Insiders signal a shift in the Swamp as Aaron Philo gains the upper hand. The Georgia Tech transfer’s consistency across spring camp puts him in the driver's seat for the Florida Gators starting job.
The Florida Gators are weeks away from training camp starting in late July.
The Gators had a lot of questions coming out of spring practices. New head coach Jon Sumrall wanted to see a more competitive spirit from his players.
The offensive line is a work in progress, and no starting five has been found before training camp. Most importantly, the quarterback battle between Georgia Tech transfer Aaron Philo and Tramell Jones Jr. left more to be desired in training camp.
Chris Hummer of CBS Sports named Philo as the most important transfer for Florida this season. Hummer suggested Philo will earn the job as he's hearing the young quarterback is "ahead" in the competition after the first 15 practices of the offseason.
"Florida quietly has one of the best offensive foundations around a QB in the Power Four," Hummer wrote. "The Gators have a first-round talent at running back in Jadan Baugh, three excellent receivers (Dallas Wilson, Vernell Brown, Eric Singleton) and a talented offensive line. The question mark is an unproven quarterback room.
"Philo is competing with Tramell Jones for that starting job, but Philo gets the nod here because sources have indicated he's ahead in the competition after spring practice."
During the Orange & Blue game, Jones appeared to have the better day. But through all 15 practices, Philo appears to be the more consistent winner.
During the spring, Sumrall said both quarterbacks have shown promise to start, but one player is ahead before training camp.
"But both guys have done some good things," Sumrall said. "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."
Jones isn't out of the race, but he'll have to be the dominant quarterback in training camp to earn the job. Philo has familiarity with offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner, and that could pay a big role in who starts Week 1.
