Florida didn't know who their starting quarterback was going to be at the start of this week. Both Aaron Philo and Tramell Jones were injured at the start of this week, and that was confirmed on Wednesday when they were both listed as questionable to play this weekend.
They both were practicing on Monday this week though, so the feeling was that both players would be able to play against Georgia this weekend. Florida however initially wouldn't announce who was going to start for them which forced Georgia to prepare for both QBs to play. Florida however made a critical mistake by announcing Philo as their starter one day before playing Georgia.
NEW: Florida will start QB Aaron Philo over Tramell Jones against Georgia, @PeteNakos and @ZachAbolverdi report🐊https://t.co/0VkI506UjE pic.twitter.com/lCAXiMXoft
— On3 (@On3) October 30, 2026
Florida lost the element of surprise
One of the biggest advantages Florida had heading into this game was the fact that Georgia didn't know who was going to start at quarterback for Florida. Both Philo and Jones have proven this year that they are capable of beating good teams, so that forced UGA to prepare like either player could start.
Florida however tipped their hand far too early by announcing Philo as their starter. Now instead of forcing Georgia to live in the dark they told them exactly what they are planning to do.
For the next 24 hours Georgia can prepare their defense to face Philo. That will make their life much easier while they prepare to face Florida when they could've kept the element of surprise on their side by waiting to share who was starting for them until their offense took the field for the first time.
Tramell Jones may have been the more difficult QB for Georgia to face
Not only did Florida make a mistake by announcing who would start for them, but they may have chosen the wrong guy.
Philo has started six of Florida's seven games this season. In those starts he is 4-2 which includes a strong win against Ole Miss. He however has embarrassing losses to Missouri and South Carolina on his resume this season as well.
Jones on the other hand is 1-0 as their starter this season. That victory came in Florida's most recent game when they went to Texas and pulled off a major upset on the road.
Not only has Jones not lost this season but his playing style figures to be better suited to beat Georgia's defense. In Georgia's last game against Auburn they got torched by quarterback Byrum Brown who ran for 115 yards in their upset win in Athens. Jones is a far better runner than Philo as he is averaging two yards more per carry than Philo this season, so it doesn't make much sense to not ride with him.
So not only is Georgia celebrating knowing who is playing quarterback for Florida this weekend but they are probably excited playing the quarterback less likely to find success against them.
It will be interesting to see if this decision works out in Florida's favor or not, but it's hard to not think they made a critical mistake by announcing Philo as their starter a day early.
Add us as a preferred source on Google