‘I don't have a timeline' - Jon Sumrall's comments on the quarterback competition raises major concerns

One of the biggest stories in the world of college football will be the Florida Gators quarterback battle.

The Florida Gators are going to be entrenched in a quarterback battle this offseason. It’s going to be a fascinating one between Aaron Philo and Tramell Jones Jr. At SEC Media Days, head coach Jon Sumrall was asked about the competition, and his comments are concerning.

“Yeah, I don’t have a timeline,” said Sumrall at SEC Media Days. “I’ve met with both those guys individually. I’ll meet with them before we start training camp together. I’ll meet with the whole room. Just because you start game one doesn’t mean you start game 12. I don’t. I don’t have a timeline. My timeline-it may be five minutes before the game before anybody finds out.”

Jon Sumrall’s comments on quarterback competition are concerning

We’ve seen plenty of quarterback competitions with the Gators over the years, but they haven’t been in one for the last couple of years. With a new coach and DJ Lagway transferring to the Baylor Bears, a competition was inevitable.

Here’s where the concern lies. Sumrall is talking specifically about waiting a long time to make a decision, including the idea of changing it game-to-game. It’s something that he had to do at his first head coaching job.

“My first year as head coach at Troy, we used two quarterbacks the entire year, not necessarily by design, because we had to,” said Sumrall. “Because one of them would get hurt, and one of them, another would get hurt, and then the guy would come back healthy, and he wouldn’t play good. Then we put the other guy in, and it’s like I don’t love the quarterback shuffle deal, but I don’t have a blueprint for how it’s going to go. We’re going to do what we have to try to help position Florida football to win games.”

He’s been through a situation where not having your initial starter the entire year was a thing, and that experience will help him navigate this situation.

The Gators have done the quarterback dance in the past, including Steve Spurrier rotating quarterbacks on a play-by-play basis. Is that the best way to go? Not particularly. You want to inspire confidence and develop chemistry and continuity with the unit. Rotating quarterbacks with consistency could cause issues that could lose them multiple games.

It’s not a simple answer on who to pick, but not having a plan is a tough pill for Gators fans to swallow.

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