No. 17 Florida could have QB Aaron Philo back for SEC game against No. 3 Georgia

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) — No. 17 Florida could have quarterback Aaron Philo back for Saturday’s game against third-ranked Georgia in Atlanta.

Philo, who sat out a victory at then-No. 7 Texas on Oct. 17 because of an injured throwing shoulder, practiced Monday and split first-team repetitions with backup Tramell Jones Jr.

Coach Jon Sumrall said he will wait to see how both QBs get through the first few days of practice this week before making a decision, one he might not announce publicly.

“It starts with health and availability,” Sumrall said. “If a guy’s not available, then my decision gets made really easy. You don’t throw out the full body of work with what they’ve done going back to January, but you also take into account most recent activities. You wait.

“If one guy goes out all week and practices really good and the other guy doesn’t, then that’ll tell me something. But it’s who can function, who can operate, who can make the throws, who can get us in and out of things, all those things. … How they go through the week matters.”

Philo injured his right shoulder while getting tackled late in a home loss to South Carolina on Oct. 10. He made the trip to Austin, Texas, and served as the team’s emergency quarterback behind Jones and Aidan Warner.

Jones became the first Florida quarterback since Jesse Palmer in 1997 to win his first career start on the road against a top-10 team. Jones completed 22 of 35 passes for 155 yards, with two touchdowns and no interceptions.

He also ran 10 times for 41 yards, none bigger than a third-and-7 keeper in which he picked up a first down that allowed the Gators (5-2, 3-2 Southeastern Conference) to kneel out the clock.

“I’ve said the whole time I think we can win with either guy,” Sumrall said.

Jones, like Philo, is expected to land on the injury report Wednesday night. Although Sumrall declined to provide specifics, he said Jones has been dealing with “a couple of bumps and bruises” since beating the Longhorns.

“We pulled the guy fresh out of that garage and he goes and plays, and he got a couple fender benders,” Sumrall said. “So there’s some bumps and bruises he’s dealing with that are new.

“I noticed it last week. I’m like, ‘Are you all right?’ And he’s like, ‘Yeah, I got this going on and don’t feel great here.’ Welcome to SEC football.”

Whoever starts for Florida is expected to have speedy receiver Vernell Brown III back for the first time in more than a month. Brown missed the last three games while recovering from a sprained right knee, which he hurt in a home win against then-No. 4 Ole Miss on Sept. 26.

Sumrall called it the “lowest-grade strain you could get.” But Brown didn’t feel close enough to 100% to play, missing games against Missouri, South Carolina and Texas.

He has 17 catches for 271 yards and two touchdowns. He also has returned five punts for 173 yards and two scores.

“VB looks really good, practiced last week, practiced (Monday),” Sumrall said. “He looks normal to me. … He looked like he was feeling pretty good.”

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