Florida coach Jon Sumrall is not declaring a starting quarterback early in the week as the No. 17 Gators prep a pair of passers to play against No. 3 Georgia in Atlanta on Saturday.
Georgia has won five consecutive games while Florida had back-to-back SEC losses to Missouri and South Carolina before Sumrall inserted Tramell Jones Jr. into the lineup for a 27-24 upset of Texas in Austin on Oct. 17.
Sumrall insists he’s not playing coy about his plans, but following the approach he took with Jones and Aaron Philo, who started the first six games of the season.
That decision wasn’t made known to his quarterbacks until one day before kickoff.
“I told Tramell, ‘Look, it’s your game. You don’t have to win it on your own. The way you win this game is by protecting the football, lean on the people around you and just go play clean. Like, you don’t have to be a superhero,'” Sumrall said. “So, we’ll make a decision in the middle of the week, a final decision.”
Jones completed 22 of 35 passes for 155 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions and rushed for 41 yards against Texas. Philo had nine touchdowns and three interceptions and completed 70.5% of his passes in the first six games of the season.
“You have to embrace it, first and foremost. Florida-Georgia is different. Anybody that says otherwise is insane,” Sumrall said. “But what helps you win the game’s not different. So, it’s the task of helping our guys embrace what the rivalry and the history of it is because it is different. It’s different for both fanbases. It’s what makes college football great.”
Georgia coach Kirby Smart said he knows either quarterback will be difficult to defend because of the offensive mind of Buster Faulkner, a former Bulldogs assistant. Smart plans to prep Georgia for both quarterbacks and didn’t rule out seeing both get a shot in the game.
“Both are very talented. One beat Ole Miss handily, and one beat Texas on the road,” Smart said. “I mean, they’re both completely capable, good players, knowing about both of them for a long time, and in terms of their ability, they’re both plenty capable, especially in in Buster’s offense. It’s quarterback driven, but it doesn’t require the quarterback to be perfect. He gives them so many options, and he can play to the strengths of each guy.”