Florida Football: Should Emory Jones or Feleipe Franks lead offense in 2019?

There’s a major question mark surrounding Florida football’s offense heading into the 2019 season and it’s about who should be leading it.

Florida’s offense didn’t exactly blow anyone away in 2018, except for maybe Michigan, but it did take a step in the right direction in Dan Mullen’s first season with the program.

The Gators went from a defense-only team under Jim McElwain to an offense that averaged about 427 total yards per game and 35 points. The offense was no longer the reason this team was losing games because, well, it didn’t lose that many and Feleipe Franks was an improved overall passer.

Mullen tends to have that kind of effect on quarterbacks like he did Nick Fitzgerald while at Mississippi State, but he may have a backup with a higher ceiling than his starter.

Although Emory Jones doesn’t have the experience of Franks, he’s been held in high regard since de-committing from Ohio State and pledging to the Gators. He attempted just 16 passes last season, completion 12 of them for 125 yards and two touchdowns, looking like an accurate and effective passer in limited snaps.

Despite sitting behind a returning quarterback, Jones admitted recently that he never really thought about transferring and he knows his time is coming.

Will that be sooner rather than later? He has the right mindset for a kid ready to take the next step in 2019.

The playbook is a big thing, as well as mental preparation. As long as he has both of those, he can unleash his skill set on opposing defenses and prove himself worthy of No. 1 consideration.

Franks improved drastically throughout last season, though, and he finished with 2,457 yards and 26 touchdowns with just six interceptions. He completed 58 percent of his passes, which should see an improvement, but he was never truly a dominant passer. Has he hit his ceiling?

In my opinion, Jones has the higher ceiling, but Mullen may feel most comfortable going with experience over pure talent. I see Franks starting the year, but don’t be surprised if Jones gets mixed in a bit and eventually proves himself as the better overall quarterback.

There’s a ‘quarterback competition’ this spring, but it’s not as nationally talked about as it should be. Franks made Florida a 10-win team again but Jones could take the Gators to the next level.