Back to the Future: Will Emory Jones finally get a chance to show what he can do against Vanderbilt?

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When Emory Jones picked up a Gators hat on National Signing Day in 2018, Florida fans breathed a sigh of relief. Not only was Dan Mullen able to snag a high-rated four-star quarterback for his first recruiting class – Jones’ commitment seemed to signal the end of UF’s quarterbacks carousel. Coach Mullen even went as far as calling Jones “the future.”

While many were optimistic he would start under center as a true freshman, it became increasingly obvious that the spindly player would take a redshirt. Once Feleipe Franks came into his own at the position, it seemed like Jones could receive meaningful playing time this season as the backup. As “the future,” it only seemed right that Jones get more and more time on the field without necessarily taking the reins of the team’s offense.

The gripe rearing its head with just three regular-season games left is not just that Jones is not receiving more snaps than pre-packaged plays that are thrown in the game with such randomness that the momentum of the entire offense stalls for at least a few drives. It’s that almost at the end of his redshirt freshman year, Jones’ sparse playing time seems less like a step toward the future and more like one toward the transfer portal.

Kyle Trask has exceeded expectations, unless you’re one of those people who has wanted him to start since 2017. It seems like every week, the redshirt junior finds another way to etch his name in Florida’s record books. His consistency on the field also gives the team more comfort than, say, the erratically thrown passes players might be more used to in a stressful situation.

And this is not to say the school does not have a lot to thank Trask for. Between sticking around and saving the 2019 season, Kyle Trask clearly understands the meaning of commitment and being a team player. Mullen even told the media he sat down with Trask last year to talk about hos options moving forward. Of course, Trask opted to remain at UF, which is admirable considering his draw on the team. But, if he decides to return to Gainesville next year, a redshirt sophomore – and likely restless – player who was signed to be “the future” is left in a sticky situation… especially if he doesn’t win the starting job.

After Feleipe Franks went down against Kentucky, Mullen intimated to the media that a Trask-Jones power pack would be in play. If I’m not mistaken, Mullen said during that same press conference that Jones was further along than Tebow was at this point in his UF career. I’m not in practice, but it’s easy to question the over-compensatory nature of that statement. During Tebow’s second year, he went 234-350 passing and had 210 rushing attempts in 13 games. Oh, and he won the Heisman Trophy.

Since the Kentucky game, Jones has 16 rushing attempts in six games (in four of those, he logged one attempt per game). He managed 118 total yards, though. As far as throwing, the dual threat went 17-28 for 125 yards. These numbers aren’t eye popping by any means. But why doesn’t Jones deserve a chance to build on his nicely put-together performances? Especially considering a couple throws here and a few runs there for the dual-threat is hardly a way for “the future” to come to fruition.

After all, Franks could also return for his redshirt senior season. And the Gators have a prototypical “Mullen” quarterback in the highly athletic Anthony Richardson, who uses his legs a lot and can be turned into a good-enough thrower, coming in the spring. While Richardson is all but ready to redshirt, the possible return of Franks and Trask could stick a redshirt sophomore Jones to third on the depth chart once again.

Don’t forget that Jones was committed to Ohio State. If he wanted to sit for three years before making a quick case for the NFL, he could’ve done it in Columbus. No Dwayne Haskins and no Joe Burrow likely means no Justin Fields, which also likely means Jones would’ve battled it out with Tate Martell for the starting signal-caller position this year. Martell is currently a rarely used wide receiver at Miami.

This weekend, Florida plays a depleted Vanderbilt – the Commodores will be trotting out their third-string quarterback and their top receiver, Kalija Lipscomb, will be out with injury as well. With the College Football Playoff off the table and chances at the SEC Championship nearly as slim, the Gators need to focus on 1-0 each week against its remaining opponents. Missouri isn’t half bad, so play Trask. Mullen said the staff planned to throw Jones in more against Georgia, but the Bulldogs kept that from happening. This is not the first time this season media has heard the team wanted to use Jones more if only…. Saturday, the Gators have a real chance to play Jones with no strings attached.

Against 2-6 Vanderbilt, Jones deserves his shot to play most of a game and get his team in a rhythm. He deserves to use his arm for some deep throws and some first down throws. He deserves to run for more than some obvious short-yardage plays. Emory Jones signed to be Florida’s quarterback, capping off a long stretch of time where top prospects wouldn’t think to do so. He deserves a chance to be “the future” everyone keeps hearing about. Without meaningful playing time in game scenarios, it will be very difficult for Jones to take over an SEC schedule and keep Florida going on its upward trajectory.

This is not to say people should expect Jones to have a lights-out performance even over an injured Vanderbilt. But, if Jones can’t get it done at QB under those circumstances, there are three answers: either he’s been failed by the staff, there’s a slight chance he may not be “the future” he’s advertised as, or a combination.

It seems like it’d be better to find out now than next year against Georgia.

Featured image used under Creative Commons license courtesy Seter82