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WHAT Will UF's Offense ACTUALLY Look Like Under Aaron Philo? Gators Football · A Peek Inside Gators Football: A Show About the Florida Gators

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  Speaker 1: Hey Gator fans, Allie Peek here.
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  Speaker 2: All right, so now that we know who our starting
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  Speaker 2: quarterback is, what is Florida's Offense actually going to look
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  Speaker 2: like with Aaron Philo. Obviously, John Summerall announced Monday that
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  Speaker 2: Aaron will get the lion's share of the first team
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  Speaker 2: reps as we begin to prepare for Ford Atlantic. And
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  Speaker 2: we've spent plenty of time talking about the quarterback competition itself.
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  Speaker 2: Aaron Filo versus Tramell Jones, who had the better scrimmage,
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  Speaker 2: who was getting more first team reps, who's got the
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  Speaker 2: higher ceiling, who has the higher floor, all of that.
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  Speaker 2: But now that we know Filo is the guy, at
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  Speaker 2: least heading into week one, I think there is a
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  Speaker 2: much more interesting question that we need to be asking.
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  Speaker 2: And that is, what does Florida's offense actually look like
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  Speaker 2: with Aaron Filo running it? Because something Summerall said Monday
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  Speaker 2: really caught my attention. When he explained why Philo ultimately
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  Speaker 2: got the nod, he didn't say it was because Philo
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  Speaker 2: has a significantly better arm or because he's more athletic.
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  Speaker 2: He didn't say one guy dramatically outplayed the other. In fact,
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  Speaker 2: he said their arm talent, running ability, and movement metrics
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  Speaker 2: are pretty comparable. The separator was that Florida can operate
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  Speaker 2: the entire offense at a higher level now with Aaron Philo.
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  Speaker 2: Summerall specifically talked about Fila's ability to get Florida into
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  Speaker 2: the right call, out of a bad call, check plays,
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  Speaker 2: alert things based on what the defense is showing, and
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  Speaker 2: see the middle of the field in the passing game.
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  Speaker 2: And I think that tells us a lot about what
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  Speaker 2: Florida wants this offense to become. If you've been wondering
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  Speaker 2: what Buster Faulkner's offense is actually going to look like
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  Speaker 2: in Gainesville, I think we finally have enough information to
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  Speaker 2: start putting the pieces together. First, this should not be
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  Speaker 2: a watered-down offense. And this might be the biggest advantage
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  Speaker 2: of starting Aaron Filo. He does already know the system.
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  Speaker 2: Filo spent two years at Georgia Tech playing for Buster Faulkner.
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  Speaker 2: So while everybody else was learning new terminology, new formations,
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  Speaker 2: new protections, new motions, and essentially learning an entirely new
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  Speaker 2: offensive language this offseason, Filo already spoke that language. And
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  Speaker 2: I think that that mattered in this competition. Summerall said
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  Speaker 2: last week that Philo was way ahead of Tramell Jones
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  Speaker 2: coming out of spring, simply because he had a better
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  Speaker 2: understanding of the offense. Jones closed that gap considerably during
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  Speaker 2: fall camp. But ultimately, Philo's command of the line of
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  Speaker 2: scrimmage was the difference.
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  Speaker 1: And I think that's.
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  Speaker 2: Important because it means Florida shouldn't have to start the
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  Speaker 2: season with half of Buster Faulkner's playbook sitting on the shelf.
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  Speaker 2: That's what Summerall means when he talks about the whole package.
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  Speaker 2: If the defense shows one look, Philo can change something.
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  Speaker 2: If they bring somebody into the box, he understands where
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  Speaker 2: the answer is. If Florida has motion built into a play,
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  Speaker 2: he understands why they're doing it and what information that
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  Speaker 2: motion is giving him.
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  Speaker 1: It's not just calling a play in the huddle and
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  Speaker 1: executing it.
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  Speaker 2: Philo's being asked to actually operate the offense, and that
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  Speaker 2: is very different. So what is Buster Faulkner's offense? He
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  Speaker 2: himself has called it a pro-style hybrid offense, and I
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  Speaker 2: actually think that's probably the best way to describe it.
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  Speaker 2: You're going to see NFL terminology and concepts mixed with
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  Speaker 2: things that you will see throughout college football.
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  Speaker 1: Different formations, motion, getting.
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  Speaker 2: Players into space, perimeter screens, shots downfield, and a run
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  Speaker 2: game that Faulkner has been very clear has to be physical.
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  Speaker 2: He said that when he arrived that Florida was wanted
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  Speaker 2: to be able to run the football even if everybody
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  Speaker 2: in the entire stadium knows that they're going to run it.
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  Speaker 2: But he also constantly talks about versatility and creating matchups,
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  Speaker 2: finding ways to get the ball to the best players,
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  Speaker 2: making defenses defend literally everything. And we know it can work.
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  Speaker 2: Last year at Georgia Tech, Faulkner's offense averaged 463.3 yards
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  Speaker 2: per game, 33.1 points per game, and 7.09 yards per play.
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  Speaker 1: Compare that to Florida last season.
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  Speaker 2: Florida averaged 341.3 yards. So we're already talking about 130-point
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  Speaker 2: yardage advantage. Florida averaged 21.6 points per game. So 12-point
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  Speaker 2: per game advantage there for Georgia Tech. And Florida averaged 5.41
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  Speaker 2: yards per play. So again, close to a three-yard per
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  Speaker 2: play advantage for Faulkner's offense versus what we're used to.
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  Speaker 2: None of that is a small difference. Florida needs more
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  Speaker 2: explosives and they need an easy offense. Florida needs to
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  Speaker 2: stop making every single touchdown drive feel like it requires
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  Speaker 2: 14 plays and three third down conversions. And that's what
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  Speaker 2: I'm the most interested to see with Faulkner. And I
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  Speaker 2: think it starts with Jaden Baugh. And that's a luxury
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  Speaker 2: that Aaron Filo has to, I think, I don't know,
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  Speaker 2: he has to think about.
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  Speaker 1: And I don't know that we talk about enough.
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  Speaker 2: He doesn't have to walk into the SEC and immediately
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  Speaker 2: carry this offense because he has Jaden Ball. Ball rushed
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  Speaker 2: for 1,170 yards and eight touchdowns last season, finished third
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  Speaker 2: in the SEC in rushing, and became Florida's first 1,000-yard
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  Speaker 2: rusher since Kelvin Taylor. And he did that on an
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  Speaker 2: offense that really wasn't very good. Florida only averaged 21.6
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  Speaker 2: points per game. Defenses knew Ball was the player that
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  Speaker 2: they had to stop, but he still produced. Imagine if
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  Speaker 2: Florida can actually make defenses pay for loading the box.
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  Speaker 2: I think that's where Philo becomes so important. I'm not
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  Speaker 2: looking for Aaron Philo to throw 400 yards every Saturday.
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  Speaker 2: I am looking for Florida to put him in a
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  Speaker 2: situation where the defense has to make a choice. You
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  Speaker 2: want to bring an extra safety down because Jaden Baugh
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  Speaker 2: is running all over you? Great.
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  Speaker 1: Now Florida has one-on-one opportunities outside.
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  Speaker 2: You want to sit back and protect against VB3 and
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  Speaker 2: Dallas Wilson and Eric Singleton?
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  Speaker 1: Great.
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  Speaker 2: Now hand the football to a 225-pound running back who
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  Speaker 2: just rushed for nearly 1,200 yards last season. That is
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  Speaker 2: what a balanced offense is supposed to do. Make the
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  Speaker 2: defense wrong. Look at the receivers Philo has, and I
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  Speaker 2: think that's why I'm so intrigued by this passing game.
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  Speaker 1: Florida has weapons.
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  Speaker 2: Vernell Brown III became the first true freshman in Florida
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  Speaker 2: history to lead the team in both receptions and receiving
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  Speaker 2: yards last year. He finished with 40 catches for 512
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  Speaker 2: yards despite playing only 10 games. Then you add in
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  Speaker 2: Eric Singleton Jr. Singleton caught 58 passes for 534 yards
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  Speaker 2: and three touchdowns at Auburn last year. And he has
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  Speaker 2: caught a pass in every college game of his career.
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  Speaker 1: Then there's Dallas Wilson.
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  Speaker 2: We still really haven't gotten to see what Dallas Wilson
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  Speaker 2: looks like over an entire season because of injuries. But
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  Speaker 2: in his first collegiate start against Texas last year, six catches,
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  Speaker 2: 111 yards, two touchdowns, including a 55-yard touchdown. He's 6'3,
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  Speaker 2: over 210 pounds, and gives you something physically different from
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  Speaker 2: Vernell Brown and Eric Singleton. That's three receivers who all
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  Speaker 2: stress the defense differently. And then you've still got guys
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  Speaker 2: like Micah Mays and TJ Abrams and Bailey Stockton and
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  Speaker 2: others fighting for touches. Stockton is another really interesting piece
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  Speaker 2: because like Philo, he came from Georgia Tech, so he
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  Speaker 2: understands Faulkner's offense too. He caught 21 passes for 233
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  Speaker 2: yards last season at Georgia Tech, so there's already some
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  Speaker 2: familiarity there. That's why I don't think this offense needs
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  Speaker 2: Aaron Philo to be Superman. It needs him to be
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  Speaker 2: the point guard. Get Florida into the right play. Identify
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  Speaker 2: the matchup. Get the football out. And let the athletes
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  Speaker 2: do the rest. But Philo can push the ball downfield.
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  Speaker 2: And that is an obvious question that is whether or
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  Speaker 2: not Philo can actually.
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  Speaker 1: Make those throws when Florida needs him to. I think
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  Speaker 1: he can.
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  Speaker 2: He's still a quarterback who has only started one college game, though,
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  Speaker 2: and that is important. I'm going to take a quick
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  Speaker 2: break from this video to give some love to Alumni Hall. Guys,
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  Speaker 2: game week is upon us. Make sure you have all
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  Speaker 2: the gear you need for Saturdays.
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  Speaker 1: Alumni Hall is helping us out. They've given us a code.
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  Speaker 1: It's PEAK15. That's P-E-E-K-1-5.
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  Speaker 2: You can use it online at alumnihall.com, or you can
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  Speaker 2: use it at their brick-and-mortar store on Archer Road in Gainesville.
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  Speaker 2: If you're coming in town for the game on Saturday,
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  Speaker 2: stop by on your way in. Make sure you tell
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  Speaker 2: them Allie sent you. And don't forget to use the
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  Speaker 2: code PEAK15. That's P-E-E-K-1-5. His career numbers at Georgia Tech
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  Speaker 2: are a very small sample. He has 59 of 102
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  Speaker 2: passes for 938 yards, two touchdowns, and.
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  Speaker 1: Three interceptions in his college career.
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  Speaker 2: So I'm definitely not going to pretend like we're talking
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  Speaker 2: about some three-year SEC starter here.
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  Speaker 1: We are not.
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  Speaker 2: But there have been flashes, and I do think he
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  Speaker 2: can push the ball down the field if he needs to.
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  Speaker 2: Last season in his lone start against Gardner-Webb, he went
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  Speaker 2: 21 of 28 for 373 yards and a touchdown. That's
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  Speaker 2: a 75% completion rate, and he averaged more than 13
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  Speaker 2: yards per attempt. Go back to 2024 when he had
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  Speaker 2: to play significant staffs against NC State.
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  Speaker 1: He threw for 265 yards and also ran for 57
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  Speaker 1: yards and a touchdown.
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  Speaker 2: So, I don't think Philo is going to be used
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  Speaker 2: in the same way that Hayes King was used at
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  Speaker 2: Georgia Tech, but I don't think he's a statue either.
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  Speaker 2: And that brings another dimension to this offense. You don't
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  Speaker 2: necessarily need 15 design quarterback runs, but the quarterback does
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  Speaker 2: need to be enough of a threat with the football
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  Speaker 2: that he could change the numbers in the run game.
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  Speaker 2: And every little thing you do to make life easier
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  Speaker 2: for Jaden Baugh is going to matter. This is something
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  Speaker 2: that I'm also going to be watching really closely.
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  Speaker 1: Before the snap. Because Summerall keeps talking about it.
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  Speaker 2: Shifts, motions, getting to the correct play, getting out of
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  Speaker 2: the wrong play, recognizing the defensive picture. This offense is
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  Speaker 2: going to put responsibility on the quarterback before the ball
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  Speaker 2: is ever snapped. And that's also why Philo won the job.
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  Speaker 2: I don't think Florida wants to line up, look at
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  Speaker 2: the sideline for 20 seconds, and have the coaching staff.
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  Speaker 1: Solve everything for the quarterback. They want the quarterback to
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  Speaker 1: understand what he's looking at.
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  Speaker 2: And the first two games against FAU and Campbell should
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  Speaker 2: give Philo an opportunity to get comfortable doing that in
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  Speaker 2: an actual game environment before it before Florida.
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  Speaker 1: Gets into SEC play.
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  Speaker 2: Because doing it in practice is a totally different beast.
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  Speaker 2: Doing it when the defense disguises pressure, the crowd is loud,
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  Speaker 2: the play clock is moving, and somebody just hit you
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  Speaker 2: on the previous snap is a totally different ball game.
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  Speaker 2: And that's what we still have to learn about Aaron Filo.
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  Speaker 2: Here's another part of the offense I'm fascinated by, the
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  Speaker 2: tight ends. Because we just talked about how much Faulkner
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  Speaker 2: values versatility and creating matchups. And Florida has a guy
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  Speaker 2: who is basically the definition of a matchup problem in
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  Speaker 2: Hezzy Kent. Kent is 6'6 and currently listed at 288 pounds.
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  Speaker 2: He got 95 passes for more than 2,000 yards and
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  Speaker 2: 21 touchdowns in high school. He also rushed for 694
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  Speaker 2: yards and another 19 scores. That is not an offensive
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  Speaker 2: lineman Florida is pretending is a tight end. That kid
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  Speaker 2: has legitimate ball skills. And we've heard all camp about
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  Speaker 2: how intriguing he has been. So imagine some of the
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  Speaker 2: personnel possibilities. You can put a guy of that size
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  Speaker 2: on the field and make defenses think you're getting heavy.
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  Speaker 2: Then you can move him, throw it to him, use
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  Speaker 2: him in play action. That's exactly the kind of versatility
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  Speaker 2: that Faulkner talks about. And again, you need a quarterback
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  Speaker 2: who understands what the defense is doing when you start
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  Speaker 2: moving all of these pieces around.
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  Speaker 1: Here's what I don't expect.
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  Speaker 2: I don't expect Florida to come out September 5th and
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  Speaker 2: ask Aaron Filo to throw it 45 times.
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  Speaker 1: Would you?
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  Speaker 2: You have one of the best running backs in the conference.
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  Speaker 2: You have an offensive line that Summerhall says is finally
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  Speaker 2: starting to come together. You have two games before Auburn
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  Speaker 2: to get everybody comfortable. I think the offense starts with
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  Speaker 2: the run game. But the difference from last year needs
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  Speaker 2: to be what happens because Florida can run the football.
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  Speaker 2: This is where explosives have to come. That's where you
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  Speaker 2: get Vernell Brown isolated. That's where Dallas Wilson gets opportunities vertically.
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  Speaker 2: That's where Eric Singleton gets the football in space. That's
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  Speaker 2: where tight ends become dangerous. And that's where Aaron Filo
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  Speaker 2: has to make the correct decision. The Faulkner-Filo connection matters,
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  Speaker 2: and I keep coming back to that. Buster Faulkner knows
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  Speaker 2: exactly what Aaron Filo can and cannot do. This isn't
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  Speaker 2: an offensive coordinator inheriting a quarterback and spending September figuring
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  Speaker 2: him out.
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  Speaker 1: Faulkner recruited him. He coached him. He developed him.
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  Speaker 2: Filo's been in this offense for two seasons. And when
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  Speaker 2: Florida went into the portal looking for a quarterback after
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  Speaker 2: Summerall arrived, Filo was the guy that Faulkner wanted. There
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  Speaker 2: is value to that, especially in year one. There are
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  Speaker 2: already enough new pieces, new head coach, new coordinator, new
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  Speaker 2: offensive line combinations, new receivers, new terminology, new expectations. Having
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  Speaker 2: the guy touching the football on every snap already know
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  Speaker 2: exactly what the offensive coordinator wants eliminates at least one variable.
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  Speaker 1: And now we find out if it translates to the SEC.
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  Speaker 2: This is the big unknown. Aaron Filo knows the offense.
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  Speaker 2: That's why he's starting. But knowing it and executing it
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  Speaker 2: against SEC defenses are two totally different things. Florida's schedule
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  Speaker 2: is eventually going to put him against Auburn and Ole
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  Speaker 2: Miss and Georgia and Texas and Oklahoma and some really
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  Speaker 2: talented defensive fronts. They're going to disguise coverages. They're going
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  Speaker 2: to pressure him. They're going to figure out what he
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  Speaker 2: doesn't like and make him prove he can beat it.
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  Speaker 2: And that is when we find out what Florida actually has.
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  Speaker 1: But I understand the decision.
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  Speaker 2: And the more I hear Summerall explain it, the more
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  Speaker 2: it makes sense. Florida doesn't need the quarterback who can
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  Speaker 2: make the coolest throw at practice. They need the quarterback
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  Speaker 2: who allows Buster Faulkner to call his offense.
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  Speaker 1: The whole thing.
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  Speaker 2: The shifts and motions and checks, the run game, the
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  Speaker 2: play action, the explosive shots, the matchup playoff.