Greg McElroy reveals his pick to win Florida’s quarterback competition
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Greg McElroy speaks from experience when he talks about quarterback competitions, especially those that take place in the SEC.
As a former Alabama signal-caller who won a national championship in Tuscaloosa, McElroy knows the intense drill, and right now as fall camp approaches in Gainesville, there will be an intense quarterback competition taking place as Jon Sumrall takes over at Florida.
Sumrall enters Year 1 with a big decision to make. There is Aaron Philo, a redshirt sophomore transfer from Georgia Tech, and there is Tramell Jones Jr., a redshirt freshman. Those are the 2 quarterbacks who’ll be competing in fall camp to be the success to DJ Lagway, who transferred to Baylor.
With Sumrall already saying that he hasn’t set a timeline for when he will name a starter in fall camp, Gators fans should dig in for a big-time battle that go down to the week of Florida’s season opener. But McElroy, during his Always College Football podcast on Tuesday, gave UF fans his 2 cents about who he thinks will ultimately emerge.
“(Jon) Sumrall walks into The Swamp with a brand new staff a brand new offense and no one to run it. It’s down to Aaron Philo and Tramell Jones. Sumrall’s scouting report on the depth chart was 3 words — ‘it’s very fluid,'” McElroy said.
McElroy noted that each quarterback has his own advantage. For Philo, it’s that he comes to Florida along with new Gators offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner, whose offense Philo knows from their time together at Georgia Tech. So, Philo doesn’t have to learn a new offense, as McElroy said on Tuesday.
“Philo isn’t learning the offense. He’s the offense’s carry-on luggage,” McElroy said.
But there’s also the fact that Jones played better than Philo during the spring. So, what gives for McElroy?
“I lean Philo. I’m going to hold onto that loosely,” McElroy said. “Every structural advantage in this thing belongs to Philo. Familiarity is a head start, but it’s not the finish line. The guy that played better in the spring, that’s Tramell Jones. I lean Philo early but would not be surprised if Tramell Jones ultimately secures that job, maybe early in the season.”
Here is McElroy’s full assessment of Florida’s quarterback dilemma:
No matter who is under center for Florida, the Gators will be gunning to be relevant in the SEC title discussion under a new coaching regime. Here is what the Kalshi market is currently saying about Florida’s chances among the SEC powerhouses who’ll be competing for that conference championship trophy this fall:
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
