![Florida head coach Jon Sumrall talks on the sideline during spring practice at Sanders Practice Fields in Gainesville, FL on Tuesday, April 7, 2026. [Alan Youngblood/Gainesville Sun]](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,x_0,y_0,w_2698,h_1517/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/ImagnImages/mmsport/213/01kreq20z7qxdmm6krax.jpg "Florida head coach Jon Sumrall talks on the sideline during spring practice at Sanders Practice Fields in Gainesville, FL on Tuesday, April 7, 2026. [Alan Youngblood/Gainesville Sun]")
Coming out of the spring game, both Aaron Philo and Tramell Jones had solid performances for Florida. Ultimately, one of them will win out and become the starting QB for the Gators, but neither of them separated themselves enough during spring practice for Jon Sumrall to make a call just yet on who will start in 2026.
And this lack of a concrete answer seems to have the national media at unease in terms of how much faith to have in the Gators, but the real concern for Florida isn’t at QB, it’s with a different unit.
Florida’s concerns for 2026 aren’t at QB
CBS Sports ran a piece titled “SEC post-spring overractions,” and when talking about Florida, their focus was “Quarterback play under microscope.”
Of the Gators, they said:
“Florida’s quarterback situation entering Sumrall's first season is unsettled enough to limit the offense's upside early. Turnover margin, third-down efficiency and red-zone execution all tend to travel with experienced, high-level quarterback play, and the Gators haven't consistently had that stability in recent seasons. If the position remains inconsistent, Florida's defense will be forced to play on longer fields and take more snaps against elite competition, which will compound pressure over a full SEC schedule. Sumrall can raise the floor with structure and toughness, but until quarterback efficiency catches up, Florida's ceiling in Year 1 may be limited regardless of defensive improvement or roster additions in Gainesville.”
Yes, but no
The thesis isn’t entirely wrong that Florida needs either Jones or Philo to step up, but as we saw at the spring game, the Gators have more than enough playmakers on offense that Florida doesn’t even need either of those two to be “high-level.” With just average play, as long as Florida doesn’t turn the ball over, they should be fine.
But much like the commentary from ESPN earlier this week that also focused on Florida’s QB play, the CBS piece misses what is the genuine concern for Florida heading into 2026:
The offensive line.
For Florida fans, this isn’t news. The offensive line was a frequent target of critique from Sumrall throughout the spring, and when on public display during the spring game, the unit didn’t exactly prove those critiques to be unfair.
The Gators have offensive line coach Phil Trautwein, and Florida has been recruiting the position at an elite level for 2027, but Florida is having to break in a line for 2026 that is almost entirely brand new.
And as Sumrall commented after the spring game, if the offensive line doesn’t improve based upon what we saw during the spring, Florida has zero shot in 2026.
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