Few players on the Florida 2021 football roster have grabbed more digital ink than presumed starting quarterback Emory Jones. He deserves a ton of attention as he takes over a radically transformed offense after sitting on the Gators’ bench for several seasons. How well he plays next season will be an important factor, if not the most important one, in determining how well the team is able to perform on the whole.
Being a former top 100 recruit leading a team with a good reputation for quarterback coaching in the nation’s best football conference, Jones is sure to excite a segment of the population. Matt Fortuna, a national college football reporter at The Athletic, can be considered among Jones’ supporters.
Fortuna participated in The Athletic’s annual Heisman Draft, a quick fantasy draft among a few of the publication’s authors wherein they are awarded points for selecting players who finish as top ten finalists for the trophy, are the Midseason leader for the award, or receive an invite to the award ceremony in New York.
With his second selection, the 18th overall pick, Fortuna snagged the Gators’ signal caller.
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”We’ve already seen what Dan Mullen can do at Florida with career backup quarterbacks he didn’t even recruit. (See: Kyle Trask finishing fourth in Heisman voting last year,)” he wrote. “Now we get to see him, and this Gators offense, unleashed with a former top-100 dual-threat signee who has quietly been waiting his turn and absorbing the offense the past three seasons. I can’t believe Jones was available this late.”
I can’t believe Jones was available that late either! He’s a savvy pick in a draft that awards points for getting close to the mark almost as well as hitting it exactly. Frankly, between his name recognition and opportunity to play on one of college football’s biggest stages in the Swamp, Jones has a shot to sneak into the voting even if he is underqualified for the award.
There are a few potentially limiting factors that could hold him back from the heights of Heisman consideration. The orange and blue receiver room is largely filled with unproven guys and their offensive line lost some stalwarts after last season. Additionally, it’s not possible to know just how well his arm will play against SEC defenses, which could leave him hamstrung if his accuracy isn’t up for the task.
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