Florida’s quarterback picture has shifted again, and this time the Gators are expected to turn to Tramell Jones Jr. for Saturday’s matchup with Oklahoma, according to CBS Sports’ Matt Zenitz.
The move comes after Florida tweaked its depth chart earlier in Week 10, listing Jones and Aaron Philo as co-first-teamers for the first time this season. Jon Sumrall had already made it clear the job would be decided in practice, not in a quick public announcement.
“Yeah, they both practiced today; that’s good news,” said Sumrall. “There will be one guy that starts and one guy that doesn’t out of the two guys you’re probably worried about.
I’m not gonna make a big quarterback-one announcement. I have a plan that is already kind of in motion and in place.
But I don’t know that it helps us with me naming a starter today.
“We need both of them to be ready to play to go win, you know, and I think probably, while I fully understand that we need to play better quarterback, we do, we can’t turn the football over like we have, especially in particular last week’s game, it’s been the worst one of the year. We have to play better around the quarterback, too.”
Jones has appeared in seven games with one start this season, completing 63 of 89 passes for 579 yards with four touchdowns and three interceptions. He has also run for one score.
Philo has handled the bulk of the work, starting seven games and going 110-for-156 for 1,367 yards, nine touchdowns and five interceptions. He has added three rushing touchdowns.
Florida’s last game saw both quarterbacks take the field in a 27-8 loss to Georgia. Philo started after dealing with a throwing shoulder injury suffered against South Carolina in Week 6, but his night unraveled quickly. He threw two interceptions, and both of his incompletions were picked off by UGA as he finished 5-for-7 for 26 yards.
Jones entered after Philo’s second interception and finished the game himself, though the Gators never found rhythm through the air. Jones went 17-for-24 for 172 yards, but he also threw an interception and lost a fumble. Florida’s only touchdown came on Jones’ late rushing score.
Jones had previously started Florida’s Week 7 win over Texas, a 27-24 victory in which he threw for 155 yards and two touchdowns while completing 22 of 35 passes.
After the Georgia loss, Sumrall said Jones is dealing with an undisclosed injury from earlier in the season that could require surgery after the campaign. That issue pushed Philo into a heavier share of first-team reps during Week 9.
“[Jones] didn’t look really good until Wednesday, honestly. Philo looked better this past week, the entire week.
We talked through, as a staff, after the first three days of practice, how they looked. We talked every day about it, but through three days, Philo was executing better on Monday, Tuesday, so we shifted to getting Philo the majority of the one reps on Wednesday was when it was kind of like, that was the direction we’re probably going here,” Sumrsll said Saturday.
“I let both of them know on Friday, and then we just worked through as a staff.
“I said, ‘Hey, look, here’s the situations where we would make a change after a few drives.’ It’d either be A: Philo’s not playing great.
B: Really, the other one is, he could be playing fine, but we just felt like we needed a spark or something different. Philo’s first interception, clearly on him, bad decision with the football.
The second one hit the receiver in the hands, so we gotta catch that football. But I just felt like, hey, let’s give Tramell a shot.
He got probably almost fifty-fifty reps total in the week Tramell did, just maybe not as many with the ones, they got about the same number of reps if you did a pitch count, because what we do in practice is we usually give the ones a block of plays and the twos and get the same exact block of plays. So preparation on knowing what to do really doesn’t change.”
In Other News...
Florida Assistant Emerges In Rival Search That Could Divide Gators Fans
Florida States coaching search has already turned into one of the more interesting storylines in the state, and it has a name Gators fans know well. Buster Faulkner, Floridas offensive coordinator, has surfaced as an intriguing candidate after the Seminoles fired Mike Norvell, a reminder that his rise in coaching has put him on the radar beyond Gainesville. His background is rooted in offense, and that alone makes him a logical fit for a program looking to reset its identity.
For Florida fans, the possibility is awkward in the way rival business often is. Faulkner has not been a head coach before, but Florida States next hire will have to navigate more than just play-calling, with financial limitations and a major rebuild waiting for whoever takes over. If the Seminoles decide to push in that direction, it would create an unusual subplot in the rivalry and leave Gators supporters watching a familiar assistant through a very different lens. [Read more 🡒]
Florida Suddenly Has A Depth Problem Ahead Of Oklahoma
Floridas availability picture for Oklahoma took a hit this week, and the early report made the Gators depth concerns hard to miss. Seven players showed up on the initial list, including wide receiver Vernell Brown III as doubtful and four others already ruled out, leaving Florida to sort through its rotation with another SEC test looming.
Jon Sumrall also offered an update on Browns injury status, saying the receiver is still pushing to get back after a recent setback. The other notable absence is defensive lineman Jeramiah McCloud, who is suspended for conduct detrimental to the team and will have his status re-evaluated after the game, adding one more layer of uncertainty to a roster already running thin. [Read more 🡒]
Vernell Brown IIIs Return Just Became A Bigger Florida Concern
Floridas wide receiver picture took another hit this week with Vernell Brown III now listed as doubtful for the upcoming game against Oklahoma after a knee injury and a setback in practice. The Gators have already had to manage a busy availability report, and head coach Jon Sumrall made clear Browns situation is legitimate after a non-surgical procedure, pushing back on the social media chatter that had started to swirl around the injury.
Browns status matters because he has been part of the offensive conversation all season, and the timing only adds to the uncertainty heading into a tough matchup. Florida is also dealing with several other players listed out or questionable, including defensive lineman Jeramiah McCloud, who is suspended and will have his status reevaluated after the game, leaving the Gators with more moving parts than they would like this late in the week. [Read more 🡒]