Predicting Florida Gators' Starting QB After 2026 Spring Camp

GAINESVILLE, Fla.-- The Florida Gators concluded its first spring camp under head coach Jon Sumrall last week with its annual spring game, which gave fans its first true glimpse of the program for the 2026 season.

Camp also gave Sumrall his first look at his first roster as he looks to build competitive depth and establish starters at multiple positions. Sumrall added that he would spend the first few days of the post-spring offseason talking with the entire roster about where they stand individually on the depth chart going into the summer.

"I think our players, they deserve, they've earned honest conversations," Sumrall said. "So I'll meet all 111 this week, and I'll talk through kind of where you were, where you are, where you go next to continue to grow and develop."

Now with spring camp in the rearview mirror, Florida Gators on SI is evaluating each position group where we break down the room first, followed by an outlook moving forward and, finally, a way-too-early depth chart prediction.

We start with the quarterbacks.

Breaking Down the Room

Florida entered the spring with one of the more underrated quarterback battles in the country between Georgia Tech transfer Aaron Philo, who effectively left a starting spot at his previous school to enter a competition as a transfer, and redshirt freshman Tramell Jones Jr., who stuck with the program despite a coaching change and no guarantee of a starting spot.

Philo transferred to Florida after spending two seasons as the backup at Georgia Tech, where he threw for 938 yards, two touchdowns and three picks in limited appearances. Because of his experience in Faulkner's offense, as well as the trend that quarterbacks do not transfer to schools to remain a backup, left many to believe that he was the frontrunner.

While Florida has been intentional with having a competition, Philo's experience and leadership have stood out.

"He's a good decision maker and has a quick release. He's got a good arm, can make all the throws, competitive," Sumrall said. "Has some leadership traits that are intangible."

Philo went 21-for-28 for 193 yards and two touchdowns against two interceptions in the spring game. While his start left a lot to be desired, with a 12-for-18 mark for 84 yards and no touchdowns after he threw his second pick, his finish gave a semblance of what can be with Philo. After throwing his second pick, he went 9-for-10 for 109 yards and two touchdowns.

"Things are gonna go bad in games. Everything's not going to go the way that you want it to go. So you have to be resilient," Philo said. "You have to be able to bounce back when things go bad and I think it's a great trait of a quarterback."

Faulkner credited safety DJ Coleman for making a great play on the first pick but said Philo could have "slid in the pocket before he threw it" on the second pick to Cam Dooley. Nonetheless, he also credited Philo's ability to bounce-back.

"One thing I know about the guy is he'll shake it off. Every quarterback, I tell him, ‘Hey, you're gonna throw picks, but we're gonna keep throwing it.' But he came back and made some elite throws, which he always does. I was impressed with the way he handled that."

Jones Jr., meanwhile, has been praised for quickly learning the offense while having what Sumrall says is a "quiet confidence about him." Surpassing two veterans in the depth chart to be last year's backup, Jones Jr. threw for 191 yards and two touchdowns in two appearances last year.

"Tramell has sort of a natural moxie young guy," Sumrall said. "Doesn't maybe have quite the experience, not that Philo has started a ton of games, but he's been in a few more of the competitive moments. But Tramel hasn't been getting quite as many yet in college. But Tramell, to me, just has a naturalness about him... He's very easy to relate to and sort of gravitate to."

That confidence was evident in the spring game, where he threw for 210 yards while completing 13 of his 17 attempts for two touchdowns and no interceptions. His deep ball especially shined with three passes of over 30 yards, including a 75-yarder to Micah Mays Jr. that resulted in a touchdown.

"The more reps you get, the more your confidence goes up, of course," he said. "Being able to take those rep outside of the field, also, to be able to be prepared for what comes in the game or what comes in practice, being able to take those reps, not when everyone is around, it lets you know what you're going to be doing before you do it, lets you know where you want to go to the ball and when the defense gives you a certain look. So, being able to take those reps off the field, being able to take those reps with the team, definitely helped my confidence go up."

Florida's quarterback room is rounded out by true freshman Will Griffin, who has been praised for his growth but still needs more time to get a larger grip of the offense, redshirt junior Aidan Warner and walk-on Aaron Williams.

"The depth chart is very fluid," Sumrall said. "There has to be depth chart for who goes out there with which group. (Philo and Jones Jr.) are sharing reps if you will with the same number of pitch count with each group. Both guys are doing some things that excite you and I feel like we could play winning football with either."

Outlook

Both Philo and Jones Jr. have yet to truly separate themselves, with both having highs and lows in the spring game. With the competition set to continue into fall camp, it would not be surprising to see both quarterbacks play in either of the first two games before the Gators name an official starter going into SEC play.

That being said, we're making a way-too-early prediction for Jones Jr. While Philo has experience in Faulkner's system and more experience on the field than Jones Jr., Jones Jr.'s ability to keep the competition neck-and-neck keeps our confidence higher that he could win the job. While both have had their own turnover issues, Jones Jr.'s turnoverless performance in the spring game adds to the confidence.

Jones Jr.'s deep ball has also stood out, and while that is not in any way a final deciding factor, it cannot be ignored.

"We want to be able to push the ball down the field," Faulkner said after the spring game. "And like I said, today was very, very generic with what we want to do offensively. We said that coming in. Yeah, we did throw it down the field some. But that's going to be a part of the offense.

"We want to be able to throw it down the field. We won't be able to throw it sideways. We won't be able to run it. We want to be able to do it all when it's all said and done. But it was good to see we were able to connect on a few deep balls."

That's not to say, though, that Philo lacks the tools to succeed. His familiarity with Faulkner's system and command of the offense are strengths, and his willingness to take chances on throws can be a benefit if the turnovers are limited. His rushing ability, a big factor considering the Gators' question marks on the offensive line, has been a pleasant surprise in scrimmages.

"I would just say not just forcing throws. I feel like that's something I need to be better about, and just checking the ball down when it's not there," Philo said on what he wants to improve on for the rest of the offseason.

It ultimately remains to be seen who will be the starting quarterback, and Philo very well could take a big leap in fall camp, but if there was a game tomorrow, Florida Gators on SI is predicting Jones Jr. would start.

"Being able to compete against Philo and all the other quarterbacks in the room pushes all of us to be better at the end of the day," Jones Jr. said. "Whoever at the end of the day gets to go out there, they're going to compete at the highest level, because we've been pushing each other, we've been put in great situations, we've been putting each other in difficult situations.

"So being able to get that extra time and get better and really push ourselves to what we can be, I think that can really help everyone."

Depth Chart Prediction

• Starter: Tramell Jones Jr. (RS-Fr.)
• Backup: Aaron Philo (RS-So.)
• Third string: Will Griffin (Fr.)
• Reserves: Aidan Warner (RS-Jr.), Aaron Williams (RS-So.)

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This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/florida as Predicting Florida Gators' Starting QB After 2026 Spring Camp.

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This story was originally published April 17, 2026 at 3:15 PM.