FLORIDA
Dan Mullen takes over the Florida program with a strong reputation as a quarterback developer. That’s a title he’s earned at stops at Mississippi State, in his previous stop in Gainesville, and at Utah. Despite all the success he’s experienced coaching up QBs in his career, the task of doing so at Florida in 2018 may be his toughest yet.
Feleipe Franks has been a huge disappointment to date while Kyle Trask has yet to see any meaningful action at any level of football — he didn’t start for his high school football team. Based on the stats Franks put up during the first scrimmage of spring practice in Gainesville, there’s a lot of work to be done.
According to Robbie Andreu of the Gainesville Sun, and shared by Edgar Thompson of the Orlando Sentinel, Trask put Franks to shame during the Friday scrimmage:
Final #Gators QB stats from scrimmage per @RobbieAndreu : Franks 7-22 for 127 yards, 2 TDs, 3 INTs; Trask 12-18 for 182 yards, 3 TDs, 1 INT
— Edgar Thompson (@osgators) March 30, 2018
True freshman Emory Jones also got some action in the scrimmage, but he didn’t do much with his opportunity. Here are his numbers according to Jake Winderman of ESPN Gainesville: 2 for 9 passing for negative three yards. He also rushed the ball four times for 15 yards.
Progress shouldn’t be expected to come overnight for Franks, after all, it took Dak Prescott nearly three years before he showed much in the same offense at Mississippi State, but this performance has to be somewhat unsettling for Gator fans. Florida has a tricky SEC opponent the second weekend of the season in Kentucky before traveling to Tennessee two weeks later.
If Franks can’t figure it out, Neyland Stadium looks to be one daunting first road start for Trask or Jones next season.
Yikes.
Pretty ugly but I wouldn’t put much stock into the first spring scrimmage numbers. New staff, new system, many new parts and players.
At what point does UF finally give Trask a shot? Franks has always looked lost. I remember being disappointed when Franks switched from LSU to UF. That disappointment did not last long.
Anyone who thinks Florida is going to wait around three years for Franks to develop is not thinking right. Having said that, I think he is doing a fine job and should lead the Gators right where the rest of the east wants them to be.
Personally I want to give Trask a shot but I’d thought I’d defend franks here and say the weather was abysmal here and I’m surprised they went ahead with the scrimmage in the swamp instead of indoor facility it was raining and at pretty heavy a some points
I don’t believe Mullen will start Franks if he keeps it up. He didn’t recruit him, he isn’t tied to his success.
How quickly Mullen can turn Florida into a true contender in the East will be the ultimate test of how good he is as a coach. Sure he over performed at MSU, but a closer look at his record shows he lost the overwhelming majority of games to equal or greater opponents. At Florida, Mullen will have resources and (eventually) a talented roster not available at MSU. Was his performance at MSU his peak or was he not able to coach to his full potential because of being in the SEC West with the talent at his disposal?
Without regard to the statistics, Dak Prescott was obviously a diamond before his senior year. Anybody that needed numbers to drive this semi-tractor-trailer-rig home was a football dunce.