple of them are helmets-only practices. A couple scrimmages. So they have got to work so they get comfortable and play at a consistent basis. I want to see the great plays, but then I want to see the consistent, regular plays every single snap.

"We'll get there. I've seen then consistent; I'm sure you guys probably see the same thing You say, 'Wow, that was a great play. Oh, boy, he missed that one.' We want to see consistent performance out of them."

It will be an interesting summer heading into fall camp, so stay tuned to Gators Territory.