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Three of the SEC’s most watched quarterback competitions this spring ended without a clear answer. Florida, Tennessee and Alabama each wrapped up 15 practices and multiple scrimmages still undecided at the position, leaving coaches to weigh what they saw against what comes next in fall camp.
Jon Sumrall, Josh Heupel and Kalen DeBoer all shared updates this week on where things stand. The short version: none of them are ready to pull the trigger just yet.
Florida: Jones Makes His Case
At Florida, Sumrall is deciding between Georgia Tech transfer Aaron Philo, who followed offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner to Gainesville, and second-year quarterback Tramell Jones Jr., who backed up DJ Lagway last season as a true freshman.
Both quarterbacks threw two touchdown passes in the Gators’ final spring scrimmage. But Jones was the one who didn’t turn the ball over.
That matters.
Jones also showed off his mobility on one of his scoring throws, moving the pocket before hitting Auburn transfer Eric Singleton Jr. on a corner route. It was the kind of play that sticks with a coaching staff. Florida’s wide receiver room is one of the deepest in the SEC this season, and whoever wins the job will have plenty of weapons to work with.
Sumrall has been candid about how the process works. Speaking on the Stadium and Gale podcast, he explained his evaluation system in detail.
“The players make the decision about how they practice and prepare. The numbers are the numbers. We show them daily their efficiencies with the football, mental mistakes and all that stuff. There’s a football component — am I making the throws, what’s my adjusted completion percentage? There’s a statistical component that’s pretty black and white, but I task all those guys from a tangle component of having to lead.”
He went further, addressing how he reads the full picture rather than isolating individual performances.
“Through the 15 spring practices, there may be one guy that had a certain number of days where if we had to name a starter, maybe he won the day? Maybe there’s another number on another guy. You look at the full body of work. I don’t look at just one day and say, ‘Well, this guy had one day that was better.’ It’s a full body of work, and we’ve been ridiculously transparent with all the guys in that room.”
The final call will be a collaborative one among Sumrall’s offensive staff, with first-team reps likely settling the debate sometime in the first week of fall camp. Sumrall also noted that winning the starting job in Week 1 isn’t necessarily a lock going forward.
“You can start Game 1 and not start Game 2,” he said. “I don’t get caught up in the quarterback deal being the biggest conversation piece.”
It’s not the first time he’s managed a quarterback situation this way. During his first season at Troy in 2022, Sumrall started Gunnar Watson for most of the year before giving Jarret Doege two starts. The Trojans won 12 games. He’s suggested the Gators could run a similar setup if the competition stays close into fall.
Alabama: Experience vs. Upside
DeBoer landed a commitment from 2027 five-star quarterback Elijah Haven over the weekend, the top-ranked signal caller in next year’s recruiting cycle according to 247Sports. But he’s got a more immediate situation to figure out first.
Austin Mack and Keelon Russell split first-team reps evenly this spring, and neither separated himself enough to close the door on the other. Coming off last season’s College Football Playoff appearance with first-round pick Ty Simpson at quarterback, the stakes for getting this decision right are real.
Mack entered spring with familiarity on his side. He’s in his fourth year in the system, stands 6-foot-6, and the offense moves naturally when he’s running it. The ball comes out on time, and when pressure disrupts a play, he’s mobile enough to keep things from falling apart. Coaches trust him with the full playbook, and that counts for something at a program that doesn’t have patience for growing pains at quarterback.
Russell is a different kind of argument.
As a redshirt freshman, his ceiling is harder to project, but what showed up on tape this spring was hard to dismiss. His release is quick, his instincts read as natural rather than coached, and there’s a confidence in how he carries himself that’s unusual for a player with his experience level. During the final spring scrimmage (known as A-Day), he threw for 240 yards and four touchdowns, though DeBoer noted he took more snaps in the second half because Mack was dealing with a minor injury.
DeBoer spoke after the scrimmage about where both quarterbacks still have work to do.
“I thought they looked more comfortable. Both sides, trying to get back to the basics. At the end, you feel both sides trying to get through some of the red zone concepts that we haven’t practiced as much. Once we saw a couple big receivers not getting lined up with a lot of confidence and now the quarterback is double checking, that is stuff we have to work on next week.”
Alabama’s history with these competitions is worth keeping in mind. Raw talent has a way of making noise when the lights get brighter. Russell has that kind of upside. Mack has the experience. DeBoer isn’t tipping his hand yet.
Tennessee: Growth, But No Decision
Heupel is working through a similar dynamic in Knoxville, weighing redshirt freshman George MacIntyre against five-star true freshman Faizon Brandon. MacIntyre reportedly holds an edge after incumbent Joey Aguilar’s bid for a sixth year of eligibility was denied by the NCAA, giving him a head start in reps and familiarity with the offense. He attempted nine passes last fall, which isn’t much, but it’s more live college experience than Brandon has.
Brandon, though, is hard to look away from. He’s a mover with the ball in his hands, capable of turning broken plays into positive yardage and making defenses adjust in ways MacIntyre doesn’t force yet. There were moments this spring where he looked like the most dangerous player on the field, even against defenses that weren’t exactly dialing up their full playbook.
The tradeoff is consistency. Brandon is still learning when to take what a defense gives him rather than pressing for the bigger play. Timing, progression reads, knowing when to check down — those are all teachable things, but they showed up enough this spring to keep the competition open.
Heupel spoke after Tennessee’s Orange and White game and made clear he’s encouraged by what he’s seen, even if the room hasn’t hit the consistency bar that winning in the SEC requires.
“I do love the growth from that group. I love the way they’ve competed with themselves, with each other. I love the way that they’ve grown every single day. Each of them maybe had a day where it was a little bit below what they had shown and their expectations, too, and they responded and came back the next day and were a lot better. So there’s a lot of positive, a lot of things that they and we have to work on as a football team, but I like the work that they’ve put in and where they’re at. Now we’ve got to continue to grow here.”
All three programs head into the summer with open competitions and a fall camp decision looming. For Florida, Tennessee and Alabama, the quarterback question isn’t answered yet. It’s just on pause.
