More freedom for Trask; Jones provides 'pretty good 1-2 combo'
There’s an open competition at every position on Florida’s football team — especially quarterback.
That will always be the case under third-year coach Dan Mullen, who once said Tim Tebow had to “compete” with freshman Cam Newton for the starting job despite coming off his Heisman Trophy campaign.
Kyle Trask’s 2,941 passing yards last year were the most by a Gators QB since that 2007 season, but nothing is promising to him this fall.
“I can’t tell you Emory [Jones] won’t be our starter,” Mullen said Wednesday when asking about how he plans to substitute the two signal callers. “I don’t know what’s going to happen.”
A two-quarterback system is expected with Jones and Trask, who will still undoubtedly be QB1. Mullen singled out Trask as one of five players who stepped up as team leaders in the offseason — along with Kyle Pitts, Jeremiah Moon, Ventrell Miller and Marco Wilson.
“I think before [Trask] was a guy that was competing for the job, which he still knows he is every day, but it's different when you've had the job,” Mullen said. “I think that breeds a lot of confidence in him being not just a leader on the field, but you also add his confidence and comfort within our offense, in our scheme and what we're doing, I think it allows you to spend a lot more time being a great leader and being vocal, holding other guys to certain standards and raising the play of the guys around you, which is what you want to do as a quarterback.”
After leading UF to an 11-2 record in his first year as the starter, Trask has been named to four preseason watch lists and tabbed as a first-team All-SEC pick by Street & Smith’s and College Football News. His decision-making and read progression has improved according to Mullen, which will expand the playbook for him in 2020.
“We’ll end up putting a lot more on him this year,” Mullen said of Trask. “Checking within the game plan of him getting us into specific plays. But I think (once) you’re comfortable within the offense, we give you a lot more freedom at that point because he’s put in the time and he has experience. You have a lot more freedom to do different things.”
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The Gators can also do different things with Jones behind center. The dual-threat QB finished last season with 267 yards passing and also rushed for 256, leading the team in yards per carry (6.1) among players with at least 10 attempts.
Mullen and quarterbacks coach Brian Johnson don’t always call separate players for Jones. He just produces different results than Trask.
“Emory’s done a great job in preparing in this season,” Mullen said. “I think his comfort and his knowledge of the offense, obviously, coming into his sophomore year on the field. I think he’s much more comfortable with everything going on that’s out there. I think we have a lot of confidence in him as a playmaker.
“Certainly what’s kind of fun is you see Kyle in there, and he’ll run a play a certain way. And Emory, it ends up being a little different play with him in there. They have different skill sets and bring a little something different to the table with certain plays and certain packages. It makes it a pretty good 1-2 combination for us.”
Florida’s No. 3 option isn’t too shabby, either. Freshman quarterback Anthony Richardson, the nation’s No. 6 dual-threat QB in the Class of 2020, enrolled at UF last December and participated in some bowl practices.
Richardson missed spring ball and was limited during the summer, having to do walk-throughs without a football. He’s now learning with the pigskin in hand.
“It’s much easier and better to teach with a football at the quarterback position,” Mullen quipped. “From what I’ve seen so far, he picks things up really fast, which is great. He’s taken a lot in and learned a lot from our ability to have all these different meetings. He’s picked things up really fast. I’m really excited about his future.”