Monday morning Florida Gators mailbag - 9/2/2019

Beginning our weekly Florida Gators question-and-answer series, taking questions from readers on social media.

Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports

Each week, GatorMaven will take Florida Gators-related questions from our readers across social media and answer them in article-form for what we call the "Monday morning mailbag".

You can submit your questions every week by tweeting them to the GatorMaven Twitter handle, our Facebook page, or by emailing me at zachgoodallpv@gmail.com

Our first mailbag is strictly questions from Twitter, but this will give you a feel as to how the mailbag will operate. How does Feleipe Franks' personality affect his play? Is Jonathan Greenard better than Jachai Polite was at BUCK? Will we see Emory Jones this week?

Let's get to the Q&A!

Mailbag!

From @Demetrius82: What’s the deal with quarterback Feleipe Franks? Is he legit or should everyone expect him to be up and down all season? 

Answer: Your guess is as good as mine with only one game under his belt in 2019. He displayed placement issues at points during the Miami game, only to follow them with well-thrown balls. He scored three times - two through the air, one on the ground - and also caused three turnovers - two interceptions and a fumble.

Franks has shown off considerable growth in confidence, as well as the ability to shake off bad plays. Those attributes raise his ceiling, but if he can't become more consistent and safe with the football, then I'm unsure as to just how high his ceiling can go.

From @josh_frantz: How does Franks' personality affect his play? Considering how much criticism he got for his celebrations last week.

A: Honestly, I think it makes him better. Think of Franks' career before the last four games of 2018 and the Miami game - when did he ever celebrate or talk himself up? Never, and isn't it a coincidence that his worst play came in that time frame, when everyone's first assessment of his play was that his confidence was too low?

Franks is a college quarterback with a big personality - people are just going to have to learn to live with it, as much as he's had to live with outside criticism during his career. His personality has shown that it can elevate his play in situations, so Florida fans shouldn't be bothered by it at all.

From @ScottSweat1010: Do you think this defense can be dominant enough to allow Franks and the offense to work out the kinks? Once they do we should be very, very good.

A: I certainly believe that having a dominant defense can help an offense out by creating momentum via turnovers and field position, but they shouldn't be relied upon to help the offense beyond reasonable expectations. At the end of the day, Franks needs to become more consistently accurate as a passer to best utilize the arsenal of weapons he has around him.

If that happens, Florida can be one of the most well-rounded and dominant teams in the nation.

From @NoahxThomas: Do you think the lack of discipline on the defensive side of the football will be a common trend and eventually lead to their downfall? Or do you think Mullen will fix everything before SEC play begins?

A: The latter. Week Zero was scrappy and sloppy due to a mix of rust - being the first game of the season for both squads - and emotions running high. Players on both teams were giddy to reignite the old Florida/Miami rivalry and it led to some penalties and missed tackles. 

U-T Martin presents an opportunity for Florida to completely focus on fundamentals and techniques across the roster and still likely emerge with a landslide victory. They'll be fine in terms of discipline for SEC play.

From @JackSYoung: Will defensive end Jonathan Greenard match former Gators pass rusher Jachai Polite’s sack numbers from last year?

A: Well, he's currently on pace to surpass them. Assuming the Gators become bowl-eligible in 2019, Greenard is on pace to record 19.5 sacks and 26 tackles for loss in orange and blue this season. Obviously, the odds of staying perfectly on pace or reaching those numbers are unrealistic, but there's your fun fact of the day.

Considering what this pass rush is capable of as a whole, Greenard will likely not face many double teams this year while players such as Jabari Zuniga, Adam Shuler, Kyree Campbell, Jeremiah Moon, and others demand attention. Polite posted 11 sacks and 19.5 tackles for loss in 2018 - I think Greenard will at least match the sack count, barring an injury.

From @TrueFLGrit: Will we see quarterback Emory Jones this week in a subpackage? Or later in the game in the event of a blowout?

A: I'd expect both, given the competition. Jones needs as much playing time as Florida can afford to give him this year in preparation for his future as the Gators signal-caller. I honestly wouldn't be surprised if he takes over early in the second half.

From @justiwood: Do you think the offensive line will have the same starting five for the rest of the year if no injuries happen?

A: I don't see a reason why it would change at this point, given it's the same unit from left to right since the beginning of spring practices. I was impressed with the offensive line's performance against Miami, given the circumstances - four new starters and a combined 24 career starts against one of the best defensive fronts in the nation. They only allowed one sack.

It would be a step in the wrong direction for Florida to replace any of their starting five, given the chemistry that the young line has built throughout 2019. None of the depth players provide additional experience, so the Gators would be disrupting their own rhythm.