Decision on Quarterback May Not Even Matter for Florida Gators

The flip-flopping continues. Aaron Philo is back as the starting quarterback for the Florida Gators after one and a half games with Tramell Jones Jr. under center.

Heading into a road game against Kentucky, whom the Gators have lost four of the last five bouts to, they’re looking to do what they can to try to change their offensive fortunes.

Philo missed the win over Texas due to a shoulder injury, but he was benched midway through the loss to Georgia after he threw two interceptions in the first half in favor of Jones.

Whether or not any change at quarterback can do so remains to be seen. Given the sample size we’ve had over the last six weeks, it’s hard to say any serious change will come about.

A Tale of Two Quarterbacks

There’s an old saying. If you have two quarterbacks, you have none. At first, the Gators looked like they’d be able to overcome that narrative.

Philo won the job ahead of opening night looked like the guy through the first four games of the season. He completed 72.4% of his passes for 917 yards with seven touchdowns to two interceptions. He had three rushing touchdowns, reflecting how dynamic the offense could be.

He had a win on the road in the tough confines of Jordan-Hare in Auburn, and he’d led the Gators to an upset over No. 4 Ole Miss.

He was for real. The team was for real. The projections had them hosting College Football Playoff games, even if the defense had question marks.

Then, it unraveled. One loss came - then another.

Missouri blew them out in Columbia. South Carolina, with a losing record, marched into the swamp and pulled off an upset.

Philo didn’t necessarily look bad, but some cracks were showing. Add on the aforementioned injury and his performance against Georgia, and much of the early goodwill dried up.

Meanwhile, until the loss to Oklahoma on Saturday, Jones hadn’t looked too bad either. He had completed 69.8% of his passes and had three touchdowns to two interceptions. He ran in a touchdown against Georgia to ensure the Gators weren’t shut out for the first time since 1988.

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Perhaps they truly had another option after all.

Then, his most recent game saw him complete just 45% of his passes with no touchdowns to complement two interceptions. Maybe not.

Suddenly, neither quarterback feels like an answer. Remember the old saying that two quarterbacks mean you have none? That’s starting to ring true again.

Does a Switch Even Matter?

Unless they pull off a win against Kentucky, the answer is no. Neither quarterback has necessarily performed well enough lately to instill confidence that a change can matter.

That being said, these issues go beyond the quarterback, making it matter even less if a switch matters.

Wide receiver Vernell Brown III has been missing in action since the win over Ole Miss. It’s shown.

The running game had an otherworldly start to the season. Lately, it’s been stifled. Teams are learning that they can shut down the run game, and the passing game doesn’t have to be respected.

Losing Jake Slaughter, an All-American, at center and Austin Barber, an All-SEC team member, at left tackle has been hard for the offensive line to overcome.

Philo and Jones have been sacked a combined 16 times. If you include the full season, that puts them on track for a total of 21 times. For reference, DJ Lagway was sacked 19 times over 12 games. At first glance, that doesn’t seem like that much of a difference.

Let’s remove the first four games. You still have 14 total sacks over a five-game span. That’s a pace of 22 sacks over eight games after just two over four games. Over 12 games, that would translate to 33 sacks.

Offensive line trouble is starting to catch up with them. There’s a mixture of issues that are starting to compound.

The Gators can flip-flop quarterbacks as many times as they want to try and see if something changes. Odds are that it’s not going to make much of a difference. Part of it is because of their options at quarterback. Part of it comes down to the makeup of the offense as a whole.

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