Still no clarity on Florida football QB competition following spring game

Florida football coach Jon Sumrall said throughout the spring that a starting quarterback job would not be decided following UF's Orange and Blue game.

Nothing changed Sumrall's mind after how redshirt freshman Tramell Jones Jr. and Aaron Philo performed for the Florida Gators at The Swamp on Saturday, April 11.

"Both guys have done some good things," Sumrall said. "I think that room's done good things as a whole. I'll sit down with all those guys on Monday and have a really transparent conversation about, hey, after 15 practices, this is where we are. I'll talk to them about, hey, if we had to play a game next week, this is probably what it would look like.

"I won't make an announcement because we don't play here next week. But I wanted them to know kind of after we wrap up, I think our players, they deserve, they've earned honest conversations."

Statistically, Jones outplayed Philo, throwing for more yards while making fewer mistakes. Jones completed 13 of 17 passes for 210 yards and 2 TDs, while Philo went 18 of 24 for 166 yards with 2 TDs and 2 interceptions.

Jones got off to a slower start than Philo but flashed in the second quarter, firing a 38-yard TD pass to wide receiver Eric Sningleton Jr. and a 75-yard TD pass to receiver Micah Mays Jr.

"Started slow, bounced back," Jones said. "I think sustaining drives was a big thing for me, being able to put guys in good situations, get athletes the ball. So, I think just being able to do that, I think I did pretty good today.”

Florida football QB Aaron Philo regroups after early mistakes

Philo's two interceptions came when safety DJ Coleman jumped an inside route in the second quarter and safety Cam Dooley corralled a tipped pass that was thrown behind sophomore receiver Vernell Brown III.

"Things are gonna go bad in games," Philo said. "Everything's not going to go the way that you want it to go. So you have to be resilient. You have to be able to bounce back when things go bad and I think it's a great trait of a quarterback.”

Philo regrouped by finding Brown open for a 30-yard TD pass on a sideline pattern. Then, Philo closed the half with a 23-yard TD to Mays for his final completion of the game.

Going into the summer, Philo said he needs to do a better job not forcing throws.

"That’s something I need to be better about, and just checking the ball down when it's not there," Philo said.

Florida offensive coordinator Buster Faulker said the goal for the offense going into the spring game was to play fast and not show too much. He thought both Jones and Philo operated the offensive effectively.

"Both came in and did a good job," Faulkner said. "It's a body of work, everything we've done the last 15 days. Today was just a small sample size of what I think both of them can be."

Kevin Brockway is The Gainesville Sun’s Florida beat writer. Contact him at kbrockway@gannett.com. Follow him on X @KevinBrockwayG1.

This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Florida football QB competition remains undecided following spring game