Aaron Philo celebrates during Florida's victory over Ole Miss on Saturday at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. (Photo: Victoria Riccobono/UAA Communications)
Philo Showing Gators Who He Is
Monday, September 28, 2026 | Football
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Jon Sumrall knew who Aaron Philo was when the quarterback arrived at Florida in January.
Four games into the season, he knows who Philo is.
He's not the only one. Teammates, coaches and the media have a much better sense of Philo the player than when he announced his transfer from Georgia Tech to Florida last winter.
Philo started just one game in two seasons at Georgia Tech, with production that reflected his limited playing time.
But after winning the quarterback battle with Tramell Jones Jr. in preseason camp, Philo earned a real shot and is turning heads amid the No. 8-ranked Gators' 4-0 start.
"He's proved nothing but consistent, tough, reliable, great teammate, the intangible things that are outside of playing the quarterback position that are just as important to playing the quarterback position,'' Sumrall said Monday.
Philo is 63 of 87 (72.4 percent) passing for 917 yards, nine touchdowns and two interceptions in four games with the Gators. He has also rushed 24 times for 69 yards and three touchdowns.
Outside of the numbers, what doesn't show up in the stat sheet is the Georgia native's leadership. Beyond what Sumrall has seen, Philo has drawn praise from teammates and others closely tied to the program.
Philo went viral on social media for a clip from the television broadcast that showed him getting vocal with his offensive line.
Left tackle Bryce Lovett, who called Philo a "general," remembers the moment and said it was needed. The message Philo delivered was along the lines of asking his linemen to "lock in."
"Yeah, when you're playing the game of football, there's going to be emotions," Philo said after Saturday's win. "And I was pretty fired up in that moment, and you can't let your emotions take over. I don't think I did. But I think it's good to show emotion, get your teammates fired up, and so that's what I was trying to do."
"It feels good," Lovett said. "He's a dude, so I like to follow his lead."
In Florida's 52-28 win over Ole Miss on Saturday, Philo seemed livelier than usual. Maybe it was because of the bigger moment. Maybe his comfort level has increased. Or maybe everyone simply got a better look at him.
There was a noticeable difference.
After rushing for a touchdown in the third quarter to make the score 31-21, Philo ran toward the bleachers beyond the end zone. He flailed his arms to pump up the crowds as teammates rushed to join the touchdown party.
But it hasn't just been the offensive players who have noticed Philo's leadership.
Veteran safety DJ Coleman, a transfer from Baylor who delivered a big hit and put the game on ice with an interception Saturday, said he noticed Philo's intangibles early.
"Oh yeah, Philo, he has always been a leader, like Day 1, January workouts, he's been very vocal," Coleman said. "He's somebody that's always had the best team interests in mind. I mean, that can go a long way because at the quarterback position, if you are out of view and kind of selfish, it can go a lot of ways. I've seen that happen. The way he attacks things on a daily basis is always for the betterment of the team."
Philo has garnered compliments from national and Southeastern Conference media, including someone who knows a little something about playing quarterback at the University of Florida.
Tim Tebow, Florida's Heisman Trophy winner and two-time national champion, has watched Philo's first four games and sees plenty to like.
"Honestly, I think it's a little bit of everything," Tebow said Friday during his SEC Nation media availability.
Tebow cited Philo's accuracy, poise, decision-making, toughness and ability to make plays with his legs.
And perhaps most important, Philo is showing the intangibles that Sumrall believes are critical to playing quarterback.
"You can have the biggest arm and run and do all those things well, but if you don't have the intangibles at quarterback it's really hard to be a great player," Sumrall said. "I think that's where he's so impressive. I mean, he's got a good enough arm. He runs good enough to create and extend some plays. But it's all the other things. It's how he carries himself and how he invests and how he competes and how much he celebrates his teammates' success and all those sort of things that really excites you about Philo."
Four games into the season, he knows who Philo is.
He's not the only one. Teammates, coaches and the media have a much better sense of Philo the player than when he announced his transfer from Georgia Tech to Florida last winter.
Philo started just one game in two seasons at Georgia Tech, with production that reflected his limited playing time.
But after winning the quarterback battle with Tramell Jones Jr. in preseason camp, Philo earned a real shot and is turning heads amid the No. 8-ranked Gators' 4-0 start.
"He's proved nothing but consistent, tough, reliable, great teammate, the intangible things that are outside of playing the quarterback position that are just as important to playing the quarterback position,'' Sumrall said Monday.
Philo is 63 of 87 (72.4 percent) passing for 917 yards, nine touchdowns and two interceptions in four games with the Gators. He has also rushed 24 times for 69 yards and three touchdowns.
How efficient each FBS QB has been so far this season + the average defense they have faced according to current SP+ ratings. QBs like Julian Sayin, CJ Carr, Gio Lopez, Kamario Taylor & Keelon Russell have all been efficient against stronger defenses so far pic.twitter.com/TciExtbgNI
— CFBNumbers (@CFBNumbers) September 28, 2026
Outside of the numbers, what doesn't show up in the stat sheet is the Georgia native's leadership. Beyond what Sumrall has seen, Philo has drawn praise from teammates and others closely tied to the program.
Philo went viral on social media for a clip from the television broadcast that showed him getting vocal with his offensive line.
Left tackle Bryce Lovett, who called Philo a "general," remembers the moment and said it was needed. The message Philo delivered was along the lines of asking his linemen to "lock in."
"Yeah, when you're playing the game of football, there's going to be emotions," Philo said after Saturday's win. "And I was pretty fired up in that moment, and you can't let your emotions take over. I don't think I did. But I think it's good to show emotion, get your teammates fired up, and so that's what I was trying to do."
"It feels good," Lovett said. "He's a dude, so I like to follow his lead."
In Florida's 52-28 win over Ole Miss on Saturday, Philo seemed livelier than usual. Maybe it was because of the bigger moment. Maybe his comfort level has increased. Or maybe everyone simply got a better look at him.
There was a noticeable difference.
After rushing for a touchdown in the third quarter to make the score 31-21, Philo ran toward the bleachers beyond the end zone. He flailed his arms to pump up the crowds as teammates rushed to join the touchdown party.
But it hasn't just been the offensive players who have noticed Philo's leadership.
Veteran safety DJ Coleman, a transfer from Baylor who delivered a big hit and put the game on ice with an interception Saturday, said he noticed Philo's intangibles early.
"Oh yeah, Philo, he has always been a leader, like Day 1, January workouts, he's been very vocal," Coleman said. "He's somebody that's always had the best team interests in mind. I mean, that can go a long way because at the quarterback position, if you are out of view and kind of selfish, it can go a lot of ways. I've seen that happen. The way he attacks things on a daily basis is always for the betterment of the team."
Philo has garnered compliments from national and Southeastern Conference media, including someone who knows a little something about playing quarterback at the University of Florida.
Tim Tebow, Florida's Heisman Trophy winner and two-time national champion, has watched Philo's first four games and sees plenty to like.
"Honestly, I think it's a little bit of everything," Tebow said Friday during his SEC Nation media availability.
Tebow cited Philo's accuracy, poise, decision-making, toughness and ability to make plays with his legs.
And perhaps most important, Philo is showing the intangibles that Sumrall believes are critical to playing quarterback.
"You can have the biggest arm and run and do all those things well, but if you don't have the intangibles at quarterback it's really hard to be a great player," Sumrall said. "I think that's where he's so impressive. I mean, he's got a good enough arm. He runs good enough to create and extend some plays. But it's all the other things. It's how he carries himself and how he invests and how he competes and how much he celebrates his teammates' success and all those sort of things that really excites you about Philo."
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Monday, September 28
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