Jon Sumrall Praises Florida QB Room As Aaron Philo and Tramell Jones Race Heats Up

Florida coach Jon Sumrall was dealt a blow after being appointed the Gators’ coach when quarterback DJ Lagway opted to enter the transfer portal and leave the program after Billy Napier was fired midway through the season. Despite a rough season under Napier, Lagway was still one of the most intriguing quarterback prospects in college football.

Sumrall acted quickly by acquiring former Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets quarterback Aaron Philo to add depth to the Gators’ quarterback room.

Jon Sumrall Praises the Florida Gators’ Quarterback Room

During spring training, Philo has been engaged in a titanic battle with redshirt freshman Tramell Jones Jr. to be the Gators’ QB1 next season. Philo arrived in Gainesville with the added advantage of having played for new Florida offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner, who held the same position at Georgia Tech.

During Thursday’s segment of the “Crane & Cone” podcast, Sumrall broke down the intense race between Jones and Philo and lavished praise on the Gators’ replenished quarterback room.

“Aaron obviously has familiarity within the system, having been at Georgia Tech around Buster (Faulkner),” Sumrall said. “It’s of real value to him just to know the installation process and just what we’re trying to do. He remains a really talented guy. Plenty of arm, tough, competitive, great leader. Excited about what he brings here to the QB room.”

“I really like our quarterback room as a whole. I like individual players in there, but I like the room. You’ve got Tramell Jones, who’s a good, young player in his own right. He’s in that competition right now and several other guys in that room that I think are good players. Excited about watching that competition unfold.”

The talented Philo played in 8 games for the Yellow Jackets under Faulkner, starting in 1 and going 59-of-102 (57.8%) for 938 yards, resulting in 2 touchdowns and 3 interceptions, while adding 95 rushing yards and 1 score.

On the other hand, as Lagway’s backup, Jones went 21-of-35 for 191 yards and 2 touchdowns in limited game time for Florida last season.

Whoever wins the QB1 job for Florida next season will have a tall order to restore the anemic Gators’ offense that earned a PFSN College Offense Impact score of 76.9, good for No. 14 in the SEC.

Luckily for the Gators, Sumrall managed to recruit Faulkner to become the program’s offensive coordinator after his Georgia Tech offense earned an impressive PFSN College Offense Impact score of 84.1, the third-best in the ACC and No. 11 in the country (460 yards per game).