Tag: Emory Jones

Arizona State QB Emory Jones is struggling; USC doesn’t want to give him new reason to believe

Emory Jones is a raw, unpolished talent whose reads and reactions are not making the cut. USC needs to keep Jones indecisive, not giving him clarity or confidence.

Arizona State quarterback Emory Jones hopes to make a splash Saturday night against the USC Trojans. Viewed from ASU’s perspective, Jones will need to be the reason for an upset victory in L.A.

Jones is from the 2018 recruiting class, a four-star prospect from Franklin (Ga.) Heard County. He was the No. 19 player out of the state, the No. 7 dual-threat quarterback in the nation, and the No. 173 overall prospect in the class. He committed to Dan Mullen and the Florida Gators.

The former Florida quarterback played four seasons with the Gators, completing 64.6% of his passes for 3,347 yards and 26 touchdowns to 14 interceptions. He also ran for 1,273 yards and 10 touchdowns.

Jones has faced adversity this season in Tempe with a coaching change and plenty of doubt from Sun Devil fans.

Jones has thrown for three touchdowns and rushed for three on the season, but he is coming off a two-interception performance against Utah in which he took five sacks and was banged up all game.

“Emory is a leader,” senior offensive lineman Des Holmes said, via Sun Devil Source. “And I really appreciated that from Emory, and when you have a guy that’s a leader in your huddle and — he just has a certain type of energy about him. Because I feel like when it comes to this game, and [the quarterback position] specifically, there’s a type of respect and infectiousness and energy and vibe your quarterback has to give off. So I believe Emory embodies that and it’s very easy to follow a captain like that.”

Arizona State is at the bottom of most offensive categories in the Pac-12. The Sun Devils are last in the nation in penalties.

If the Sun Devils want to get back on track, it starts with Jones. Jones can still make big splash plays with his legs and his arm if the offensive line gives him time to create in space. It’s up to USC to not allow him to get into  rhythm.

If Emory Jones does struggle or the game gets out of hand, look for backup quarterback Paul Tyson to get some action.

Tyson, who is the great-grandson of legendary Crimson Tide head coach Paul “Bear” Bryant, sat behind Jalen Hurts, Tua Toagovailoa and Mac Jones — all of whom are now starting NFL quarterbacks — as well as reigning Heisman Trophy winner Bryce Young during his three years in the SEC.

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These two Gators earned SEC honors for their Week 1 performances

Two Gators made big waves in the conference in their team’s season opener.

Florida football scored an epic win to open the 2022 season in the Swamp, outlasting their top-10 opponent, the Utah Utes, for an upset victory that hopefully sets the tone for the team in head coach [autotag]Billy Napier[/autotag]’s first year at the helm.

It took a total team effort to score that victory, from the coaching staff all the way down to everyone else who contributed to the outcome on the field. Among the gridiron warriors who went to battle for the glory of the Orange and Blue Saturday night, two particular players stood out from their Southeastern Conference peers.

Quarterback [autotag]Anthony Richardson[/autotag] put up Heisman Trophy-worth stats against the Utes to earn the SEC Offensive Player of the Week honor, looking solid with his arm while setting a career-high in rushing touchdowns with his three scampers. Only five other Florida play-callers have achieved that accomplishment, a list that also includes [autotag]Emory Jones[/autotag], [autotag]Jeff Driskel[/autotag], [autotag]Jesse Palmer[/autotag] and [autotag]Tim Tebow[/autotag]. Of course, Tebow did it twice.

On the other side of the ball is defensive lineman [autotag]Brenton Cox Jr[/autotag]., who roped in his first SEC weekly honor — Co-Defensive Lineman — thanks to a career-best 10 tackles against Utah. The former Georgia Bulldog was expected to anchor the D-line for Florida this season and did not disappoint against the opening opponent, ending up just one of eight conference players to record double-digit tackles in Week 1.

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Three Gators ranked inside ESPN’s top 100 college football players for 2022

These three Gators are considered among the best in college football heading into the 2022 season, per ESPN.

Florida had a trio of players turn up on ESPN’s list of the top 100 college football players heading into 2022 on Wednesday. Linebacker [autotag]Brenton Cox Jr[/autotag]., quarterback [autotag]Anthony Richardson[/autotag] and offensive guard [autotag]O’Cyrus Torrence[/autotag] all fell in final 20 spots of the list.

Cox fell 21 spots from No. 59 in 2021 to No. 80 on this year’s list. After collecting 8.5 sacks and 41 tackles (26 solo) as a redshirt sophomore, he’s looking to set a new school record in sacks before heading to the pros. Injuries hurt the linebacker room early on last season, but the ESPN staff thinks that a healthy group could open things up for Cox to reach his goals.

“Change is everywhere you look in Gainesville, but Cox is a constant. He combined 8.5 sacks with 10 run stops at or behind the line in 2021, and he broke up four passes in coverage, too. With [autotag]Ventrell Miller[/autotag] returning from injury, Cox could helm a dynamite LB corps.”

Richardson comes in at No. 93 on the rankings after not placing a year ago as the backup to [autotag]Emory Jones[/autotag]. The ESPN staff isn’t shy about praising Richardson’s potential, but it’ll take actual production for him to move any higher on this list.

“He’s huge (6-4, 252 pounds). He’s got a big arm (among his 38 completions last year were six over 30 yards), and he’s ridiculously fast (rushes of 80 and 73 yards). The man has all the tools. Now we get to see if he can put them all together.”

Four spots under Richardson is Torrence, one of the five men who will be charged with protecting the first-year quarterback. Despite allowing just three pressure in 378 pass-block snaps last year, Torrence moved up from No. 100 to just No. 97. Go figure.

“An under-the-radar recruit, Torrence (listed at 6-5 and 347 pounds) was an immediate star for head coach Billy Napier at Louisiana. Now the former Freshman All-American and All-Sun Belt star will play his trade with Napier in Gainesville. He immediately becomes Florida’s most proven and high-upside lineman.”

If Napier’s guy turns out to be a success in the SEC, he could get drafted in the first three rounds this spring.

A surprising snub on the list is defensive tackle [autotag]Gervon Dexter[/autotag], who was ranked earlier in the week in Todd McShay’s top-50 NFL draft prospects. Like Richardson, he needs to add a little more consistency to his game, but Dexter has been considered one of Florida’s best project players for a few years.

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2023 Florida Football Season Preview: Quarterbacks

Gators Wire’s 2022 position-by-position roster breakdown starts with the quarterback room.

The college football season begins in slightly less than three weeks, which means there’s still time to break down the 2022 Florida Gators roster position-by-position. The quarterbacks are up first, and there’s a pretty clear hierarchy heading into the season.

In 2021, the quarterback position at Florida was a mess under offensive guru Dan Mullen. [autotag]Emory Jones[/autotag] entered the year as the team’s starter, but the fans soon clamored for the freshman with the big arm and even more impressive legs, [autotag]Anthony Richardson[/autotag]. Mullen stuck with Jones for most of the year until finally giving Richardson a shot to start against … Georgia. Talk about setting a kid up for failure.

Jones closed the year as the starter when Richardson was dealing with injuries. The two combined for 18 interceptions (and 25 touchdowns) to close a 6-7 year. Florida let Mullen go well before the lame-duck loss to UCF in the Gasparilla Bowl, and the Billy Napier Era started to take shape. Jones earned his degree from UF and transferred to Arizona State, leaving Richardson the presumed starter for 2022.

Florida also lost [autotag]Carlos Del Rio-Wilson[/autotag] to Syracuse via the transfer portal, but Napier didn’t make any moves after that loss, signaling he was comfortable with the depth he has at the position.

Let’s go through the quarterbacks on the 2022 roster.

Check back with Gators Wire for more position-by-position breakdowns leading up to the season.

Gators QB ranked among top-25 at his position per Athlon Sports

Anthony Richardson could make Athlon Sports look silly with these preseason position rankings if he lives up to his full potential.

With all the hype that Florida quarterback [autotag]Anthony Richardson[/autotag] has received heading into his first year as the Gators’ starter, it’s sometimes hard to remember that he’s a relatively unproven player.

He competed for playing time last year with [autotag]Emory Jones[/autotag], and Dan Mullen never really gave him a fair shot at the starting job — his one start came against Georgia. Richardson still finished his redshirt freshman year with 529 yards and six touchdowns on 38-for-64 passing. He also added 401 rushing yards and three touchdowns on 51 carries.

While he’s shown flashes of first-round potential, Richardson has also made his share of mistakes. He threw five interceptions in seven games and needs to show some consistency to make good on the draft experts’ projections. That uncertainty is why Richardson finds himself ranked 25th on Athlon Sports‘ list of the top 131 starting quarterbacks in college football.

Rounding out the top 25 isn’t synonymous with excellence in college football, and that rings true in these rankings. There’s a lot of “what if” to Richardson’s game and he could easily end up being a two-year project if things don’t click in year one with Billy Napier.

Upside and potential are the two words most often mentioned about Richardson going into the 2022 season. New coach Billy Napier is tasked with harnessing and developing the enormous talent Richardson has, and the ’21 campaign provided plenty of insight into the type of player he can become … Can Richardson turn the upside and potential into more consistent (especially through the air) production this fall? If he can, this spot will be too low on our list by December.

Given that last line, it sounds like the folks at Athlon Sports are expecting to be wrong on this one. There’s no guarantee he turns into a first-round pick as some draft experts have projected, but the consistency should come as the team’s unquestioned starter.

For those wondering, they ranked Jones at No. 58 as the likely starter for the Arizona State Sun Devils.

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Florida’s QB among ESPN’s top 25 important players in CFP race

Anthony Richardson cracks the top 25 players in ESPN’s list of 25 important players in the 2022 Playoff race.

Anthony Richardson seems poised to have a breakout season on the national stage in 2022, landing on ESPN’s list of the 25 most important players in the 2022 College Football Playoff race.

Richardson has been Florida’s worst kept secret since he first set foot on campus back in 2020. The hometown star has been seen as a savior of sorts among the Gators fanbase, even going so far as to compare him to Florida football legend [autotag]Tim Tebow[/autotag], and not just because they share the same number.

This offseason has shown us that the hype has transcended North Florida and has entered the national discussion. Richardson was front and center at SEC Media Days answering questions about his leadership qualities, Billy Napier, and his decision to drop the “AR-15” nickname and branding he utilized last year once NIL opportunities arose.

Now, Richardson is being seen by ESPN as the No. 24 most important player in this season’s CFP race. Here’s what ESPN’s Bill Connelly said about the Gators’ presumptive starting QB:

His full-season averages — 8.3 yards per pass, 7.9 yards per rush — were a thrill, but after the first two games of the season (easy wins over FAU and USF) those numbers fell to 6.4 and 3.2, respectively. Former Florida coach [autotag]Dan Mullen[/autotag] clearly trusted [autotag]Emory Jones[/autotag] more as the starter, but both Mullen and Jones are gone this year. Billy Napier’s Gators debut will depend primarily on coaxing consistency out of this all-or-nothing QB.

Florida’s roster is probably too flawed to win big, but Richardson’s pure potential could derail title hopes for Week 1 opponent Utah and/or contenders and conference foes Georgia and Texas A&M.

Connelly hit the nail right on the head with his analysis here. Florida is in no position to compete for the SEC championship, let alone a national championship, so it’s unrealistic that Richardson’s inclusion on this list is because of some run the Gators can go on. The team just isn’t built for a title run yet. But Richardson and the Gators can play spoiler to a few teams, most notably SEC East rival Georgia.

The fact that Florida opens the season against an assumed top-10 team in Utah and travels to College Station to take on the Aggies, along with the annual Georgia game in Jacksonville, gives Richardson the power to be the ultimate spoiler.

Maybe he even sets Florida up for an SEC championship run next year, if he decides to stay an extra year.

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Could Florida’s Anthony Richardson go No. 1 overall in the 2023 NFL draft?

So, you’re saying there’s a chance? Here are the odds ESPN gives for Florida QB Anthony Richardson to go first overall in the 2023 NFL draft.

There’s no shortage of hype surrounding Florida quarterback [autotag]Anthony Richardson[/autotag] heading into the 2022 season.

Several experts have him going somewhere in the first round of next year’s NFL draft, but what are the chances of Richardson being the first name off the board next April? ESPN’s Jordan Reid tackled that question while going over each of the potential candidates to go No. 1 and he concluded that there is roughly a 10% chance Richardson is called first overall.

Now that may sound low, but the “serious contenders” group — which consists of Alabama‘s Bryce Young and Will Anderson and Ohio State‘s C.J. Stroud — all have a 20% shot, so there’s no overwhelming favorite to claim the spot.

Richardson is one of three names in the group of “prospects who could make it interesting,” along with Kentucky’s Will Levis and Northwestern offensive tackle Peter Skoronski. Here’s what Reid had to say about Richardson’s potential.

If I had to circle the one player to whom scouts will have their eyes glued this season, it would be Richardson. With off-the-charts physical traits, the ball explodes out of the 6-foot-4 signal caller’s hand. Despite having a bit of a loopy release, he has the arm strength to compensate.

The big concern with Richardson is that he hasn’t played a whole lot. [autotag]Emory Jones[/autotag] was Florida’s starter last season, and Richardson was up and down as a backup. Billy Napier‘s job is to find some more consistency with Richardson and unlock the potential that a player with his arm strength and speed has.

“The sample size. That’s the big question out there about him,” an NFL area scout in charge of the Florida region told Reid. “You get excited about the second half of the LSU game, but he looked lost against Georgia.”

There’s certainly some excitement heading into the season with Richardson, but he’ll have to live up to those expectations to warrant a first-round pick and he’ll have to exceed them to go No. 1 overall.

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Anthony Richardson looking to ‘push the tempo’ in 2022

Florida’s starting quarterback is embracing Billy Napier’s offense and could be primed for a breakout year.

All eyes are on Florida quarterback [autotag]Anthony Richardson[/autotag] this year as he prepares to lead UF’s offense in the first year of the Billy Napier era. Gator Nation received glimpses of what to expect from him last year, but Napier’s job is to draw out some consistency from the 21-year-old.

That should be easier with [autotag]Emory Jones[/autotag] out of the picture and Napier backing Richardson as Florida’s leader on offense without question. When asked about Richardson during his SEC media day appearances, Napier predicted a breakout year for him.

“I’ve been impressed,” Napier said. “I think he’s remained humble. He’s got a little bit of an edge. I think he wants to prove himself … He has tremendous ability. He’s working hard to develop, improve as a person, as a leader. He’s working hard to increase his football IQ. His skill is developing. I think he’s prime to have a phenomenal year.”

One of the key changes that will be made this year is speeding up the tempo on offense. Fans were able to see some of the improvements during the spring game, but there’s still work to be done to get things where they need to be in the fall. As the only player who touches the ball every play on offense, Richardson’s understanding of Napier’s scheme is crucial.

“The tempo,” Richardson said. “I’m going to push the tempo a lot.”

Napier is hoping that his quarterback can channel some of the urgency he showed in that spring game appearance before Florida hosts Utah on September 3. The experts already have Richardson ranked among the top quarterbacks in the class, and Gator Nation is looking for a quick turnaround. Whether they get it or not, may very well depend on how quickly Richardson masters Napier’s offense.

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Anthony Richardson named to the Maxwell Award watch list

Florida Gators QB Anthony Richardson was named to the Maxwell Award watch list, given to the nation’s most outstanding player.

Florida sophomore quarterback [autotag]Anthony Richardson[/autotag] has been named to the Maxwell Award watch list.

The Maxwell Award has been presented to the nation’s most outstanding player by the Maxwell Football Club every year since 1937. Richardson is looking to become the third player in Florida Gators history to win the Maxwell Award, with [autotag]Danny Wuerffel[/autotag] (1996) and [autotag]Tim Tebow[/autotag] (2007 & 2008) — the only Gators to win the award.

Despite being named to the Maxwell Award watch list, Richardson was left off the Davey O’Brien watch list, the award given out to the nation’s top quarterback.

Richardson is expected to enter the season as Florida’s QB1, with last year’s starter [autotag]Emory Jones[/autotag] transferring to Arizona State. It’s understandable the Davey O’Brien selection committee left Richardson off their list, with the Gators quarterback’s ability to be the sole signal caller a question mark outside of Gainesville.

Richardson recently announced that he will stop using his trademarked nickname “AR-15” because of its association with the assault rifle used in mass shootings across the country.

Richardson appeared in eight games last season totaling 529 passing yards and 401 rushing yards. He was the first Gators quarterback named to the All-SEC Freshman team since 2014. His 152 passing yards and 115 rushing yards against USF made him the first player in FBS in the last 25 seasons to rush for 100-plus yards and throw for 150-plus yards while completing every pass he threw in the game (3/3).

The Florida Gators kick off the 2022 football season on Saturday, September 3 at 7:00 p.m. EDT on ESPN.

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Where Anthony Richardson stands among top 10 SEC QBs in 2022

Here’s where AR-15 stands in comparison to his fellow conference peers.

College football season is less than two months away, and while the mercury continues to rise as we reach the summer doldrums, fanbases around the country are champing at the bit for the return of their gridiron heroes.

One area of the nation where things have been cooking — both on the thermometer and on the field — is in the Southeastern Conference, which took home the national championship last season courtesy of a Georgia Bulldogs win over the Alabama Crimson Tide in the title game. While the conference appears to be rather top-heavy at times, the 14-school league is home to some of the best talent in the nation, including the most important position on the field at quarterback.

Heading into the fall, the Gators have anointed [autotag]Anthony Richardson[/autotag] as the starting signal-caller for the Orange and Blue after splitting time with [autotag]Emory Jones[/autotag] under center in 2021. Many project the Gainesville native as a first-round pick — even possibly. top-10 selection. There is a lot of football to be played before that is decided, but where does AR-15 stand in comparison to his fellow SEC peers as of now?

The USA TODAY Sports Network is counting down to SEC Media Days, scheduled for July 18-21 in Atlanta, by revealing its top players at each position grouping. Take a look below at who it ranked as the 10 best quarterbacks in the SEC heading into the 2022 season, with blurbs on each player included.