Through Emory Jones’ first three weeks as Florida’s starting quarterback, Gator nation threw just about every criticism they could conjure towards the junior gunslinger.
Fans criticized his decision-making, which was often justified after a pair of uninspiring performances and a number of baffling, predetermined throws that went for interceptions.
Gainesville’s attitude towards #5 improved after Jones nearly led the Gators to an 18-point comeback victory against Alabama last weekend, and these critiques have now faded to a whisper as Jones turned in his best performance of the season Saturday against Tennessee.
Jones finished the evening 21-27 with more than 200 yards and two touchdowns through the air and another 144 yards on the ground. His dominant performance, especially in the third quarter, led the Gators to claim their first SEC victory of the season 38-14.
"I think you see him (Jones) really settling down and understanding,” Dan Mullen said. “I think he did a great job making his reads, managing the offense, getting us in the right checks, into the right plays.”
Jones seemed to struggle going through his progressions during his less savory performances earlier in the season. The junior quarterback often failed to sense pressure in the backfield, made a number of very late throws and overlooked many open receivers.
These deficiencies lingered in snapshots Saturday, as here Jones never looked at Gamble and his acres of space and instead forced a pass into double coverage.
Still, Jones’ 77% completion percentage indicates that these accuracy concerns were few and far between, and he generally looked comfortable going through his progressions and making the correct decisions.
“It’s always getting better,” Jones said about working through his progressions. “Like I said, I’m just trying to get better week to week. I feel like that’s what I’m doing. I’m feeling more comfortable out there. I’m feeling more comfortable week to week.”
Florida’s offense also seems either more willing or more able to take shots down the field with Jones under center against the Volunteers. His longest completion against FAU was just 18 yards, and Jones only completed one pass longer than 20 yards the following week against USF. Jones expanded his range Saturday, however, connecting on five separate passes for at least 15 yards.
“I just think when the playbook opens up and we have different plans each week you're starting to see his confidence a little bit more play in,” Mullen said. “(It) gives us more confidence that he can throw more things in from the playbook right there of how we want to attack people."
Jones’ dynamism as a runner has never been questioned — he took snaps away from the best Florida quarterback in a decade last season — but the junior combined his passing and running threats in a Tebow-esque fashion on Saturday.
He picked up many of his 144 rushing yards scrambling out of the pocket, turning seemingly broken plays into positive gains. But Jones also proved effective in designed quarterback runs and read options, leading a number of effective drives on the ground with UF’s supremely talented running back corps.
Running is just something that comes naturally to Jones, so much so that he didn’t realize he’d eclipsed the century mark Saturday.
“I mean I didn’t really realize it,” Jones said. “I was just going out there running. I didn’t really realize how far I’d run, honestly.”
And despite his nearly flawless afternoon under center, running back Dameon Pierce insists that his third-year teammate has just scraped the surface of his signal-calling abilities.
“You’ve got more to come,” Pierce. “They’re just scratching the surface with Emory. That’s a guy with a lot of potential and a lot of grit. He’s just getting comfortable out there, man. He’s still getting his feet wet. Expect more of that from Emory.”
