Addressing the quarterback room was a top priority for Jon Sumrall after his arrival in Gainesville. Following the departure of sophomore DJ Lagway to the transfer portal, Florida added former Georgia Tech quarterback Aaron Philo, a rising sophomore who appeared in eight games over two seasons with the Yellow Jackets, completing 59 of 102 passes (57.8%) for 938 yards, two touchdowns, and three interceptions.
Philo did something fairly rare in today’s college football landscape: he transferred without a guarantee to start. Florida’s new staff thinks highly of sophomore Tramell Jones Jr., whom they retained alongside Aidan Warner, and the Gators also welcomed four-star quarterback Will Griffin over the summer.
Typically, players with limited experience transfer to programs and situations where a starting role is more clearly defined. Not Philo, who finds himself in the middle of a fierce quarterback competition six practices into spring camp.
“I’m a firm believer in competition makes everybody better,” Philo said. “So when you’re competing with somebody, competing with multiple people, you know, you’re gonna push yourself to be better than you would be if it was just given to you.”
Florida was an attractive option for Philo after Sumrall hired Buster Faulkner as his offensive coordinator. Faulkner coached Philo for two seasons at Georgia Tech, giving the two an established connection.
“He was really the first person that I felt like kind of believed in me out of high school. He recruited me to Georgia Tech and you know, I just felt like he’s believed in me from the start,” Philo said.
“He didn’t promise me anything. But I still felt like I wanted to come in here and compete, because I felt it was an amazing opportunity.”
Faulkner was named Football Scoop’s 2025 Offensive Coordinator of the Year after leading a Yellow Jackets offense that ranked 12th in yards per game and 28th in points per game, far exceeding preseason expectations.
“He’s a fired-up guy,” Philo said on Faulkner. “I mean, he wants to win like we all do, and you have to have that in today’s college football. You have to have the fire and the passion. We want to win. And you know, he gets the ball in playmaker’s hands and this offense is extremely explosive when the chains are moving and things are going the right way.”
For now, it’s fair to assume the quarterback competition is between Philo and Jones Jr., as the two have handled the majority of first-team reps through spring camp. As Sumrall said Tuesday, Philo has a head start in understanding the offense after spending two years in Faulkner’s system. However, he has also helped Jones Jr. get up to speed with the playbook in their short time together.
“I’ve been in the offense for two years, so there’s some ins and outs that maybe you wouldn’t see if you were just looking through it the first time. So I’ve been just trying to give him those little tips and then as well as just finding stuff that he does,” Philo said.
“In the quarterback room, we’re sharing everything that we see, so we’re not hiding anything,” Philo added. “We’re sharing everything that we see and, you know, just trying to help each other out as much as we can.”
Florida doesn’t have an established starting quarterback, but that hasn’t stopped Philo from stepping up as a leader in a locker room that features more than 50 new players.
“Obviously the championship teams, they’re all player lead. So, when all the players buy in it gives the team a really good chance. So, I’ve taken an initiative of that and am trying to be the best leader that I can, getting guys going, holding guys accountable,” Philo said.
Philo wants the 2026 Gators to be known for leaving it all on the field every play.
“We’re gonna attack every single day. as hard as we can, and we’re just gonna do our best every single time.”