The Florida Gators return to action this weekend following their Week 8 bye. No. 17 Florida (5-2, 3-2 SEC) will travel to Atlanta to take on rival No. 3 Georgia (6-1, 4-1 SEC) at Mercedes-Benz Stadium at 3:30 p.m. ET.
Head coach Jon Sumrall met with the media Monday morning to discuss the quarterback situation, Vernell Brown III’s health, and the preparation for the 2027 season.
Here’s our Florida football notebook from Monday’s press conference.
Florida yet to name starting quarterback vs. Georgia
Junior Aaron Philo opened the season as Florida’s starting quarterback, but a shoulder injury gave sophomore Tramell Jones Jr. an opportunity in Week 7. Jones Jr. helped the Gators knock off Texas in Austin, sparking conversation about Florida’s starting quarterback battle. Should the Gators make Jones Jr. the full-time starter, or will Philo reclaim the job if he’s healthy?
Sumrall would not commit to naming a starter Monday but said both quarterbacks should be available for Saturday’s game.
“Both practiced today. Both of them are available, I think, this week,” Sumrall said. “[I] believe in both guys. I’m not gonna name a starter today, like, I know that’s probably been a big point of conversation. Like, both, we need both of those guys ready to play. That’s what I’ll say. And I do believe in both of them being ready to play.”
Philo and Jones Jr. are both taking reps with the first- and second-team offenses, according to Sumrall.
Sumrall also noted that Jones Jr. is dealing with a few “bumps and bruises” after making his first career start.
“Tramell, in full disclosure, I am not gonna tell you everything, but you go play your first game, he’s got a couple of bumps and bruises, too, now,” Sumrall said. “Pulled the guy fresh out of that garage and he goes and plays, and he got a couple fenderbenders. So there’s some bumps and bruises he’s dealing with that are new. I noticed it last week. I’m like, ‘Are you alright?’ And he’s like, ‘Yeah, I got this going on and don’t feel great here.’ Welcome to SEC football.”
Florida’s heaviest practice days during a game week are Tuesday and Wednesday, so Sumrall will likely have a better idea of who will start after that.
“It starts with health and availability. So if a guy’s not available, then my decision gets made really easy,” Sumrall said. “It’s who can function, who can operate, who can make the throws, who can get us in and out of things. All those things. Both of them are in a good spot with all that. I would say how they go through the week matters.”
Vernell Brown III returning to form
A key piece missing from Florida’s offense has been sophomore wide receiver Vernell Brown III, who has missed the last three games with a knee injury.
Sumrall said Monday that Brown III is back to “normal” after practicing last week and again Monday.
“VB looks really good, practiced last week, practiced today. Today’s an hour-ish long run through for us, but he looks normal to me,” Sumrall said.
“Every day, the last couple weeks, when he’s been running, I’m like, ‘Hey, how you feeling today?’ Because there have been times I’ve wondered if it didn’t quite look right. Today he looked good, and I didn’t go up to him at all today and ask, ‘Hey, how you feeling?’ I just let him practice, and he looked like he was feeling pretty good.”
The bye week came at a good time for the Gators, who look to get their wide receiver room back to full strength. Brown III’s short-area quickness and overall playmaking ability should provide a significant boost to Florida’s offense as it prepares for another tough test.
Sumrall balancing current season with 2027 preparation
Florida’s season is far from over, with a huge game against Georgia this weekend that carries playoff implications. Still, that hasn’t stopped Sumrall from looking ahead to the 2027 season and the offseason.
During the bye week, Sumrall spent time evaluating the upcoming transfer portal and identifying positions Florida needs to address long term.
“The transfer portal and player movement, all that stuff, will come at you fast if you don’t have your eyes up a little,” Sumrall said. “Now, I don’t do it for very long. I take a couple hours with their front office on each side of the ball, and you just kind of project, okay, what are the needs we have to build as we want to build this thing long-term? And what does ‘27’s football team look like?”
One way Sumrall approached this evaluation process was by studying Georgia’s roster. He found that the Bulldogs haven’t relied heavily on the transfer portal, never adding more than 11 players in a single offseason. Florida, by comparison, added 29 players through the portal this past offseason.
“I look at them and I think that’s one thing they’ve done a really nice job of: recruit high-level high school players, develop those players. Where you may have a roster deficiency, go get a great player like Isiah Canion — he’s been out a couple games. But he’s a great player,” Sumrall said. “Georgia, the way they’ve done it and the way they’ve got it built now, they don’t go out and just go to the portal to get a third-string guy.”
“In a perfect world in the portal year in and year out, you’re adding six to 10 difference makers. In some years, it might be five or might be 12, so I’m not locking myself into like, hey, we’re only adding six to 10 every year. Some years it might be five. Some years it might have to be 12 or 13. It better never again be high 20s, 30s, or we got a real problem,” Sumrall added. “So as you build your roster, you want to add portal pieces that are like frontline starters when you have immediate glaring needs and holes. This past year, we had to go out and get guys out of the portal just to be able to field a football team that could practice. Never again will that be the case here, I hope.”
