The starting quarterback job for the Florida Gators is about much more than just one individual trying to complete passes and lead his team to victories.
It’s about upholding and continuing UF’s strong legacy at the position. Steve Spurrier, Danny Wuerffel and Tim Tebow won the Heisman Trophy. Rex Grossman and Kyle Trask were finalists for the award. Chris Leak won a national championship. Kerwin Bell, Shane Matthews and Terry Dean were record-setters in their days.
Many of UF’s former quarterbacks remain involved in the program years after their college careers ended to offer support and advice for the next generation.
With his first career start against Florida Atlantic just days away, Emory Jones is learning that being the Gators’ starting quarterback is like joining a fraternity. There’s a ton of pressure that comes with that, but Jones looks forward to answering the call.
“I used to talk to Wuerffel a lot,” Jones said. “He hit me up a lot. Tim Tebow, he texts me sometimes. It’s definitely a fraternity for sure. Those guys, they always are looking back to give back to us or whoever is in that position. It’s definitely exciting, and I’m taking full responsibility for everything that goes on with this position.
“Just basically telling me to embrace it and make sure I’m leading the guys around me. And making sure I be my best every day, come into the building with energy and leading the guys around me. Just basically just telling me they’re proud of me for sticking around and waiting it out.”
So, what exactly does it mean to be the starting quarterback at Florida?
“Basically just the definition of [the] Gator Standard,” he said. “We’re walking in every day with the attitude, waking up every morning with that same attitude, ready to get better, attacking the day, attacking whatever’s in front of me and, of course, making sure the guys around me are at their best at all times.”
This moment has been a long time coming for Jones. He was one of the top high school quarterbacks in the 2018 class, but he found himself stuck second or third on the depth chart behind Feleipe Franks and Trask over the past three seasons. He played in 24 games as a change-of-pace option, attempting 86 passes and 92 rushes.
Things will obviously be much different for Jones as the starter. Opposing defenses will study him all week to try to find weaknesses that they can exploit. Fans will examine everything he does under a microscope. If he has a bad game, he’ll be expected to talk about it with the media afterward.
While his responsibilities have grown, Jones plans to keep his mental approach the same.
“I really have the same mindset that I’ve been having, just competing every day, trying to get better every day,” he said. “Like I said last time, just trying to find different ways to bring the team together and get us through any adversity that we have to face.”
Dan Mullen won’t ease him into the starting lineup by calling some simple plays to give him some confidence and rhythm, either. Mullen views Jones as a veteran, so he’ll be expected to execute the full offense and make the necessary adjustments at the line.
“We put it all in on him,” Mullen said. “It’s not like he’s a freshman or hasn’t been around. That’s part of the experience. He’s played meaningful snaps in each of the last couple seasons. He’s a guy that I feel pretty comfortable [with]. We’ll just throw the whole thing out of him and let him go.
“We’ll have some package plays that are checked together. We’ll have some automatics that he can kill to. I think he knows he has the ability [to audible] if he sees something that he likes or that’s different that we weren’t planning for. A lot of times, you get into a game, especially one that you don’t have much film to go watch, you have to be very flexible during the course of the game. He’s a guy that I have the confidence in that, if he sees something, he can check to it and go take what he sees.”
Jones, from LaGrange, Georgia, said he will have about eight family members in attendance to watch him make his first start. Saturday will be a huge day for all of them.
“It’ll definitely be exciting for those people,” Jones said. “They’ve been contacting me already, just telling me how excited they are for me, how proud they are of me for just sticking through this and just waiting my turn, and now it’s about to be that time for me to show the world what I can do. So, I’m excited.
“I’m just ready to go out there and show the world what I can do. I’m excited to see all the work that the guys around me put in and see them put on a show on Saturday. All the receivers, I’m just ready to see them make the plays that they’ve been making for the last couple years.”
The starting quarterback job at Florida isn’t about one person. It’s about acknowledging the high standard of performance set by those who have come before you and giving everything you’ve got to live up to it. It’s about pushing yourself and your teammates to the highest level possible and laying the foundation for the next guy to be even more successful.
Matthews passed the torch to Dean, who passed it to Wuerffel, who passed it to Doug Johnson, who passed it to Grossman, who passed it to Leak, who passed it to Tebow.
A decade later, the Gator Standard at the quarterback position was reestablished by Trask.
Now it’s Jones’ turn to keep the legacy going.