Florida football: Gators August and September report card

Quarterbacks

Perhaps the biggest anticipation for Gator Nation throughout the offseason was the progression of the quarterbacks under year two of the Dan Mullen regime. More specifically fans and media pundits wondered how much progression would redshirt-junior Feleipe Franks show.

After being benched midway through the Missouri game in 2018, it seemed like Franks’ tenure as the starting quarterback in Gainesville may have come to an end in favor of Kyle Trask. However, Franks would get the nod to start again against South Carolina the following week after Trask sustained a season-ending injury in that week’s practice.

The benching and criticisms drawn from Gator fans lit a fire within Franks for the remainder of 2018. Franks would play brilliantly in Florida’s final four games of the 2018 season with 12 total touchdowns, zero interceptions and a QBR of 70 or better in each game. It would be the first time the Gators would score 35 points or more in four consecutive games since 2008.

The Gators opened up the 2019 season with a primetime showdown against the Miami Hurricanes to celebrate college football’s 150-year anniversary. While Miami was playing its first game with new head coach Manny Diaz, it was still the same Canes defense that one year ago posted the best pass defense in the nation and the no. 18 total defense overall.

While the Gators would celebrate a 24-20 victory over their bitter in-state rival, Franks’ performance did not exactly bring the fireworks needed to light up Florida’s offense.

Franks began the night with a 66-yard touchdown pass off a short screen to Kadarius Toney during Florida’s first drive of the game. However, Franks would only throw for 188 more yards and one additional passing touchdown on the evening, while throwing two interceptions in the fourth quarter.

Combined with a fumble lost deep in Miami’s red zone in the second quarter, it was the first time Franks had committed more than two turnovers in a game since playing against Florida State in 2017. His QBR of 51.3 would be his worst since being benched against Missouri in 2018.

Mullen and quarterbacks coach Brian Johnson would have two weeks to work with Franks on his errors before taking on Tennessee-Martin. Entering the game as a 44.5-point favorite, this was a game for Franks to hit the restart button on his 2019 season and build more on-field chemistry with his offense.

Franks and the Florida offense would struggle in the first 19 minutes against a team that allowed nearly 35 points per game last season, with the first two drives ending in a field goal and punt, respectively.

But after the Gators forced the Skyhawks to its third punt of the night, Franks would finally find his groove in the pocket. On the fifth play of the drive, Franks would connect with senior wide receiver Van Jefferson on a deep 69-yard touchdown pass for Florida’s first offensive touchdown.

Helping pitch a 45-0 shutout, Franks would end the night with 270 yards passing and two passing touchdowns, including a 35-yard touchdown pass to senior wideout Tyrie Cleveland. Franks’ 92.1 percent completion percentage for the game would be the highest of his collegiate career, along with his second-highest career QBR in a game at 89.1.

Unfortunately for Franks, it would also be his last game played in the Swamp for the 2019 season.

Attempting to avenge a 27-16 defeat at home to Kentucky in 2018, the Gators found themselves down 21-10 late in the third quarter when Franks’ right leg buckled in the midst of a tackle, as he attempted to convert a 4th and 1 on a scramble.

With his right leg in an air cast and trying to fight back tears of pain, Franks would be carted off the field and would later be ruled out for the season with a dislocated ankle.

When all hope appeared lost after Franks’ tragic departure, Trask quickly brought it back.

On his first drive at quarterback, the redshirt junior completed 4 of 5 passes for 54 yards that ended on an 8-yard touchdown run by senior running back Lamical Perine.

Two Florida drives later Trask would lead the Gators 66 yards down the field in four plays, ending the drive himself with a 4-yard scramble to the endzone. After a missed field goal late by Kentucky and a perfectly executed jet sweep by senior wide receiver Josh Hammond, Trask and the Gators would score 19 unanswered points in the 4th quarter to secure a 29-21 victory.

Trask would then start his first game at quarterback since his freshman year of high school against conference rival Tennessee the following week. While the Volunteers arrived in Gainesville with a 1-2 record, there were plenty of uncertainties about how Trask would perform as the team’s new leader.

Needless to say, Trask would respond by throwing for 293 yards against the Vols, the most yards thrown by any Florida quarterback in a game since Luke Del Rio against Kentucky in 2016. This included a pair of touchdown passes to tight end Kyle Pitts and wideout Freddie Swain.

While Trask did lose a fumble off a strip-sack and threw two interceptions in the third quarter, he showed great composure in the pocket throughout most of the game. Completing 20 passes to 10 different receivers and posting a 70.8 QBR, Trask was consistent with his progressions and took whatever the defense gave him.

Trask would receive some reprieve the following week as the Gators faced its final FCS opponent of the season in the form of the Towson Tigers. The start of three straight games against teams with Tigers as mascots, Trask found little resistance from this defense.

Playing the first three quarters of the game, Trask helped put points on the scoreboard in all but one drive. This would include a pair of touchdown passes to sophomore tight end Kyle Pitts and scrambling for a 1-yard touchdown run late in the second quarter.

After setting a Florida record by completing his first 15 passes of the game, Trask would end the night 18-20 for 188 yards and posted a 93.6 QBR, the highest QBR for any starting Florida quarterback in Mullen’s tenure.

Trask will face his two biggest challenges of his entire football career this far within a span of two weeks, facing two SEC defenses that currently rank inside the top 40 in the nation.

While Trask continues to develop himself as Florida’s leader on offense, the real mystery perhaps lies with redshirt-freshman quarterback Emory Jones.

Jones was touted as Mullen’s top-prized recruit in 2018 and was labeled as the future of the Gators program. Jones saw limited action in 2018, playing in only four games. However, this was mainly due to Franks’ success on the field and to maintain an extra year of eligibility.

While many Gators fans assumed that Jones would at least ascend to no. 2 on the quarterback depth chart, it appears that Mullen and the other offensive coaches are in favor of trusting the longer-tenured Trask to take the reigns for the time being.

While Jones is essentially still riding the bench, Mullen has given his prized recruit some additional reps on the field in Florida’s last two games.

Jones saw limited action against the Vols, completing 4-6 passes for 20 yards and running once for five yards. Since Jones arrived to Gainesville, it was only the second game in which he had thrown for more than six passes.

Playing the fourth quarter in its entirety against Towson, Jones completed 6-8 passes for 74 yards. During his first drive early in the fourth quarter, Jones scrambled up the middle for 29 yards. After being ruled down just two yards away from the endzone, Jones would throw for his first touchdown of the season after finding freshman tight end Keon Zipperer off a bubble screen.

Mullen has shown in the past as the offensive coordinator for Urban Meyer that he is not afraid to play two quarterbacks consistently in a game. Mullen at times likes to emulate Steve Spurrier, who was famous for playing as many as three quarterbacks in a single contest in his coaching career at Florida.

Heading into Saturday’s contest against Auburn, Mullen and his staff continue with the mind games by not labeling Trask or Jones as the clear QB1 on the depth chart.

While Franks did not necessarily prove to have taken the next steps needed to make Florida a legitimate playoff contender this season, the early performances by Trask against SEC competition show that Mullen and the coaching staff have done a tremendous job so far in changing the overall mindset within the QB room in less than two years.

Grade: B