Florida's coach confirms no clear leader for the starting quarterback job, emphasizing fierce competition and earned opportunities.
New Florida head coach Jon Sumrall is set to make a big decision before taking on Florida Atlantic in Week 1.
After DJ Lagway transferred to Baylor in the offseason, the Gators have a quarterback battle between redshirt freshman Tramell Jones Jr. and Aaron Philo.
Philo transferred to Florida from Georgia Tech after his offensive coordinator with the Yellow Jackets, Buster Faulkner, joined Sumrall's staff with the same title.
During an appearance on "Another Dooley Noted" podcast on Monday, Sumrall was asked if there was going to be a true competition on quarterback.
Sumrall confirmed the Gators have no leader in the clubhouse before the 15 practices the team will get for spring football.
“Yeah, it always is," Sumrall said. "I think a lot of people have some sort of assumption that one guy is the front, or we didn't take a snap yet. But here's the deal.
"When I meet with players all the time, you know who's promised a starting job? Nobody, like ever... Like I'm not promising anything. I'm going to bring in a quarterback to compete with you probably, like you got to go do it."
While at Tulane, Sumrall lost quarterback Darian Mensah to Duke last offseason. He made the College Football Playoff with Jake Retzlaff under center in 2025.
Sumrall is hoping he can get Jones or Philo to master the offense quickly.
To do so, Sumrall wants a true competition.
"And so there's constant competition," he said. "I think you're always competing. I don't know how anybody has a leader in a clubhouse or any job, and we haven't taken a practice rep, you know.
"So I'm excited about watching all those guys compete. I think they've done a really good job competing with each other to this point, encouraging each other, challenging each other, pushing each other."
Sumrall noted that quarterback won't be the only position up for grabs this offseason. The Gators want to see the entire team compete for a starting job in training camp.
Sumrall needed to fix the culture after a disappointing campaign from Billy Napier. It'll be interesting to see how the new roster responds.