Gators Stock Report: Emory Jones, Zach Carter Up After FSU

Check out the final Gators regular season stock report for 2019.

Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

The Gators defeated in-state rival Florida State to end the regular season this past weekend, outscoring the Seminoles 40-17. 

Florida controlled the game from start to finish and the Seminoles showed just how incompetent they were as they racked up 13 penalties. The Gators ended the regular season at 10-2, with Dan Mullen being the first coach at Florida to win 10+ games in his first two years at the helm.

Here's the final stock report of Florida's regular season.

STOCK UP 

BUCK Jonathan Greenard: There is absolutely no reason why Greenard shouldn’t be an All American, as he has destroyed every defense he has played when healthy. 

Unfortunately, Greenard missed a few games with an ankle injury, but he has accumulated nine sacks, 50 total tackles, two forced fumbles, one fumble recovery, and an interception in 10 games. Greenard might have passed by cornerback C.J. Henderson as the first Gator to come off the draft board come late April, as Greenard can do it all in run support and is a phenomenal pass rusher.

DL Zachary Carter: This may be Florida’s most underrated defender of the year, as Zach Carter has played incredibly well after stepping in for an injured Jabari Zuniga. The redshirt sophomore from Tampa, Florida has put up 4.5 sacks for 2019 and created pressure against every offensive line he’s faced. Carter is very strong and showed that against the Seminoles, and creating two QB pressures and contributing towards three "stops" - a play that constitutes a failure for the offense, according to PFF. 

QB Emory Jones: Despite being the backup to Kyle Trask through his very impressive fill-in for Feleipe Franks, Emory Jones showed his promise all year and especially this past weekend against the ‘Noles. 

This is vital now that Feleipe Franks has decided to move on from the team, so the Gators will be down to Kyle Trask, Emory Jones, and incoming four-star freshman Anthony Richardson from Gainesville. Jones showed off his passing ability, completing five of his six passes for 47 yards and one touchdown. Jones is a dual-threat and is quick on his feet as well, as he was the team’s leading rusher against Florida State, rushing for 33 yards on seven attempts. It’s clear Jones is getting more comfortable within the scheme, and my way too early pick for 2020 QB1 goes to Jones.

STOCK DOWN 

Depth: Following the FSU game, two players decided to enter the transfer portal to express interest in playing elsewhere and leaving the Gators. Both Franks and Lucas Krull have decided to go explore their options, and although those losses aren’t program changing, they don’t help depth on a cluttered UF roster. It takes years to recover and build a roster with the correct numbers at each position, so when players decide to leave it throws a lot of things off for the coach. Mullen should be able to fix this by recruiting well and looking for more options in the portal, which has worked wonders in the past.

Second Half: Many Gator fans will tell you that the Gators played a lackluster second half, and I partially agree with them. I get that they want Dan Mullen to run up the score as much as possible, and frankly, I wanted to see every senior get a touchdown. This isn’t a perfect world, but the Gators dominated the entire game from start to finish, so it doesn’t matter what the final was. Florida also still covered the spread at -18, so take that for what it’s worth. The Gators are on pace for an NY6 bowl bid, and if some pieces fall in favor of the Gators they could be headed to the Cotton or the Orange Bowl.