Aaron Philo, Florida's starting quarterback, will be listed as questionable on the SEC's initial availability report, ESPN's Pete Thamel reported Wednesday. Florida could be without him Saturday at No. 7 Texas because of a shoulder injury he suffered in last Saturday's loss to South Carolina, per the Orlando Sentinel via Yahoo Sports.
The Sentinel's source said Philo threw some during Wednesday's practice. That is the only detail on his activity so far. None of the reporting we have says how severe the injury is or gives a timeline beyond Saturday. CBS Sports' David Cobb reported that if Philo can't play, sophomore Tramell Jones Jr. would make his first career start.
ESPN also reported that receiver Vernell Brown III could return. ClutchPoints, through Yahoo, framed Brown's possible return as the good news on a day when Philo's status dampened it. Our box scores show no defensive stats for Brown this season, which is expected for a receiver. No outlet we have says what he is returning from.
Philo was productive in the game where he got hurt. Against South Carolina he went 21 of 28 for 227 yards with one touchdown and one interception, and he ran 13 times for 32 yards. He also fumbled twice and lost one. Across the six games in our log he has thrown for at least 196 yards every time. His best game was 275 yards and three touchdowns against FAU in the opener. He had 197 yards on 21 of 34 passing at Missouri.
Florida is 4-2 overall and 2-2 in the SEC, eighth in the conference, and has lost two straight. In those two losses it gave up 83 points: 45-17 at Missouri on Oct. 3 and 38-19 to South Carolina. Over its last three games it has scored 29.3 points per game and allowed 37. A backup making his first start would be tested by that defense, and by a Texas team that has not been scoring freely.
| FUM | LOST | REC |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | 1 | 0 |
Texas is 4-1, 1-1 in the SEC, and ninth in the conference. It is coming off a 24-24 draw at Oklahoma on Oct. 10. Before that it won 20-17 at Tennessee and 30-6 against UTSA. Yahoo's headline calls the game "must-win" for Florida. The Gators have had one more day of practice to see whether Philo can go.
The SEC's initial report is only the first of its availability updates. Philo's status should become clearer before Florida's trip to Texas on Saturday, Oct. 17.
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