Gators head coach Dan Mullen was pleased at the way freshman quarterback Emory Jones played in the most extensive action of young career. (Photo: Tim Casey/UAA Communications)
Gators Showcase QB Jones, Young Players in Idaho Rout
Saturday, November 17, 2018 | Football
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By: Ethan Hughes, FloridaGators.com Intern
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Sometimes they go as advertised.
The No. 13 Gators' date with Idaho on Saturday quickly turned into an opportunity for several younger players to get in the game and pile on some stats.
The most newsworthy part of Florida's 63-10 win over Idaho was the appearance of freshman quarterback Emory Jones. Jones played sparingly in the Charleston Southern and Georgia games, and coach Dan Mullen had repeatedly said that he would play in two of the final three games and redshirt.
Due to the extra practices and time for preparation, the bowl game will almost certainly be one, which left Mullen with an interesting decision.
Would he play Jones against Idaho (4-7, 3-5 Big Sky) or next weekend at Florida State? Playing him against the Vandals would allow him to get more snaps and run the entire playbook. Florida State would be a tougher opponent and a tougher environment, but he would likely be limited to a handful of plays out of a special package.
With UF (8-3, 5-3 SEC) up 42-0 and 3:53 to go in the second quarter, Jones entered the game and led the Gators on a six-play, 76-yard touchdown drive. He was 2-for-3 for 43 yards and picked up 15 yards on the ground. The drive concluded with his first career touchdown pass on an 8-yard screen to junior receiver Josh Hammond.
"I was really pleased to get him in as early as we did and get him as many reps as we could because he's one play away from being in the game next week," Mullen said. "He can be in the second play of the game next week, and now he's got a little bit more experience on gameday in there, running the show by himself, not just with a small package, having to go run the whole offense."
Quarterback Emory Jones and running back Dameon Pierce celebrate after Pierce's touchdown reception. (Photo: Jay Metz/UAA Communications)
Jones threw another touchdown to freshman running back Dameon Pierce midway through the third quarter. Jones went 4-for-4 for 47 yards on the drive.
As the second half progressed, Mullen emptied the bench and leaned more on the ground game, causing Jones' production to fall off a bit.
"Some great little leadership things with him," Mullen said. "His first couple plays in the game, he's the young guy with some of the older guys. And then, he's the young guy with young guys, where they look to the quarterback to be the leader. There's a lot that he can build off of from this game. I thought he made pretty good decisions. I didn't see any bad decisions really, with where he went with the ball. Got to hang in the pocket a little bit more maybe on the one or two plays that he'll see, but we also gave up a little bit of pressure at times."
Overall, Jones completed 12 of 16 passes for 125 yards and the two scores. He added 19 yards on seven carries.
However, his impressive performance went beyond just the statistics. Jones came to UF in the spring a bit raw in the passing game. Against the Vandals, Jones exhibited a tighter throwing motion, better touch on the intermediate and deep routes and a more thorough understanding of the offense.
"He's came far as a leader, taking on that leadership role once he's on the field," Pierce said. "With him being one of my best friends here, it's just a great vibe. We're calm when we're in the backfield. Emory, he's a cool, calm, collected guy. He's going to make plays. And sometimes when adversity hits, he handles it very well. That's one thing I admire about Emory."
His day wasn't without blemishes, however. On the first drive of the second half, Jones marched the offense down the field, only to lose a fumble at the Vandals' 25-yard line. Early in the fourth quarter, he overthrew a wide open Kemore Gamble on a post route.
While Jones received his most extensive playing time, freshman receiver Jacob Copeland made his collegiate debut. Copeland, one of the gems of UF's 2018 signing class, missed the first 10 games with an injury he suffered early in fall camp. He made his first career reception on a pop pass from Jones in the third quarter. It went for 16 yards. He also returned a kickoff 26 yards and was aggressive in his blocking on the perimeter.
"I know his first play was covering a kickoff, and he got lit up," Mullen said. "I love that. Welcome to college football. But, I thought he did a good job. And again now, the young guys who got on the field now are going to get to go learn and say, 'OK, it's not quite as simple as I thought it was in how I've got to execute and how I've got to run routes and what I need to do to become an every-down player and live up to what we expect.' "
Quarterbacks Feleipe Franks, left, and Emory Jones on the sideline during Saturday's 63-10 win over Idaho. (Photo: Tim Casey/UAA Communications)
While Jones and Copeland will likely draw the bulk of the headlines, other newcomers made meaningful contributions as well. Redshirt freshman defensive end Zachary Carter recorded three tackles and broke up a pair of passes. Pierce led the team with a career-high 13 carries for 77 yards and caught his first career touchdown pass. Freshman Iverson Clement received his first three carries and gained 12 yards.
"I feel like it was important for me to do that," Carter said. "Just moving forward, it's bigger than just today, you know what I'm saying? As a young guy, the coaches look to me as the future."
Redshirt freshman linebacker James Houston IV led the Gators with five tackles, including one for a loss of three yards. With starting center Nick Buchanan out with an injury, senior Tyler Jordan slid over to center, which allowed junior college transfer Noah Banks to make his first career start at left guard.
"A lot of young guys got opportunities to get into the game and a lot of teaching moments for those guys of what it's like when you're a factor, when you're not just cheering from the sideline, and you got to go play and how you got to keep your head in the game and how disciplined, how it works," Mullen said.
Freshman tight end Kyle Pitts caught his first career touchdown in the opening quarter, a 52-yarder from starter Feleipe Franks. However, he later dropped a perfectly thrown deep ball from Jones.
Pitts is a potential future matchup nightmare at 6-foot-6 and 246 pounds. His size and athleticism will allow the Gators to be more versatile, Mullen said. Instead of having to sub tight ends in and out depending on the play call, Pitts can line up out wide as a receiver or on the line as a traditional tight end.
"Real excited for him," redshirt senior tight end C'yontai Lewis said. "That's all he talk about. You know, he just want to get him a touchdown. I told him, 'Just stay humble. It's coming.' I tell everybody, 'It won't be long.' So, when he got in [the end zone], I was just proud of him."
The play of the game came from redshirt freshman linebacker Ventrell Miller. After a turnover-on-downs left Idaho with the ball at the UF 28-yard line, Miller intercepted Vandals quarterback Mason Petrino and returned it 82 yards for a touchdown.
Despite having a large lead, Mullen could be seen on the sideline coaching his young players hard and getting angry after mistakes.
"It's not OK, when, you know, you're up that big of a lead, and people are going out there and goofing around, and people are going out there, and somebody makes a mistake," Franks said. "Somebody runs the wrong route. You know, because then, OK, you throw a pick, and then things start to roll downhill. That's not something that you want to practice or turn into habits. That's not OK. I think it's a good thing. I think it's the right thing to do to keep on staying on guys. Stay focused, stay engaged because we have a game out here playing."
Lewis said the young guys have what it takes to bring championships back to the Swamp.
"They started off right. I think they have enough leaders in place – like, we set a good example for them to know how to go and approach different things," he said. "We've been through enough this season for them to already know how the season going to go next season. So, when they come next season, they going to already know like, 'We can't lose no game. We can't sleep on nobody. We got to come out and play every game.' "
