Greg McElroy is siding with familiarity in Florida’s quarterback battle, but he’s not locking the door on a late push from the other contender.
With fall camp nearing in Gainesville and Jon Sumrall settling into Year 1 at Florida, the Gators’ biggest early decision is clear: Aaron Philo or Tramell Jones Jr. The competition will sort out who follows DJ Lagway, who transferred to Baylor, and Sumrall has already made it plain that he hasn’t put a timetable on naming a starter.
McElroy, drawing on his own background as a former Alabama quarterback and national champion, weighed in Tuesday on his Always College Football podcast and pointed to how unsettled things still are.
“(Jon) Sumrall walks into The Swamp with a brand new staff a brand new offense and no one to run it. It’s down to Aaron Philo and Tramell Jones. Sumrall’s scouting report on the depth chart was 3 words - ‘it’s very fluid,'” McElroy said.
Philo has the cleanest path on paper because he arrives with new Florida offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner, and the two already know the system from their time together at Georgia Tech. That kind of head start matters in August, especially when everyone else is still learning the language.
“Philo isn’t learning the offense. He’s the offense’s carry-on luggage,” McElroy said.
Still, the spring gave Jones a real case of his own. McElroy acknowledged that Jones was the better performer in those workouts, which is why he isn’t treating this like a done deal.
“I lean Philo. I’m going to hold onto that loosely,” McElroy said.
“Every structural advantage in this thing belongs to Philo. Familiarity is a head start, but it’s not the finish line.
The guy that played better in the spring, that’s Tramell Jones. I lean Philo early but would not be surprised if Tramell Jones ultimately secures that job, maybe early in the season.”
However it shakes out, Florida is trying to get itself back into the SEC title conversation under a new coaching regime, and the quarterback decision will sit at the center of that push.
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