Image Credit: Victoria Riccobono, UAA
What’s old is new again for the Florida Gators, as it is expected that junior quarterback Aaron Philo will be elevated back into a starting role for Saturday night’s trip to face the No. 11 Kentucky Wildcats, according to multiple reports. Sophomore QB Tramell Jones Jr. had started two of the last three games and played in the majority of that other game for Florida.
With Jones unable and/or unwilling to push the ball down the field, completing just 10 of 22 passes for 133 yards with two interceptions in a devastating 23-7 home loss to Oklahoma, head coach Jon Sumrall and offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner essentially had no choice but to go back to their Week 1 starter.
Philo appeared to be the Gators’ answer early in the season, throwing for more than 500 total yards with seven total touchdowns against Power Four competition as Florida got off to a 4-0 start. The performances were nearly flawless; even the two turnovers were attributed to bad decisions by pass catchers, not Philo making poor throws.
However, Philo played terribly in a blowout 45-17 loss to Missouri the following week, and while he was much better against South Carolina in another horrendous 38-19 defeat, the Gators’ defense and playmakers let him down, as did a shoulder injury that kept him out of the subsequent Texas game. That opened the door for Jones, who leaned on his athleticism to throw two touchdowns and rush for 41 yards in a narrow 27-24 road win for UF’s second top 10 victory of the season.
When Philo massively struggled out of the gates against a ferocious Georgia defense, including an interception that ranked among the worst in program history, Jones was given the reins; he fared better, but not by much, leading the team’s lone touchdown drive in the second half.
Sumrall has made it clear that the quarterback position is not solely at fault for Florida’s rough offensive stretch — the offensive line and playmakers are not doing well around them — but the Gators have also faced three of the nation’s best defenses over the last four weeks, and considering their flaws, the likes of Kirby Smart and Brent Venables have had no issue dismantling the facade built over the first month of the season.
Among the reasons for the offense’s implosion is the extended absence of sophomore wide receiver Vernell Brown III, who is already listed as out against the Wildcats after appearing set for a return two weeks ago. Brown is a legitimate game-breaker with four touchdowns on the season, including two in the return game. He had explosive plays in each of the four games he played before getting hurt.
With Florida’s best field stretcher and most athletic offensive player sidelined, opponents have started selling out to stop junior running back Jadan Baugh, whose production has cratered after a start that made him a legitimate Heisman Trophy contender.
Philo, a Georgia Tech transfer who joined the program alongside Faulkner, opened the season as starter largely because he was better at managing the game at the line of scrimmage and had a tighter grip on the scheme, according to Sumrall.
He now has a chance to make his eighth start and retake the job for the rest of the season.
Seniors safety Bryce Thornton and linebacker Jaden Robinson have already been ruled out alongside Brown, taking two veteran presences away from a defense that needs all of the help and leadership it can get.
