Aaron Philo practice clip reignites biggest concern in Florida’s QB battle

Florida’s QB battle continues to be one of the main talking points among Gator fans. Insider reports have previously indicated that Aaron Philo probably has the edge, Jon Sumrall has claimed that the battle is neck and neck, and a good portion of fans online seem to think Tramell Jones is the better option.

And while practice clips posted online seldom tell us much, a clip of Philo throwing a basic pass has ignited Gator fans to make their preference between the two QBs known.

One Aaron Philo throw reignites an old concern

Nick Marcinko of Gator Country shared a clip from fall camp of Philo throwing a deep post to Eric Singleton Jr. It’s an otherwise standard practice clip from the 20-minute window media members were given. Still, fans noted how much Singleton had to stop and wait on the pass before making the catch.

And ultimately, what the clip reignited is one of the core concerns with Philo:

His arm strength.

Aaron Philo doesn’t need Tramell Jones’ arm to win the job

When Philo was first linked to Florida back in December, we noted his arm strength was a concern. Back in December, we wrote:

“Philo is accurate enough and, for better or for worse, has some similarities to Graham Mertz. The “worse” part is that his arm strength is highly suspect. The 78-yard pass he has against Gardner-Webb was off a screen, and of his 21 completions, only seven were beyond ten yards. He had an extremely underthrown ball that led to an interception, and even when he did go deep, he wasn’t hitting receivers in stride.”

So in a vacuum, the fact that Philo didn’t hit Singleton in stride during a warm-up practice throw isn’t anything to pay attention to. But when it is the well-known weakness he had during his time at Georgia Tech, and the only public video we have seen of Philo has been several throws similar to Tuesday’s clip, it’s understandable why Florida fans are raising eyebrows.

As we have written throughout the spring and summer, having a strong arm as a QB doesn’t automatically make one a great QB. Anthony Richardson and DJ Lagway had all the arm strength in the world but couldn’t complete an eight-yard slant to save his life.

And we don’t know what is happening behind closed doors when Philo and Jones have to operate a full-blown offense. The only in game action Jones has had with the Gators was a half against LIU and a half against Kentucky.

But as we also said back in April, if the primary advantage that Philo had was his knowledge of Buster Faulkner’s offense, that felt mitigated in the spring game, and the upside for Jones was significantly higher than Philo’s.

We ultimately want the best QB to win the job. We hope it’s because they are actually the best QB and not because they were a known player to the staff ahead of time.

Florida’s QB dilemma

Aaron Philo

• More experience in Faulkner's offense
• Reportedly more consistent throughout spring
• Quicker operational comfort within the scheme
• Questions remain about vertical arm talent
• Threw two interceptions in spring game

Tramell Jones Jr.

• Stronger arm
• More obvious downfield upside
• 13-of-17 for 210 yards and 2 TDs in spring game
• Produced some of Florida's biggest spring-game throws
• Sumrall has questioned whether his lows are too damaging

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow