Jon Sumrall discusses what he expects from Florida's quarterback

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Florida football head coach Jon Sumrall arrived in Gainesville to a program that had been a shell of its former self with four losing seasons in the last five years.

Sumrall has rejuvenated Gators fans' optimism in his first offseason; however, the biggest decision of his early coaching career at Florida comes in the form of who will be the Gators' starting quarterback.

The position battle will continue through fall camp and will be between Georgia Tech transfer Aaron Philo and second-year Gator Tramell Jones Jr.

Sumrall knows whoever wins the job will be surrounded by an abundance of talented, skilled position players.

"None of them need to be Tim Tebow," Sumrall said. "They need to be somebody that just manages a game and operates the right way at the line scrimmage and doesn't turn the football over. We've got decent skill players around the quarterback position with Jadan Baugh and the receiver group."

Sumrall described them as similar quarterbacks in play style. Philo played at Georgia Tech for two years before transferring to Florida alongside current Gator offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner, which gave him the slight advantage in spring camp. Jones was a heavily recruited dual-threat quarterback who picked Florida over Florida State.

"Do we have a Heisman Trophy candidate? No, but they both have enough arm talent. They both are adequate runners. Neither one of them are elite runners. Neither one of them are slugs either. Both have good arms, both have good releases. Both can make all the throws. So there's enough there for us to win with." Sumrall stated.

Philo started one game for Georgia Tech, coming against Gardner-Webb last year, and appeared in three total games as Haynes King's backup. Against Gardner-Webb, he completed 75% of his passes for 373 yards, throwing for both a touchdown and an interception.

Jones played in a blowout loss to Kentucky last year, completing 53% of his passes for 60 yards. Jones also threw for 131 yards in garbage time in a win against LIU.

Many believe Philo has been the favorite for the starting job because of his familiarity with Faulkner's system; however, Sumrall made an unconventional quarterback decision at Tulane, starting Darian Mensah, an unknown redshirt freshman, over an Oregon transfer in Ty Thompson in the summer of 2024.

Sumrall believes Florida can once again reach the heights it experienced under former coaches Urban Meyer and Steve Spurrier.

"Can we get there?" he said. "I believe we can or I wouldn't have taken the job. Is it going to happen overnight? It's not going to be easy, but I think things are trending positively. Recruiting's going really good. … Are we resourced like the top three in our league? Doubtful. Are we the bottom three in our league? Don't think we're that either. So whoever said less is more, never had less. I think more is more."

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This article originally appeared on Gators Wire: Jon Sumrall discusses what he expects from Florida's quarterback

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