Ahead of its Saturday matchup against No. 7 Texas (4-1), Florida (4-2) might be without its starting quarterback.
On Wednesday morning, Matt Zenitz of CBS reported that Aaron Philo's status was in question for Saturday due to an undisclosed injury. The Gainesville Sun later confirmed that the injury involved Philo's shoulder, which was then confirmed by ESPN's Pete Thamel. According to Thamel, the injury occurred late in the game against South Carolina.
In the fourth quarter of that game, Philo was shaken up on an eight-yard scramble, losing his helmet. That forced him off the field for one play, before he returned on fourth-and-three. On that play, he missed wide receiver TJ Abrams near the sideline in what would be his final passing attempt of the day.
This season, Philo has completed 105 of 149 pass attempts for 1,341 yards, nine touchdowns and three interceptions. He has also added three rushing touchdowns.
The junior QB has earned an 81.5 Pro Football Focus grade this season. According to PFF, Philo has completed 75% of his passes when kept clean in the pocket, but when under pressure, Philo's completion percentage has dropped to 54.5%. Two of his three interceptions have also come under pressure.
Philo's 70.5% completion rate has mostly been bolstered by his short and intermediate attempts. Per PFF, 66.4% of Philo's throws have either come from behind the line of scrimmage or between 0-9 yards. From 10-19 yards, Philo's completion percentage is 45%, while from 20-plus yards, it rises to 53.8%.
If Philo is not available, the Gators will likely turn to sophomore Tramell Jones Jr.
Jones has appeared in five games this season, completing 23 of 29 pass attempts for 252 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. He has a 78.4 PFF grade when pressured this season and has a 90.5% completion percentage when kept clean in the pocket.
"I've said this publicly: I think Tramell can be our starting quarterback here, and we can win football games," Florida head coach Jon Sumrall said on Monday. "I believe in Tramell."
Contact Max Bernstein at mbernstein@alligator.org. Follow him on X at @maxbernstein23.
Max Bernstein is a fourth-year sports and media journalism major and sports management minor. This Fall, he is a Sports Editor and a Florida Gators and Jacksonville Jaguars reporter at The Alligator. Now in his ninth semester with The Alligator, Max previously served in roles including Digital Managing Editor, Sports Editor, Assistant Sports Editor and Football Reporter. He has also made appearances on the Paul Finebaum Show. In the rare moments Max isn't working, he's usually with his girlfriend Reese, watching sports with his fraternity brothers or missing his family and his two cats.
