GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Florida quarterback Emory Jones’s mother, Trina, finally had a reason to come to the Swamp.
Fans soon gave her second thoughts. The backlash to Jones’ struggles in his new role as starter at times was too much to bear.
Knowing his mother had to listen to the barbs and boos did little to help Jones’ performance, either.
“It was hard for her to sit in the stands during the games,” quarterbacks coach Garrick McGee shared following Tuesday’s practice. “People were saying things to her about her son that probably weren’t fair. And he had to deal with that while he was out on the field trying to execute and worried about his mom who’s in the stands.
“Those types of things are something nobody talks about.”
The Florida quarterback situation has generated endless discussion and reaction this season. Yet the conversation rarely steers from performance and expectations toward the human element.
“Everyone has a job to do,” McGee said. “Fans are fans. They’re going to come to the stadium; they’re going to scream your lungs out for us. They want things to go right. And when things are not going right, they tend to let that go also.
“It’s a part of playing this position at this level.”
Jones has been inconsistent following a three-season wait to become the starter, producing head-scratching and record-setting moments.
Promising backup Anthony Richardson has shined in spurts, but he experienced a comeuppance against No. 1 Georgia. The 19-year-old also has endured injuries on and off the field.
To best manage the Gators’ QBs, McGee maintains an open dialogue with the person who knows them best — Trina Jones and LaShawnda Cleare, Richardson’s mother.
“We would have these deep conversations, me and him, him and his mother, about how we’re going to withstand this and keep battling through this,” McGee said. “We and his mom ended up developing a really good relationship.
“She’s a very strong lady. She really has a lot of confidence and faith in her kid.”
After Emory Jones set the school’s total offense record with 550 yards last Saturday against Samford, his mother celebrated a performance many placed an asterisk upon because it occurred against an FCS opponent.
“Catch a kid doing something good, and lift them up,” Trina Jones tweeted.
While Cleare’s son is celebrated as Florida’s future at QB, she reminds Richardson he needs to mature to reach his potential.
“She just said he needs to grow up,” McGee said. “ ‘Coach, I know this kid looks like a man. And I know the Lord has blessed him with a lot of talent, but this is a baby.’ ”
Case in point: Richardson’s boo-boos.
On-field injuries are expected, but McGee recalled another close-call Richardson had dancing at the indoor practice facility.
“That’s something that goes along with that, got to learn to grow up,” McGee said. “Can’t afford that in a program like that — can’t afford injuries. You’re going to run into enough guys during the game. He understood it.
“He’s just a kid trying to grow up while he’s in college — just so happens he’s a tremendous football player.”
The 6-foot-4, 236-pound Richardson’s size and speed are unique, but also create challenges.
Witness the hamstring strain suffered during an 80-yard touchdown run at USF that sidelined Richardson two games and forced strength coach Nick Savage to re-formulate a practice plan.
“His body is built differently; he’s faster than most kids his size,” McGee said of Richardson. “He is so fast and his muscles are going to move and strain so much when he’s running. Savage started keeping him and getting him to get to top speed during a practice session so that his muscles could hold up when he gets a top speed during the games.”
Despite two seasons as Kyle Trask’s backup and understudy, Jones did not get up to speed quickly, tossing four interceptions during the first two games. But he since found his stride, highlighted by the Samford game, and stays the course.
“It’s been a lot of ups and downs for me,” he said. “I always stay grinding, never get too high. Never get too low. I have the support of all the guys in the locker room and all the coaching staff.
“They’re all rooting for me and that’s all I can ask for.”
In case you were wondering, Trina Jones is doing OK herself.
“Just for the record,” she tweeted, “Emory Jones’ mother is fine, as is Emory Jones.”
