Florida's QB battle heats up as transfers and scheme familiarity clash. Can Jon Sumrall find a Week 1 starter amid SEC challenges?
The Florida Gators have big questions at quarterback after DJ Lagway transferred to Baylor after a disappointing 2025 campaign.
Baylor might offer Lagway a better opportunity to further his football career after he dealt with numerous issues, including depression, during his time in Gainesville.
New Florida head coach Jon Sumrall and his coaching staff will decide between Aaron Philo, who transferred to UF from Georgia Tech to follow offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner, and Tramell Jones Jr. to replace Lagway.
Jones appears to have a slight edge for the QB1 job before training camp starts this summer. That seemed to be a surprise because Philo is more familiar with the scheme Florida will be running this fall.
Regardless of who wins the battle, Florida could have some problems with the position this season.
Matt Hayes of USA Today is projecting Philo to be the better quarterback in training camp and win the job for Week 1, but he suggested Philo will be the 12th-best quarterback in the SEC out of 16 options.
"New Florida coach Jon Sumrall got OC Buster Faulkner to leave Georgia Tech, and Faulkner got Philo to leave Atlanta and follow him to Gainesville," Hayes wrote.
"Everyone got what he wanted, and holdover QB Tramell Jones may still win the job. Then what?"
It's a terrific question by Hayes because there are a lot of questions about the offense right now. The wide receivers and running backs are the best part of the roster.
The offensive line is still trying to find out its identity and what combination can produce the best results. A suspect quarterback behind a troubled offensive line could be an issue for Florida during a nine-game SEC schedule.
Following the conclusion of spring football, Sumrall said he thinks both quarterbacks have done "good things" during their 15 practices. But he said nothing is decided for Week 1.
"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."
Florida needs Jones or Philo to outright take the QB1 job. UF doesn't want to have a quarterback competition that ends with the team choosing a starter by default.
However, that could be the case, and the offense might have some growing pains in Year 1 under Sumrall.