ORLANDO, Fla. — Florida Gators coach Dan Mullen is a good football coach, but he is an even better politician.
And politicians, you see, don’t always tell the truth and will often deceive the general public for the greater good. I believe that is what Mullen is doing when he bafflingly says Emory Jones remains the best option as the Gators’ starting quarterback even though it’s become increasingly clear to everybody that freakishly fabulous freshman Anthony Richardson is the most talented QB on Florida’s roster. Mullen is purposely making a bad decision for a good cause.
Mullen is no dummy and is known far and wide as a quarterback guru. Obviously, he sees the incredible potential of Richardson, but he also knows the potential ramifications if he benches Jones. If Richardson is suddenly named the starter, then Jones — a locker-room leader who has patiently waited for three years to become the starter — could become a disgruntled distraction. That could eventually lead to him entering the transfer portal and, who knows, he could be playing for Florida State next season.
Mullen played dumb when I asked him if — in today’s transient world of college football — he perhaps coaches differently and more diplomatically in order to keep players satisfied. He replied: “I’ve never really thought about it.”
Sorry, but I’m not necessarily buying it, nor am I blaming Mullen for how he is publicly handling UF’s quarterback situation heading into this week’s showdown with No. 1-ranked Alabama. Because of Mullen’s track record in developing quarterbacks, UF fans should have one mantra and one mantra only:
“In Dan We Trust.”
However, we know how college football fans are. There is a segment of Gator Nation that is up in arms because Mullen isn’t coming right out and declaring Richardson the starter.
Puh-leeze.
Why would he? Why should he?
First and foremost, we don’t even know how healthy Richardson is after tweaking his hamstring on that spectacular 80-yard touchdown Saturday against USF. Why would Mullen name Richardson the starter against Alabama if he might not even be ready to play against Alabama? Secondly, what sane opposing coach is going to give the great Nick Saban any sort of head start in preparing for UF’s offense?
“My responsibility is to put the team in a position to win,” Mullen said, “and there’s a lot that goes into that.”
And part of what goes into that is making sure you have two healthy, happy quarterbacks for the rest of this season. If you start Richardson and bench Jones after only the second game, Jones’ already-shaken confidence might be completely gone. Mullen should at least start Jones against Alabama and see if he can rebound from his sporadic play in the first two games.
If Jones continues to throw inexplicable interceptions like he did in the first two games, then you go with Richardson. Moreover, if Richardson is healthy Saturday, then he should definitely be getting many more snaps than he’s gotten the first two games. There’s no denying the kid is a big-play machine. Let’s face it, the less he’s on the field, the less of a chance he has of making the breathtaking plays we’ve seen him make against FAU and USF.
Against FAU, he hurdled, stiff-armed and outran would-be tacklers and ignited the Swamp with a 75-yard touchdown run. Against USF, he threw a 75-yard touchdown pass on his first play of the game and ran for an 80-yard touchdown on his last play of the game. Richardson became the first UF quarterback with more than 100 yards passing and 100 yards rushing in a game since Tim Tebow did in 2009. Except Richardson accomplished that in just 11 total plays on Saturday.
He’s big (6-4, 236 pounds), he’s fast and he has incredible arm strength. With his size and speed and the way he flummoxes defenses with his arm and his legs, he reminds me of a young Daunte Culpepper.
“He does special things,” Mullen said of Richardson. “Doesn’t always do the right thing, but he does special things. ... [Against FAU], he drops back and misses the protection check, misses the hot throw, then misses the primary read and then scrambles around and runs and everybody thinks, ‘What a spectacular play!’ "
Mullen seems to be getting a little perturbed that fans and media are trying to tell him who his No. 1 quarterback should be.
“I’ll be honest with you; I don’t listen to many suggestions,” Mullen says. “If you’re in our staff meeting, I’m going to listen to your suggestion. I don’t run down to Shands Hospital and say, ‘Boy, I think you should really do that procedure this way.’ I think those guys probably got that under control, you know? So, they’re the people, they’re the experts who are doing it.”
When a reporter asked Mullen after Saturday’s game if Jones would remain the starter, Mullen snickered and said, “Yes, but why don’t you guys ever ask who the starting running back is?”
Answer: If the backup running back came in and looked like Barry Sanders every time he touched the ball, then maybe we would.
Even so, there’s no question that Mullen deserves the benefit of a doubt.
Come on, Gator Nation, repeat after me:
In Dan We Trust ...
In Dan We Trust ...
In Dan We Trust ...
