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BREAKING: Gators Pick Aaron Philo as QB1 - Will START for UF Football! · A Peek Inside Gators Football: A Show About the Florida Gators

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  Speaker 1: You are watching A Peek Inside Gator Football. Allie Peek here.
• 0:04
  Speaker 1: This video is brought to you by PrizePix, where all
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  Speaker 1: play a $ 5 lineup, and if you win, you'll get
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  Speaker 1: $ 150 in lineups instantly. Guys, it is the moment we
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  Speaker 1: have been waiting for. We officially have our answer. For months,
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  Speaker 1: we have talked about it. Aaron Filo or Tramell Jones
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  Speaker 1: Who is going to be the guy to lead John
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  Speaker 1: Summerall's first Florida Gator team onto the field? We've got
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  Speaker 1: the answer. Aaron Filo will start at quarterback when Florida
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  Speaker 1: opens the 2026 season against Florida Atlantic in the swamp.
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  Speaker 1: Just now, John Summerall said that they are preparing for
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  Speaker 1: Filo to be the starter for week one. And I
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  Speaker 1: think that the wording there is actually kind of important.
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  Speaker 1: He didn't say Aaron Filo is our starting quarterback for
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  Speaker 1: the next four months. He didn't say the competition is
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  Speaker 1: permanently over. He said they're preparing for Philo to start
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  Speaker 1: week one. And we're going to get into that. We're
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  Speaker 1: going to talk about why I think Philo ultimately won
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  Speaker 1: this job, what he brings to this Florida offense and
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  Speaker 1: what this means for Tramell Jones. And maybe more importantly,
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  Speaker 1: what I actually need to see from Philo before I
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  Speaker 1: feel comfortable saying Florida has completely solved its quarterback question.
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  Speaker 1: But first let's If you are excited that we finally
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  Speaker 1: have actual football games to talk about instead of a
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  Speaker 1: quarterback competition and the fall camp reports, make sure you
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  Speaker 1: hit the subscribe button guys. We are only about 240
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  Speaker 1: subscribers away from that 20,000 subscriber goal. Okay. I don't
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  Speaker 1: think this decision surprises anybody. Now that does not mean
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  Speaker 1: that this quarterback competition wasn't legitimate. In fact, I think
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  Speaker 1: Tramell Jones probably made this decision significantly more difficult than
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  Speaker 1: Florida's coaching staff maybe expected it to be. But Aaron
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  Speaker 1: Philo came into this competition with one enormous advantage. He
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  Speaker 1: already knew Buster Faulkner's offense. Philo spent the previous two
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  Speaker 1: seasons at Georgia Tech with Faulkner before he followed him
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  Speaker 1: to Gainesville. So while practically everybody else was learning new
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  Speaker 1: terminology and new protections, new reads, new motions, and a
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  Speaker 1: whole new offense, Philo had already a working knowledge of
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  Speaker 1: what Faulkner wanted to do. Summerall acknowledged as much during camp.
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  Speaker 1: He said Philo was way ahead initially because of his
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  Speaker 1: understanding of this offense, and Jones had more catching up
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  Speaker 1: to do. By the middle of August, Summerall had said
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  Speaker 1: that Jones made enormous progress, but Philo still had that
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  Speaker 1: experience advantage. And a quarterback, that is so important. I
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  Speaker 1: don't think Florida needs Aaron Philo to go out there
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  Speaker 1: and play superhero football. John Summerall has basically said the
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  Speaker 1: same thing. He doesn't need Tim Tebow. He doesn't need
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  Speaker 1: to throw for 400 yards every Saturday. Florida needs its
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  Speaker 1: quarterback to get everybody lined up correctly, handle motions and shifts,
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  Speaker 1: understand protections, make the correct read, distribute the football to
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  Speaker 1: the playmakers, and probably most importantly, protect the football. And
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  Speaker 1: when you look at those requirements, it makes sense that
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  Speaker 1: Philo gets the first opportunity. I also think Philo is
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  Speaker 1: a little bit more talented than people are giving him
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  Speaker 1: credit for. Sometimes when we talk about his familiarity with
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  Speaker 1: Buster Faulkner, it almost makes it sound like that's the
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  Speaker 1: only reason he's playing. It's not. Samuel has described him
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  Speaker 1: as having a quick release, a strong arm, being a
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  Speaker 1: good decision maker, and having enough athleticism to make plays
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  Speaker 1: with his legs. And we've seen flashes of that at
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  Speaker 1: the college level. He played eight games during his two
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  Speaker 1: seasons at Georgia Tech. He completed 59 of 102 passes
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  Speaker 1: for 938 yards, two touchdowns, and three interceptions. Now, I
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  Speaker 1: understand those numbers do not jump off the screen at you.
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  Speaker 1: But remember, we're talking about a young quarterback who spent
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  Speaker 1: most of that time behind Hayes King. And there are
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  Speaker 1: two performances that I think are worth remembering. First came
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  Speaker 1: against NC State in 2024. Philo threw for 265 yards.
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  Speaker 1: But had a really big moment late in the fourth quarter.
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  Speaker 1: Georgia Tech needed a touchdown. Philo helped engineer a 75-yard
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  Speaker 1: drive in just seven plays and 68 seconds. On that drive,
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  Speaker 1: he completed all four of his passes and then he
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  Speaker 1: scored on an 18-yard run with 22 seconds remaining to
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  Speaker 1: give Georgia Tech a 30-29 win. That is a pressure situation.
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  Speaker 1: That is something you can point to and say, okay,
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  Speaker 1: this kid has been asked to win a football game
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  Speaker 1: late before, and he's done it. Then last season, Philo
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  Speaker 1: got his first career start against Gardner Webb. He went
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  Speaker 1: 21 of 28 for 373 yards, a touchdown, and an interception.
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  Speaker 1: Georgia Tech finished with 680 yards of total offense in
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  Speaker 1: a 59-12 win. Obviously, Florida Atlantic and then SEC football
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  Speaker 1: are going to present a much different challenge for Philo.
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  Speaker 1: But he's not walking into the swab having never taken
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  Speaker 1: meaningful college snaps. There's at least something on take. And
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  Speaker 1: here's another thing I think Florida fans should know about
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  Speaker 1: Aaron Filo. This guy's been throwing the football at a
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  Speaker 1: high level for a very long time. At Prince Avenue
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  Speaker 1: Christian in Georgia, he finished his high school career with 13,922
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  Speaker 1: passing yards. That made him Georgia's all-time high school passing leader.
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  Speaker 1: The guy whose record he broke? Trevor Lawrence. Philo also
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  Speaker 1: threw 159 career touchdown passes and led Prince Avenue to
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  Speaker 1: back-to-back state championships as a junior and senior. So while
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  Speaker 1: he wasn't some five-star, can't-miss quarterback recruit coming out of
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  Speaker 1: high school, production has followed this kid everywhere he's been.
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  Speaker 1: Now he gets the biggest opportunity of his career, starting
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  Speaker 1: quarterback at the University of Florida, under the lights, in
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  Speaker 1: the Swamp. So what happens to Tramell Jones? This is
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  Speaker 1: probably the biggest question coming out of today's announcement. What
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  Speaker 1: does this mean for Tramell Jones? And my answer is,
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  Speaker 1: I don't think we've seen the last of him, not
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  Speaker 1: even close. If anything, I came away from this quarterback
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  Speaker 1: competition more encouraged about Jones than I was entering camp.
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  Speaker 1: Because remember where this thing started. Philo had already spent
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  Speaker 1: two years in Faulkner's system. Jones had not. And yet,
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  Speaker 1: by mid-August, Summerall was telling us that neither quarterback was
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  Speaker 1: light years ahead of the other. He has praised Jones'
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  Speaker 1: effort and comfort in the pocket, his energy, his touch,
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  Speaker 1: his ability to make big plays. The biggest thing that
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  Speaker 1: Jones still needed to improve on was the operational side
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  Speaker 1: of the position. Motions, shifts, getting everybody organized at the
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  Speaker 1: line of scrimmage. Basically, the parts of quarterback play were
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  Speaker 1: Philo's extra time in the system gave him the absolute
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  Speaker 1: biggest advantage. I think that's really encouraging for Jones long-term.
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  Speaker 1: And Summerall has been telling us this spring that winning
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  Speaker 1: the week one job doesn't guarantee you the week two job.
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  Speaker 1: The week five job doesn't win you the week 12 job.
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  Speaker 1: He has repeatedly said quarterbacks will have to continue earning it.
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  Speaker 1: So I think you look at this like Aaron Filo
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  Speaker 1: has won round one. And that's significant. But I would
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  Speaker 1: not assume that the door has slammed shut behind them.
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  Speaker 1: In fact, Summerhill has previously said that there's a good
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  Speaker 1: chance both quarterbacks could play in the first couple of games.
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  Speaker 1: And I think that would make some sense. Florida opens
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  Speaker 1: with Florida Atlantic and then Campbell before traveling to Auburn
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  Speaker 1: week three. You have two games in the swamp to
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  Speaker 1: learn exactly what you've got before that SEC play begins.
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  Speaker 1: Use them. I wanna take a quick break from this
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  Speaker 1: video to give some love to Alumni Hall. Guys, we
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  Speaker 1: are just a few days away from the season kicking off.
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• 8:09
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• 8:18
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• 8:22
  Speaker 1: to already be in Gainesville, you can go to their
• 8:24
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• 8:27
  Speaker 1: sent you. Use the code in the store as well
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  Speaker 1: for that 15% off. We appreciate Alumni Hall for all
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  Speaker 1: their support. So what am I going to see or
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  Speaker 1: watch for from Aaron Philo on September 5th? Okay. I
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  Speaker 1: am not looking for 400 yards. I am not looking
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  Speaker 1: for five touchdowns. And I definitely don't want Florida to
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  Speaker 1: come out throwing the football 45 times because they feel
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  Speaker 1: like they have to prove that they picked the right guy.
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  Speaker 1: What I want to see is command. Does Florida look organized?
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  Speaker 1: Do they get lined up quickly? Are the motions right?
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  Speaker 1: Are the protections right? Is Philo decisive with the football?
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  Speaker 1: When the first read isn't there, does he move through
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  Speaker 1: the progressions or does he freak out and panic? And
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  Speaker 1: maybe more than anything, does he protect the football? Florida
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  Speaker 1: has too many weapons around the quarterback position for the
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  Speaker 1: quarterback to feel like he has to create everything himself.
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  Speaker 1: You have Jaden Baugh in the backfield. You have Fernell
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  Speaker 1: Brown III. You've got Eric Singleton Jr. You've got talent
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  Speaker 1: at tight end. You have guys who can turn a
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  Speaker 1: five-yard throw into something crazy. huge. The job of the
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  Speaker 1: quarterback doesn't have to be complicated. Get them the ball,
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  Speaker 1: stay ahead of the chains, don't put the defense in
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  Speaker 1: terrible situations. And when the opportunity for an explosive play
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  Speaker 1: presents itself, hit it. If Philo can do those things,
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  Speaker 1: Florida's offense could be pretty interesting. And this is why
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  Speaker 1: I think this decision, Matt's beyond just the quarterback position.
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  Speaker 1: John Summerall is taking over a Florida program that went
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  Speaker 1: four and eight last year. There has been massive roster turnover.
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  Speaker 1: There are new coaches everywhere. There is a new offensive system.
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  Speaker 1: There is a new defensive system. There's new terminology. There's
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  Speaker 1: new expectations. There are enough variables already. So if you
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  Speaker 1: can eliminate one of them at quarterback, even temporarily, Philo
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  Speaker 1: gives Florida some continuity. He knows Faulkner. Faulkner knows him.
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  Speaker 1: They know what he does well. They know what makes
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  Speaker 1: him uncomfortable. And I think that matters when you're building
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  Speaker 1: an offense essentially from scratch. Now, does that mean that
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  Speaker 1: Philo is guaranteed to be Florida's quarterback when they go
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  Speaker 1: to Georgia? Absolutely not. It doesn't even guarantee that he's
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  Speaker 1: Florida's quarterback when they go to Auburn. But he has
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  Speaker 1: the first opportunity to make the job his. And I
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  Speaker 1: really think that is more what today's announcement is about.
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  Speaker 1: If you watch this press conference, you listen to Coach Summerall.
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  Speaker 1: He is really high on Tramell Jones as well. He
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  Speaker 1: said he would go to war with that guy. That's
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  Speaker 1: a quote. He loves the development that he has shown
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  Speaker 1: since spring ball started. He has raved about his grasp
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  Speaker 1: of the offense and how much better he's getting at it.
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  Speaker 1: But he's also been really honest that he's not quite
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  Speaker 1: there with Aaron in terms of command. He has said
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  Speaker 1: that he thinks they can open the playbook up a
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  Speaker 1: little bit more when Philo is the quarterback, that the
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  Speaker 1: command of the offense is the difference at this moment.
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  Speaker 1: He actually talked about the fact that they have very
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  Speaker 1: similar skill sets. He said that their miles per hour,
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  Speaker 1: is very similar. So that means their running game kind
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  Speaker 1: of mimics each other. He talked about their arm strength
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  Speaker 1: being similar. It really appears that just grasp of this
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  Speaker 1: offense command of this offense is really the difference maker
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  Speaker 1: at that moment. And that means Tramiel has time to
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  Speaker 1: continue to learn and grow. and fight for his opportunities
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  Speaker 1: as well. Now, Florida opens September 5th against FAU. It's
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  Speaker 1: a 745 kick on SEC Network. The following week, the
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  Speaker 1: Campbell Camels come to Gainesville. And after that, the training
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  Speaker 1: wheels come off. Florida goes to Auburn on September 19th
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  Speaker 1: for its SEC opener. So Aaron Filo essentially has a
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  Speaker 1: two-game runway to show John Summerall and Buster Faulkner that
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  Speaker 1: they made the right decision. By week three, this is
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  Speaker 1: not going to be about potential anymore. It is going
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  Speaker 1: to be SEC football, a road environment, Auburn. Then you
• 12:40
  Speaker 1: come home and you play Ole Miss. Then you've got Missouri,
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  Speaker 1: South Carolina, Texas, Georgia. It goes on and on. Florida's
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  Speaker 1: schedule is not going to give anybody much time to
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  Speaker 1: grow up. So I think naming Philo now is smart.
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  Speaker 1: Give him the reps. Let him prepare like the starter.
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  Speaker 1: Let the offense know whose voice they're hearing in the huddle.
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  Speaker 1: And then let's see what happens. Because at some point,
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  Speaker 1: you have to stop evaluating quarterbacks in practice and start
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  Speaker 1: evaluating them when there's another team on the other side
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  Speaker 1: of the line of scrimmage. That starts September 5th. Aaron
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  Speaker 1: Filo will get the first shot. Now the question becomes,
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  Speaker 1: can he keep the job? Let me know what you
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  Speaker 1: guys think. Did Florida make the right decision in going
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  Speaker 1: with Aaron Filo? Did they make the right decision naming
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  Speaker 1: him this week, now? Would you have gone with Tramell
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  Speaker 1: Jones instead? And do you think we see both quarterbacks
• 13:32
  Speaker 1: against FAU? Drop your thoughts down in the comments. Make
• 13:36
  Speaker 1: sure you guys are subscribed to this channel. We are
• 13:38
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• 13:42
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• 14:02
  Speaker 1: and as always, Go Gators!