Coming out of Florida's second fall scrimmage, Gators coach Jon Sumrall named Georgia Tech transfer Aaron Philo as the team's starting quarterback ahead of next month's opener against FAU. One of Florida's top transfers this cycle after joining former Yellow Jackets offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner in Gainesville, Philo backed up Haynes King last season and beat out Tramell Jones Jr. for the job with the Gators. Philo has received most of the first-team reps during the last week of practice and reportedly impressed during Saturday night's scrimmage, highlighted by a 15-yard touchdown run early on.
Undecided on Florida's quarterback battle after spring, Sumrall said the position remained even earlier this month as both players pushed for the job. That changed after Sumrall and his offensive staff reviewed film over the weekend. He said Monday that Philo will get the "lion's share of reps" this week as game prep begins.
"We are preparing for him to be the starter for Week 1," Sumrall said. Sumrall stressed that Philo is the starter for the first game. "There will not be some crazy hoopla around it in our building, it's just how we're moving forward," Sumrall said Monday.
"I met with both guys and both are awesome. I'm excited about the room. The good news is both of them have elevated their play.
Love both of them and I'm fired up for both of them. "It's been a real battle, it's not been some empty competition. It's been real and that's where we are." From pre-snap checks to reading defenses and being able to "kill" bad calls, Philo showed superiority.
"He has operated at the line of scrimmage at a touch higher level," Sumrall said. "There's no surprise in the spring because he'd been in the system and Tramell had not. We're able to operate the full offense at a little bit higher level with Aaron, with the whole level.
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