⚡ CFB Dashboard

Arguably the most pressing question facing the Florida Gators ahead of head coach Jon Sumrall's first season at the helm in Gainesville is who will start under center when the season opens on September 5th against Florida Atlantic.  Throughout spring camp, redshirt sophomore Aaron Philo and redshirt freshman Tramell Jones Jr. split first-team repetitions, with each quarterback alternating on a practice-by-practice basis for who will lead the offense, although it should be noted Sumrall pushed back on the notion that any of the Gators' depth chart had been decided (even if it would be a shock to see multiple players, such as running back Jadan Baugh, EDGE rusher Jayden Woods, linebacker Myles Graham and wide receiver Vernell Brown III, among others, to not be starters when the season arrives in nearly four months).  Florida fans had their first public glimpse of the Gators' battle at quarterback during the team's annual spring game, the Orange and Blue game, which had a fairly unique setup, with the Blue team comprised solely of the team's offense and the Orange team – dressed in white jerseys – consisting of the defense. The setup received praise from Florida's coaching staff for how it allowed coordinators Brad White and Buster Faulkner to work with the entirety of the personnel at their disposal rather than split the team in half.  "It was great. It was nice to be able to have the entire defense on one side of the football, especially while we're still coaching. If you split them in two, I'm not on both sides," White said on April 11th. "I can't make some of those correction points. I thought it was great. I thought it did what it needed to do in terms of keeping it competitive. I thought the guys were in it the whole time." In the interim, the conversation regarding who will start at quarterback for Florida in 2026 will continue, with no clarity until fall camp as to who will take the first snap when the new-look Gators take the field against the Owls. Even then it's possible – if not likely – Florida will continue to assess the position when the season opens, with whomever starts at signal-caller being determined on a game-by-game basis.  Undoubtedly, Florida's quarterback battle is one of the more intriguing ones throughout the Southeastern Conference, but it's hardly the lone competition, with multiple teams being tasked with replacing outgoing signal-callers, including Alabama and Tennessee.  CBS Sports' Brad Crawford dove into the battles around the league, including Florida's, where he noted Jones Jr. left a "lasting impression" during the spring game.  Philo and Jones each had two touchdown passes during Florida's final spring scrimmage, but it was Jones who played turnover-free football. Jones moved the pocket on one of his scoring tosses to Auburn transfer Eric Singleton Jr. on a perfectly executed corner route. More of that is needed from both competing quarterbacks for a Gators team looking to make a splash offensively this season with one of the deepest wideout rooms in the SEC. "The players make the decision about how they practice and prepare," Sumrall said this week on the Stadium and Gale podcast. "The numbers are the numbers. We show them daily their efficiencies with the football, mental mistakes and all that stuff. There's a football component -- am I making the throws, what's my adjusted completion percentage? There's a statistical component that's pretty black and white, but I task all those guys from a tangle component of having to lead. "Through the 15 spring practices, there may be one guy that had a certain number of days where if we had to name a starter, maybe he won the day? Maybe there's another number on another guy. You look at the full body of work. I don't look at just one day and say, 'Well, this guy had one day that was better.' It's a full body of work, and we've been ridiculously transparent with all the guys in that room." Crawford noted Sumrall may have final say in who starts, but conversations with the entirety of the offensive coaching staff will play a significant role, too.  Sumrall insists the final decision will be a collaborative effort within his offensive staff, based on each player's full body of work from the start of spring through the first week or so of fall practice, when first-team reps are no longer evenly distributed. "You can start Game 1 and not start Game 2," Sumrall said. "I don't get caught up in the quarterback deal being the biggest conversation piece." And, Crawford notes there's precedent on Sumrall's side with making a mid-season change at the position. Only time will tell if that's what occurs at Florida in 2026.  During his first season at Troy, Sumrall started Gunnar Watson most of the season, but also gave Jarret Doege an opportunity in two starts. The Trojans won 12 games in 2022, and Sumrall has inferred the Gators could play two quarterbacks as well if it comes to that.