Aaron Philo nailed passes over the middle, eluded pressure and grew over three key games at Georgia Tech. Saturday, it all comes together.
The 6-foot-1, 207-pound junior makes his debut under center for the Gators at 7:45 p.m. Saturday against Florida Atlantic at Florida Field.
Since Philo transferred to UF in January, fans and media alike have discussed what Philo could bring to the team or if he should even start at all. So far in his career, Philo has played in three games with at least 25 pass attempts, and his past performances could provide an idea of how he might lead the Gators offense Saturday.
The first of these games in his career came on Oct. 26, 2024, against Virginia Tech at Lane Stadium. He entered the game for the first time once the Yellow Jackets had already gone down 21-6, so Philo threw the ball downfield more than in an average game and struggled overall.
He attempted eight passes of at least 20 yards, but only completed one of them for 57 yards, and his average depth of target for the game was 14.3 yards.
In a game where he completed only 11 of 26 attempts, Philo went 4 of 5 on passes 10 to 20 yards downfield between the numbers. He was least accurate on throws to the outside left and at least 20 yards downfield, totaling zero completions in that area on four attempts.
Philo completed the majority of his passes on short throws. Six of his completions came within 10 yards of the line of scrimmage or behind it.
His next game with at least 25 pass attempts came against NC State on Nov. 21, 2024, at Bobby Dodd Stadium.
Philo did not start this game, but he played in every quarter while switching with Haynes King, who provided support on the ground.
Despite not trailing for most of the game, Philo aired the ball out with a 12.8-yard average depth of target. He also attempted eight passes that were more than 20 yards downfield and completed two of them.
Again, Philo found success on passes 10 to 20 yards downfield between the numbers. 3 of 4 pass attempts in this area of the field were successful.
In terms of overall accuracy, Philo improved against NC State, completing 57.6% of his passes as opposed to the 42.3% of passes he completed against Virginia Tech.
Philo excelled in the clutch as well, running for a game-winning 18-yard touchdown with 22 seconds left.
His final game with at least 25 pass attempts was against Gardner-Webb on Sept. 6, 2025, at Bobby Dodd Stadium.
In this matchup, Philo started the game and played until the Yellow Jackets took a 52-12 lead in the fourth quarter.
He played a shallower game as his average depth of target dropped to 9.4 yards. Philo also had only six pass attempts more than 20 yards downfield, but he was more efficient on these attempts than in previous games as he completed four of his deep throws.
Although Philo turned the ball over twice against Gardner-Webb, his response was productive.
After fumbling on the first drive and throwing an interception on the second, Philo finished the game completing 19 of 24 passes for 356 yards and a touchdown.
He also showed off his improvisation skills by completing four throws on the run, including his touchdown pass lofted into the corner of the end zone.
However, his interception did come from a throw on the run as well.
Once again, Philo’s overall accuracy improved from the previous game, completing 75% of his passes against Gardner-Webb.
Philo showed a great ability to avoid sacks throughout all three games. He was pressured 28 times, but only sacked once.
Though Philo had Gators offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner calling plays for him at the time, his team had less talent than his supporting cast with the Gators.
Philo’s starting running back with Georgia Tech, Jamal Haynes, ran for 944 and 531 yards in Philo’s two years at Georgia Tech. Gators starting running back Jadan Baugh is coming off of a 1,170 yard season and was named to the Doak Walker Award watchlist for this season.
Although Eric Singleton Jr., Bailey Stockton and Luke Harpring all shared the field with Philo at Georgia Tech, they are now joined by former top-10 wide-receiver recruits Dallas Wilson and Vernell Brown III as well as former top-10 tight-end recruit Amir Jackson at UF.
