Florida quarterback Emory Jones on a roll after big game at Tennessee

Emory Jones has not thrown an interception the last seven quarters and had over 350 yards of total offense at Tennessee. (Florida Athletics Photo)

Florida not only moved into the top 10 of the AP rankings with its 38-14 win at Tennessee but the Gators also got some needed confidence for quarterback Emory Jones. There have been some quarterback mumbling over whether Jones or backup Anthony Richardson, an explosive player, should be the starter. Against Tennessee, Richardson was hurt and Jones showed why coach Dan Mullen has him No. 1.

Jones became just the second Florida quarterback in the last 25 years to throw for over 200 yards — he had 209 yards and two scores — and run for over 100 yards — he had 144. He was the first player to hit the 200/100 double since Tim Tebow.

Mullen said after the win at Tennessee that Jones is settling down going into Saturday’s 6 p.m. game at Kentucky on ESPN.

“I thought he did a great job making his reads, managing the offense, and getting us in the right checks and into the right plays. His decision-making was pretty good in the past game,” said Mullen.

What could be scary for UK is that Jones was much more accurate against the Vols. He completed 21 of 27 passes against a defense stacked to stop the Gators’ potent running attack that leads the SEC. Of course, that also gave Jones room to scramble for big gains and any UK fan knows that running quarterbacks have terrorized UK at times.

“I’ve always been pretty good at throwing the ball on the run,” Jones said after the Tennessee win. “Every game, I’ve been getting more confident and trying to build that.

“For the most part, I trust in my guys so I could be more confident sitting out there throwing in and outside the pocket. The guys up front did a pretty good job. They helped me out and made a lot of plays for me.”

Another worrisome trend for UK is that Jones threw two interceptions in both of Florida’s first two games but has not thrown one in the last seven quarters. Kentucky has had trouble forcing turnovers and has made 11 of its own.

Florida running back Dameon Pierce said the best is yet to come for Jones.

“That just scratched the surface for Emory. He’s a guy with a lot of potential and a lot of grit,” Pierce said. “He’s still getting comfortable and he’s still getting his feet wet, so expect more of that for Emory.”