Florida Gators head coach Jon Sumrall has delivered a strong message to new quarterback Aaron Philo.
Jon Sumrall certainly had his work cut out for him when he took over as Florida Gators head coach back in late November, and things became even more complicated when quarterback DJ Lagway decided to enter the transfer portal.
Florida went just 4-8 last season and has posted four losing campaigns over the last five years, so it isn't exactly a marquee destination right now.
As a result, the Gators never really had a chance to land any of the top quarterbacks in the portal, so they settled for former Georgia Tech signal-caller Aaron Philo.
Sumrall has been watching Philo since high school, so he is very familiar with him. Plus, Florida hired former Georgia Tech offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner, so the stars seem to be aligning for Philo to start in 2026.
However, nothing is guaranteed, and Sumrall has made that clear.
"Everybody is going to get what they earn," Sumrall said, via Kevin Brockway of The Gainesville Sun. "There is no starting quarterback yet."
Philo and Tramell Jones Jr. are the top two candidates competing for the starting job next season, and Philo almost surely has the inside track.
Aaron Philo. Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images.That doesn't mean Sumrall isn't strongly considering Jones, as well.
"I think it also is probably an endorsement of how I feel about Tramell," Sumrall added. "I think Tramell has got a really high ceiling, too, so I'm excited about — it's not just down to those two guys yet. My first year at Tulane, Darian Mensah was the third quarterback until two weeks before the first game. We're going to compete."
Mensah ended up being Tulane's starting quarterback in that aforementioned 2024 campaign, and he was very impressive.
Could Jones follow that same path?
It's not like Philo has proven anything. In two seasons with the Yellow Jackets, the Bogart, Ga. native threw for 938 yards, a couple of touchdowns and three interceptions over eight appearances.
So, yes: there is certainly reason for Sumrall to have an open competition at the position heading into the spring.
That being said, Philo does seem like the clear favorite at the moment, and if any other quarterback ended up starting in Florida's 2026 season opener, it would be an upset.
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