After missing Florida’s season opener against Toledo on Aug. 31 due to a viral infection, Matt Jones was expected to boost Florida’s running game to the next level upon his return.
But two games into his season, Jones has not returned to the form that helped him rush for 275 yards as Mike Gillislee’s backup in 2012.
Because Jones has struggled since returning from his illness, No. 20 Florida (2-1) has elected to feature a collection of running backs with no one runner dominating the majority of carries.
“Kids think things are going to be perfect all the time,” offensive coordinator Brent Pease said. “There’s ups and downs, peaks and valleys.”
Jones was expected to garner the majority of touches when he returned, but junior Mack Brown received 24 carries compared to Jones’ 12 against Tennessee on Saturday.
Both tailbacks struggled to break off long runs — each halfback’s longest run was for 13 yards. Brown averaged 3.6 yards per carry, while Jones averaged 4.1.
Brown and Jones both scored against the Volunteers, but the two touchdowns came from 3 and 4 yards out, respectively.
Pease said he was unsure whether Jones’ illness was still affecting the sophomore runner. Jones said last week that he was almost back to his original playing weight of 226 pounds, but it did not show against Tennessee. Jones had trouble penetrating the Volunteers’ defense and only managed 49 yards on the day.
“[Jones is] a bigger back,” coach Will Muschamp said, “and sometimes it takes those guys a little bit longer to get into their rhythm of playing.”
When Jones got a chance to make a play receiving the ball, he cost the Gators a possession. The running back caught a pass from quarterback Tyler Murphy and tried to switch ball-carrying hands while turning up the field. The ball popped out of his hands as he was tackled and bounced directly to Volunteers defensive back Cameron Sutton.
“You can’t switch the hands coming across the middle off of a catch,” Muschamp said. “He knows that.
“That was a basic fundamental of ball security that you can’t violate, and he did.”
Saturday’s turnover was the second in two games for Jones. He fumbled on his third carry of the season against Miami on Sept. 7.
To add more spice to Florida’s running game, coaches said they will look to get freshman Kelvin Taylor more involved with the offense.
“Kelvin needs to continue to come on,” Muschamp said.
How much playing time the son of former UF tailback Fred Taylor sees will depend on how he performs in practice during the week.
Taylor got a chance to show off his talent against Toledo, running for 43 yards on five attempts as Florida closed out its 24-6 win.
But since August, Taylor has seen only one carry for three yards, which came in the middle of the second quarter on Saturday.
Earlier this month, Muschamp criticized Taylor’s abilities to perform outside of running the ball. After Florida defeated Toledo, he said Taylor needed to continue progressing in other aspects of the position.
But on Tuesday, Pease compared Taylor’s progress to where Jones was at this point in his career. Jones hit his stride as the season progressed, and a year later, he is a key cog in run-oriented Florida’s running machine.
“[Taylor] is kind of hitting that flow like Matt did last year when Matt starting showing up and doing good things in practice,” Pease said. “Kelvin is starting to hit that.” that.”
Follow Adam Lichtenstein on Twitter @ALichtenstein24.
Matt Jones fumbles during Florida’s 31-17 victory against Tennessee on Saturday in Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. Coach Will Muschamp plans to split carries between Jones and Mack Brown moving forward this season.
