Emory Jones came to Gainesville with plenty of expectations. According to his teammates, the redshirt freshman is living up to the hype.

“Emory is going to be a really good player,” Florida quarterback Feleipe Franks said. “I love his mentality. I love how he approaches each day. I’m a big fan of Emory.”

Jones featured in a few games this season in his first season including against ranked Georgia in select packages and for almost the entire second half against Idaho.

“I think he’s really ready,” former Florida running back Jordan Scarlett said. “He’s a lot more comfortable now. In the game he played in, he said, ‘I should have done this, I should have done that.’ I like that about him.

“He’s always in the game plan, watching film. He’s going to be a great player in years to come.”

Although Jones has contributed this year, Dan Mullen has been very careful not to put too much on his plate. The Gators head coach believes Florida Franks was put in a starting role too soon, and he does not want to make that mistake.

According to Mullen, putting too much pressure on a signal caller too early could hinder his development.

"I think you better be really cautious if you're going to play that young of a quarterback," Mullen said back in November. "If you've kind of played too early, then you're not ready for that moment, and you start, before knowing where to go with the ball, you start getting a little gun shy."

So Jones was eased into his role.

The Peach State playmaker threw for 16 passes, completing 12 for 125 yards and two touchdowns in his first season. He also rushed 18 times for 41 yards - showing he is not only a threat with his arm but his legs as well.

"I always laugh with him [Jones], 'you have better stats than he [Prescott] had as a freshman, better stats than Alex Smith had as a freshman,'" said Mullen.

"He puts me in games and situations that help me grow," Jones said after Florida's win over Michigan. "That man knows what he's doing. He came at us, he's going to make us work hard and he loves us at the end of the day."

"Emory is a guy that I have never seen once not trust the process of whats going and how it is going to play out," added Mullen.

It helps to trust a process when you see the reward for your hard work.

"I love this team right here," said Jones. "We've worked hard since January. When Coach Mullen came in, he told us we were going to be right here."

College football is always an adjustment for a first year player coming from high school.

"The game is obviously faster but he [Mullen] just got me to where I think faster mentally," he said.

"We have really seen him grow," Mullen said. " We are very fortunate with the new NCAA rule, especially coming into this game as the backup, he is not going to lose a year of eligibility if he is forced to get on the field, which is one of the great things the NCAA has done for student athletes. He has had the opportunity to grow and develop and still redshirt this season."

Jones was also fortunate in having a few more practices in his first season. The Florida staff made it a point to use those extra bowl practices to help develop the younger talent - which means Jones played has more opportunities to earn reps with the first team.

"It helped me a lot," said Jones about the extra practices. "I really didn't get a lot of reps with the ones when I first got here, so getting in a lot of reps with them and getting more experience is getting me ready."

It was not just practice. Jones had the opportunity to play in live games and in big environments in his first season - not only against UGA, as mentioned above, but also in his hometown of Atlanta, in a New Year's Six Bowl.

"I was just ready to get on the field and play," he said about playing against the Wolverines. "This was obviously pretty special to me. This is my first time playing in this stadium. To come here and play in front of my hometown is special."

This spring could prove interesting.

Although many point to Franks as next year's returning starter, Jones with have his opportunity to compete as an older, more experienced signal caller.

"It won’t be the first time, probably won’t be the last time I’ll be in a competition," said Franks. "It’s going to make me better and it’s going to make them better as well, because we've got some good quarterbacks in our room."



