Florida is one of a few SEC teams dealing with an injury to the program’s starting quarterback. On Wednesday during his weekly teleconference, coach Dan Mullen pulled the curtain back a bit on how the Gators develop their signal callers and prepare the team for a situation where the backup quarterback is playing.

The most revealing thing Mullen said was the team doesn’t limit the playbook when developing quarterbacks because Florida “develops them to be starters.” Then when different quarterbacks find themselves on the field, the team focuses on “what guys do well” to highlight those traits and hide their weaknesses.

It’s worked out with Kyle Trask for the last five games. Since becoming the team’s starter because of an injury to Feleipe Franks, Trask has completed 66.9 percent of his passes for 1,225 yards, 13 touchdowns and four interceptions in five games.

“Losing a quarterback is tough,” Mullen said but added “our guys have taken the ‘next guy up’ mentality.”

Here’s what else Mullen said on Wednesday:

  • On Jake Fromm, how good is he? I think he does a great job, smart player, gets them into the right plays… he is an accurate guy with the ball in his hand, he can extend plays. They don’t do a lot of QB run but he can scramble.
  • After LSU game, sense of urgency with your team? For our guys, they are getting better. They have not been able to play together much due to injuries… we are trying to get everyone on the same page.
  • On being on HBO: It was great, it was a fun experience, a learning experience. When they say 24/7, they are really around 24/7… I think it showed what our program was really about.
  • On Kadarious Toney’s return: He is a playmaker. he is explosive with the ball in his hands. having that back, the more playmakers you can put on the field, the better so I think it’s great.
    on staff continuity, how big is that? I think staff continuity is always important. We try to make this be a place where people want to work and want to be a part of what we are doing… I think it helps because it gets everyone on the same page… We take pride in developing our players and having staff continuity helps that.
  • On Kyle Trask: He’s developed, he’s worked on it since the day I got here… When his number was called, he was ready.
  • On chest match against Kirby Smart on the field: It’s always interesting. Gone against each other different times, different teams — even going back to Alabama. He does a good job of putting his players in a position to be successful.
  • On Emory Jones, how hard is it to know when to use him? It’s not real hard, it’s just about knowing when to do it, so it’s not hard at all.