Florida football QBs Aaron Philo, Tramell Jones Jr. challenging each other for starting role

Florida football quarterbacks Tramell Jones Jr. and Aaron Philo are competing for the same starting job.

But the two share one thing in common. − a hatred for Georgia

For Jones, it comes from growing up in Jacksonville and attending Florida-Georgia games with his dad, a die-hard Florida Gators fan. Philo, meanwhile, grew up in Bogart, Georgia, as a Georgia Tech fan.

Both will square off in Florida's first intra-squad scrimmage, scheduled for Saturday, March 28. The quarterback competition between Jones, a 6-foot-0, 199-pound redshirt freshman and Philo, a 6-1, 208-pound sophomore, is expected to stretch into fall camp.

"One of them will have to be the starter Game 1 and they’ve got to go earn it," Florida football coach Jon Sumrall said. "I like the room and I like how they are competing with each other, but also at the same time same time … they are doing well is supporting each other. They’re challenging each other, but they’re doing it in a healthy, competitive way."

What Tramell Jones Jr. brings as a Florida football QB

A four-star recruit out of Mandarin High in Jacksonville, Jones backed up DJ Lagway as a true freshman last season, passing for 191 yards and 2 TDs while rushing for nine yards. He chose to stay UF from the coaching transition from Billy Napier to Sumrall.

"I've always wanted to be a Florida Gator," Jones said. "I dreamt of playing here. I was a fan when I was smaller. Coach Sumrall, Coach (Offensive coordinator Buster) Faulkner gave an opportunity to come and compete. That's the only thing I really wanted to do, and that's what they said. So, I was going to stay – that was really a no-brainer for me."

Jones said the challenge in camp has been learning a new offense under Faulkner, whose offense at Georgia Tech last season ranked 11th nationally at 460.0 yards per game.

"Tailors to the kind of quarterback I am," Jones said of Faulkner's offense. "I want to work in the pocket but move when needed to be.

"I think that's what he did. You see it with Haynes King. Haynes King was able to run, so he ran him. And then he was able to pass, he passed. So, I think when he's able to tailor to the certain quarterback he has and the weapons he has around the quarterback. I think that's what he does."

Jones throws a pretty spiral with a tight spin rate, which he attributes to his smaller hands as a quarterback.

"You see guys like Peyton Manning, they didn't spin the ball," Jones said. "They threw ducks and the ball still got there. He's one of the best. So I really think that doesn't really doesn't matter – it looks pretty in the air,, something like that, it looks nice. But in 11-on-11, it doesn't matter. If you're consistent, you get the ball there any kind of way, that's what you want to do."

Jones said his goal is to play with consistency in UF's first intra-squad scrimmage.

"Lead the team down to a couple of scores," Jones said. "I definitely want to do that. If you can show you are consistent throughout the offense and you can be productive, that’s what they want to see.”

What Aaron Philo brings as a Florida football QB

Philo has a solid grasp of the offense from having played for two seasons under Faulkner while at Georgia Tech. He transferred to Florida from the Yellow Jackets last December.

"It really just felt like the perfect fit for me," Philo said. "Everybody in this building is a special person, and you know, you wanna treat everybody the same way, and I feel like the people that we have in this building are really special, and that we can do something special here."

Despite the close relationship with Faulker, Philo said he wasn't promised the starting job.

"I'm a firm believer in competition makes everybody better," Philo said. "So, when you're competing with somebody, competing with multiple people, you know, you're gonna push yourself to be better than you would be if it was just given to you."

At Prince Avenue Christian High, Philo broke Trevor Lawrence's Georgia prep passing record, throwing for 13,922 yards and 159 TD passes.

"We were probably throwing it like 50 times a game," Philo said. "So, you know, we were throwing it a lot, and I feel like that's where I get my confidence as a passer of the football. Just, you know, for those three years, just throwing the ball a ton, getting a ton of reps. I feel like it made me better."

At Georgia Tech, Philo played in eight games over two seasons backing up King, passing for 938 yards. He averaged 17.8 yards per completion in 2025 as a redshirt freshman.

"Being able to get those in-game reps were really good for me, to gain a lot of experience through playing those games," Philo said. "I feel like helped me out a lot."

Not only does Philo have familiarity with Faulkner's offense, but also has connections with three targets he threw to during his time Georgia Tech who have transferred to UF − wide receiver Eric Singleton, wide receiver Bailey Stockton and tight end Luke Harpring. Philo and Stockton also played together in high school before Georgia Tech.

"It's been awesome," Philo said. "Bailey, he's also a really smart player, understands the offense, understands where to go and he's extremely explosive with the ball in his hands as well.”

Kevin Brockway is The Gainesville Sun’s Florida beat writer. Contact him at kbrockway@gannett.com. Follow him on X @KevinBrockwayG1.

This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: What Tramell Jones Jr., Aaron Philo bring to table as Florida football QB competition continues