It's Aaron Philo time to run the show and Florida's offense is going full speed ahead

It's less than two weeks before the Florida Gators open the 2026 season against Florida Atlantic. And for Aaron Philo, that might feel like about two hours.

A day after he was announced as the starting quarterback, Philo had nothing but praise for Tramell Jones and expressed an eagerness to get the season going. Philo has had limited action in his first two years at Georgia Tech, attempting 102 passes and completing 57.8%. He threw for 938 yards, two touchdowns and three interceptions. Philo is expected to be heavily involved in the run game and averaged 5.9 yards per carry in limited work with the Yellow Jackets.

But there will be no limits for Philo now. No easing in period for him on the field. The Florida offense has the pieces to be very good, and the starting quarterback has to be all gas, no brakes.

Aaron Philo will have room to grow but he must produce

Philo is the starter. He's not the 1-A in a two-man rotation. It's his show, and he's in charge of running it. Buster Faulkner and Jon Sumrall aren't going to play games with him and Tramell Jones. There's an established hierarchy at quarterback and Philo is the guy.

That's the way it should be. Even if the old adage of "if you have two quarterbacks, you really have none" is well...old, it's still true today. You can't have a player looking over his shoulder every time a pass goes a little wide or if a turnover happens or a pre-snap issue ruins a red-zone possession. 

Those things happen in football. No one's perfect. It's not about being perfect, it's about being consistent and giving the Gators offense its best chance to succeed. Mistakes will occasionally happen and Philo believes he has the mentality to fight through adversity.

"I used to pitch in baseball and when you throw a ball you've got to move on to the next pitch. It's kind of like that in football," he said. "If something happens, you've got to move on to the next play. It's a mindset of life as well. Adversity is going to strike, bad things are going to happen, you've just got to keep your head down and keep moving forward."

Forward is where the Gators offense wants to go. It's a loaded group with one of the best running backs in the country in Jadan Baugh and a great assortment of experienced playmakers and young talent at wide receiver. Philo wants to make sure the ball gets to Dallas Wilson, Eric Singleton, Vernell Brown III and the other offensive skill in areas where they can do what they do best and make life easy for him. 

"Our skill positions are extremely good. It allows me to dish the ball around and let them go to work and not have to be a hero," he added. "I believe we have a chance to be extremely explosive."

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow