![New UF head football coach Jon Sumrall speaks during a press conference at the James W. “Bill” Heavener Football Training Center in Gainesville, FL on Monday, December 1, 2025. [Alan Youngblood/Gainesville Sun]](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,x_0,y_0,w_2536,h_1426/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/ImagnImages/mmsport/213/01kchd63q77wafpv08gz.jpg "New UF head football coach Jon Sumrall speaks during a press conference at the James W. “Bill” Heavener Football Training Center in Gainesville, FL on Monday, December 1, 2025. [Alan Youngblood/Gainesville Sun]")
With the news of DJ Lagway hitting the transfer portal, Jon Sumrall’s honeymoon phase with Florida lasted all of two weeks before he now has his first major decision he has to make ahead of the 2026 campaign. Sumrall can either put his chips behind a QB already on Florida’s roster, or he can go hunting in the transfer portal for a QB1.
With that in mind, here are some of the early options Sumrall might look into, keeping in mind the transfer portal doesn’t officially open until January, and there could be more names that hop in.
Tramell Jones - Florida
We caught a couple of glimpses of four-star QB Tramell Jones during the 2025 season. He looked great against LIU and not so much against Kentucky.
If Jones sticks around himself, we would anticipate he is in the mix to battle it out for QB1, but we would also be surprised if Sumrall anoints him right away and doesn’t grab someone from the portal.
WIll Griffin - Florida
The incoming freshman would have to be considered an even longer shot to get the starting job as a true freshman, but he does have a playstyle that would merge well with incoming OC Buster Faulkner’s scheme used at Georgia Tech.
Aaron Philo -Georgia Tech
Speaking of Georgia Tech, Aaron Philo is a name to watch that Faulkner could try to poach and bring with him. Philo wasn’t a highly regarded prospect coming out of high school, but he was the backup for the Yellow Jackets this past season and looked good in the one start he made against Gardner-Webb.
If Faulkner is using the same system in Gaineville (and that is a massive if), Philo would slot right in.
Darian Mensah - Duke
Another player who is not actually in the transfer portal just yet, but he did play for Sumrall in 2024 before transferring to Duke this season. People might remember that Mensah was the QB who sat out of the Gasparilla Bowl when Tulane played Florida last year.
Mensah had a solid season, throwing for 30 TDs and over 3,600 yards. His QBR was 14th best in the country, and he would have proved Power 4 experience.
Sam Leavitt - Arizona State
Probably the most notable name in the transfer portal right now, Sam Leavitt took Arizona State to the playoffs last season and was within a 4th-down stop of knocking off Texas. The irony is that Leavitt is the guy who came to Arizona State and beat out former Gator commit Jadan Rashada for the starting job with the Sun Devils.
2025 didn’t go so great as injuries ended Leavitt’s campaign early, and there is the drama that Leavitt was the only Arizona State team captain to not be at the team’s end of year banquett.
Byrum Brown - USF
Back to a guy who isn’t actually in the transfer portal yet but sure feels like he will be, Bryum Brown had a completion percentage north of 66% in 2025 and racked up over 1,000 yards rushing on the season.
Given that he is a Group of Five guy, there would be a learning curve, but he would fit well with Faulkner’s base offense that was used at Georgia Tech.