Sumrall settles it two weeks out
Jon Sumrall named Aaron Philo as Florida’s starting quarterback on Monday, closing an offseason competition that had run into the final fortnight before the opener. Philo, a redshirt sophomore who transferred from Georgia Tech, beat out redshirt freshman Tramell Jones Jr. He starts against Florida Atlantic in Gainesville on Sept. 5.
The numbers behind the decision are modest. Philo appeared in eight games for the Yellow Jackets across the 2024 and 2025 seasons, completing 57.8 percent of his throws for 938 yards with two touchdowns and three interceptions. He has three years of eligibility left.
What he brings instead is familiarity. Philo followed offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner from Atlanta to Gainesville this offseason, which gave him a head start on a playbook both men already knew.
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Sumrall kept the race open on purpose
Speaking on Aug. 17, the first-year head coach made clear how close the two quarterbacks were. “Neither one is just light years ahead of the other,” Sumrall told reporters. “They’re both doing really good things. The one thing they both have to continue to work on is who’s going to operate the best at the line of scrimmage. We cannot forget motions and shifts, and then protect the football and then just lead.”
He also praised how the pair handled the competition. “They’re both supporting each other. They both compete with each other. Do both of them want to start? Yes. But they’re doing it the right way in the competition with each other, and they have each other’s back.”
Jones has his own case. He played two games for the Gators last season and completed 21 of 35 passes for 191 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions, a clean sample if a small one.
Replacing a two-year starter
Philo takes over from DJ Lagway, who started for two seasons and transferred to Baylor after Florida went 4-8 in 2025 under Billy Napier and interim coach Billy Gonzales. Sumrall inherits a program that has to rebuild belief before it rebuilds a depth chart, and he starts with a quarterback whose college résumé fits on a single line.
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