Dan Mullen discusses Florida’s QB plan vs. Georgia, recalls Tim Tebow/Chris Leak scenario in 2006
By Sydney Hunte
Published:
Saturday will mark Dan Mullen’s 8th time on the Florida sidelines for the Cocktail Party game vs. Georgia in Jacksonville. Mullen, of course, was the Gators’ offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach from 2005-2008 before returning to Gainesville prior to the 2018 season, this time as head coach.
Florida beat Georgia in 2005, 2006 and 2008 during Mullen’s 1st stint on the Gators’ sideline. As a head coach, the Gators dropped matchups in 2018 and 2019 before a win in 2020. In 2021, he has a bit of a quandary on his hands at the quarterback slot, but will reportedly call on Anthony Richardson to get the start over Emory Jones.
That won’t be confirmed or denied until pregame warmups by Mullen, who appeared on “SEC Nation” on Saturday.
“There will be situations if you have two you have none and there’s some if you have two you’re better,” he said, according to 247Sports. “So I think it’s how you handle each situation. You’ve got to understand every situation is unique.”
He discussed a similar scenario in 2006, where senior Chris Leak was the incumbent but Tim Tebow showed immense promise as a true freshman, passing for 358 yards and 5 touchdowns while recording 8 touchdowns and 469 yards on the ground on 89 carries.
“They kind of fed off each other in how you utilized each quarterback in different situations,” he added.
Sydney is an Atlanta-based journalist who has covered everything from SEC and ACC football to MLS, the U.S. men's national soccer team and professional tennis. His work has appeared on such platforms as SB Nation, Cox Media Group and FanSided.
