Florida head coach Jon Sumrall identifies a leading QB after spring. While a leader emerges, the competition remains intense heading into summer.
Florida's offense is loaded with talent at running back and wide receiver, but head coach Jon Sumrall has questions about the strength of the offensive line and quarterback after the team's 15 spring practices in recent weeks.
Former Gators quarterback DJ Lagway transferred to Baylor this offseason, giving Sumrall a quarterback battle in his first season as the head coach. Georgia Tech transfer Aaron Philo and redshirt freshman Tramell Jones Jr. are battling for the job.
Philo had a leg up in the competition this spring because he's familiar with new offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner, who was the offensive coordinator with the Yellow Jackets last season.
When speaking to reporters after Saturday's Orange and Blue game, Sumrall said he plans to talk to Philo and Jones about what he's seen from them this spring.
Sumrall noticed one player take a lead in the quarterback competition this spring. He wouldn't name the player, and said the QB1 job will still be up for grabs when training camp starts this summer.
"But both guys have done some good things," Sumrall said, via Gator Country. "I think that room’s done good things as a whole. I’ll sit down with all those guys on Monday and have a really transparent conversation about, 'Hey, after 15 practices, this is where we are.'
"I'll talk to them about, 'Hey, if we had to play a game next week, this is probably what it would look like.' I won’t make an announcement because we don’t play here next week... So nothing’s decided yet."
Per Alex Bernstein of Alligator Sports, Philo told reports on Saturday that he wants to work on be patient and hitting his check downs rather than forcing the ball down field.
"I can make a lot of throws down the field, which sometimes gets me in a little trouble, Philo said. "I need to be better about checking the ball down when it's not there."
It'll be interesting to see how the competition shapes up the summer. Philo and Jones will have an opportunity to work on their shortcoming before coming back to training camp.
While Sumrall has a leader in mind, it doesn't appear the gap for the No. 1 job is insurmountable.