Aaron Philo has an opportunity to prove himself after SEC QB rankings snub

Aaron Philo is going to have to prove some people wrong this season.

The third-year sophomore was announced as the starting quarterback and will lead the Florida Gators' offense on the field next Saturday in the opener against Florida Atlantic. With the final QB competition of the SEC determined, the college football media has updated their SEC quarterback rankings. The good news is that Philo isn't ranked last, nor should he be, but he's not in CBS Sports' top 10 either.

Brad Crawford places Philo at 12th and suggests that he's going to have to fight off Tramell Jones all season to hold on to his spot. He writes:

"Jon Sumrall assured everyone this week that he's confident the Gators can win with Philo or Tramell Jones this season, but talked glowingly about the Georgia Tech transfer's grasp of the offense. That's no surprise considering Philo's experience with new Gators OC Buster Faulkner. The leash could be short for Philo, given Jones' ability and how often Sumrall has used multiple signal callers in his coaching career."

Aaron Philo may start at 12th, but he could finish much higher

Philo's position makes some sense. He's a first-year starter with limited snaps. Yes, he knows Faulkner's offense extremely well and that lessens the learning curve. He should be able to come out of the gate strong, but he's also started one game in his career. So, as much as Philo knows, he is still an unknown.

But there are some unknowns ahead of him on this list. Keelon Russell threw 11 passes for Alabama last year, and he's seventh on this list. Faizon Brandon threw 110 passes last year... in high school, but the Tennessee starter is ranked 10th. Now, Russell and Brandon were both five-star recruits out of high school and, in this inexact science, that kind of talent gets the benefit of the doubt. Those guys were the dudes in high school and Philo was just a dude. But none of that matters now. 

Outside of that, there aren't too many arguments with this list, especially with the top 5, I guess I'd swap John Mateer with Gunner Stockton. Otherwise, this list might be sleeping on Austin Simmons, who was someone I thought the Gators might look at in the transfer portal.

But this isn't about those guys. It's about Philo going out on the field and playing within himself. He doesn't have to be Arch Manning or Trinidad Chambliss to have success, he just has to be the best version of Aaron Philo, and the Gators should be fine. Or at least that's what Jon Sumrall is banking on.

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