Florida desperately needs a bounce-back game against Kentucky this week. The Gators have lost two straight to Georgia and Oklahoma at home, and unfortunately have to go on the road to take on the 7-2 Kentucky Wildcats on Saturday.
One of the biggest issues for Florida on offense has been at quarterback. Although both Aaron Philo and Tramell Jones Jr. have received starts, neither of them have performed well enough to earn the starting job outright.
Jon Sumrall says a decision on a starting quarterback will come later in the week
During his weekly presser, Coach Sumrall was asked where his team was at with the quarterback heading into the road game in Lexington. He said that both guys are practicing, and a decision on a starter will come later in the week.
"Both practiced today," Sumrall said. "You know, there will be one guy that starts and one guy that doesn't. They're both still listed as or on the depth chart. You'll find out later in the week probably. I don't know how it always gets out. It doesn't get out from me. I don't tell anybody. I tell them. But I'm sure they tell somebody and then it gets out. [...]
I think both guys have done some really good things this year at times, and both guys have done some not-so-good things at times. Didn't think we played well enough at quarterback on Saturday. Loved Tramell. He got all the one reps last week. He knows. I'm very honest with those guys. You know, 10 and 22 for 133 yards, I think, two interceptions, and just some missed opportunities I felt like that we weren't able to capitalize on.
He'll learn from it and grow. It was his second start and really his second full week of being the starter in that role and getting the whole week as the one. But they'll go through the week, and they'll both get some one reps. They'll both get some twos reps."
Philo was Florida's starter in the beginning of the season, and performed well, throwing for 1,341 yards with nine touchdowns and three interceptions with another three rushing scores. He missed the Texas game with a shoulder injury, as Jones started on the road. He played well in the second half against the Longhorns, finishing with 155 yards passing with two touchdowns and another 41 rush yards.
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Philo started for the Gators in the Georgia game, and was benched for Jones after throwing two first-half interceptions. Jones got the nod last week against Oklahoma and finished with 133 yards passing with zero touchdowns and two interceptions.
Florida will face a Kentucky defense that ranks 76th in total and 108th in passing defense. While the Gators haven't effectively been able to throw the ball since Vernell Brown III has been hurt, this could be an opportunity for Florida's pass game to bounce back a bit.
Sumrall also added that he is taking a hot hand situation with the position, and won't be afraid to make a change if the starter doesn't play well.
"If a guy's playing really good, we're not going to take him out. So the hot hand situation is real. Last week I went into the game plan really wanting to give Tramiel the game. And barring catastrophic errors in the game, I was going to let it be his game. My catastrophic turnover were the plays that cost us. Both of them, I've told them both, like, hey, you're not going to throw multiple interceptions that were your fault and keep getting trotted out there over and over and over again.
Like, we're not throwing four picks, and it's just like, yeah, keep going. But at the same time, I think if you have such a quick leash with them or you pull them too fast, then they don't let it rip, and they play a little cautious, and you can't play the position that way. So my desire moving forward would start one of them, hopefully they play great, and let them go."
We'll see if Florida's quarterback situation gets any clearer in the coming days.
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