Gators Fans Accusing Media, Coaches Of 'Pushing Agenda' In QB Battle
It's all so tiresome.
The Florida Gators have a little bit of a quarterback competition on their hands as they wrap up spring ball and head into the summer portion of the offseason.
On one end is Tramell Jones, the redshirt freshman "homegrown" talent that is a holdover from the last staff.
On the other end is Aaron Philo, the handpicked transfer from Georgia Tech who just so happened to play under new Florida offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner while both were with the Yellow Jackets.
While the prevailing theory was that Philo would have the inside track due to his knowledge of Faulkner's system, it doesn't appear that either quarterback has separated from the other, according to the coaches.
Then the spring game happened, and to most naked eyes and stat sheet watchers, Jones outplayed Philo, tossing two long touchdowns and staying clean in the turnover department.
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That doesn't seem to be the case with both the media and coaching staff, as the latter, understandably, won't give one or the other the nod while the former seems to think Philo will ultimately win out.
Gator fans, being the rational and measured people that they are, took this in stride, shrugged their shoulders and said, "I guess we will see come August."
Ha! Just kidding, they all jumped down everyone's throat who dared not to anoint Jones as the starter in April.
READ: The Fine Line Between 'Wanting It Badly' And Being A 'Toxic Fanbase'
"Narrative," huh?
Oh, that's right! I forgot to leave out one little detail: Jones is black, while Philo is white.
With that added context, let's look at some less subtle accusations from some other fans on social media.
READ: ESPN Refuses To Drop Its Obsession With The Black Quarterback Narrative
Get it? Those "narratives" are that the media and coaching staff are a bunch of racists who just want Philo to start over Jones because he's white.
It's all so tiresome.
Look, I watched the cut-ups from the spring game and I liked what I saw from Jones in the limited sample size, but I'm also not going to slam anyone for preferring Philo to Jones, especially considering the fact that he was hand-picked by Faulkner and head coach Jon Sumrall.
Jones threw a much better deep ball than Philo, but it's also worth noting that Faulkner's offense is predicated on making quick decisions and distributing the ball in the short and intermediate passing game.
Plus, Gator fans just got done watching a physically gifted quarterback with a penchant for great deep balls torpedo their season and transfer to Baylor.
Regardless of who gets tabbed as the starter, I'm sure the decision won't be made on the basis of race.
These coaches get paid way too much and are under a ton of pressure to win, so we can put this stupid "narrative" BS to bed.