For four years Emory Jones' mother, Trina Jones, had texted and called her son daily to check in and see how her boy was doing in school and with football. Emory was part of Dan Mullen's program, which meant waiting his turn behind older quarterbacks. Jones has admitted that it was tough at times to be patient but the end of the 2020 season was the end of his waiting.

With the start of the 2021 season, she had a real reason to come to games, one that quickly went from dream to nightmare as Mrs. Jones was subject to hearing the reaction of those around her towards her son.

"There was a time in the season, early in the season where it was hard for his mom to even come to the games," quarterbacks coach Garrick McGee told reporters on Tuesday night. And it was hard for her to sit in the stands during the games, because, you know, people were saying things to her about her son that probably wasn't fair. And he had to deal with that while he was out on the field trying to execute and worried about his mom who’s in the stands."

Jones completed 31-of-49 (63.2%) for 264 yards, two touchdowns passing, one rushing but threw four interceptions against FAU and USF.

It didn't help that his understudy, Anthony Richardson, started the season ripping off touchdown runs of 75 and 80 yards in each of the first two games.

The criticism he faced was nothing new to Jones. As a freshman, he stood on the field next to Feleipe Franks as people in the crowd shouted to bench Franks and play Kyle Trask. Now, Jones is standing next to Richardson hearing his name in Franks' place as fans plead for Richardson to replace him.

Familiarity with the situation doesn't make it easier when the opportunity you have waited and worked towards seems to be slipping away but Jones and Richardson have a strong bond.

In the fourth quarter of a win against Samford, after Florida finally had secured a win late in the game, Jones was just 18 yards shy of breaking the record for most passing yards in a game but Dan Mullen had already told Anthony Richardson to go in, hand the ball off, and ice the game.

"He came to me at the end of the game and he's like, 'Hey, you've got to keep Emory in, he needs like 20 yards for a record.' And I'm like, 'okay,' I'm like 'alright.,'" Mullen said of Richardson during the Samford game. "'We're up three scores in the fourth quarter, right?' And he's like, 'yeah.' So I click over, I'm like, 'Is he 20 yards from a record or something?' I'm trying to find that out. I'm like, you know, we're not going to go in and throw the ball anyway right now. So, you know, Anthony, just come, just get in the game and go. And Emory's like, 'Tell him to get in the game,' you know? 'Tell him to go get in the game and stop talking about it. Don't worry about it,' you know? And so I do, but I think it shows the respect that those guys have for each other."

Richardson showed up later in the South endzone team meeting room while Jones met with the media following the game. He waited for his teammate a friend to finish his media obligations before the two left together. They have a unique bond, one that goes beyond the field, and in a world where athletes can benefit off of their name, image, and likeness, getting playing time and producing can mean real money at this level. It hasn't divided them, they even have a duel endorsement with Outback Steakhouse.

There could be jealousy. There could be a rift in the locker room with some players wanting one player to start and lead the team over the other but there doesn't appear to be either of those things. The quarterback room is healthy due in part to how Mullen and McGee have handled the situation but much respect is due to the two young men who have handled the situation with class.

"We were all sitting in the meeting room and I said, ‘As soon as we start Anthony and he runs out there and he turns the ball over, everybody's gonna say we just need to put Emory back in the game and get you out. You know, that's gonna happen. That's how the world works.’ And so we laugh about that all the time, that we have to support each other, that we understand how hard it is on the field," McGee said. "We all have to be prepared. We all have to help each other nonstop and whichever one’s on the field, we just got to give them all the spirit energy we can and he has to go execute.”

Mullen is sticking with Jones this week at Missouri. The Gators are searching for their first conference road win of the season and looking to avoid going 2-6 in SEC play for the first time since the conference expanded in 1992.

Richardson, now healthy, will be available but even when he's on the sideline he'll be rooting for his team and his friend to come away with the win in Columbia.