Greg McElroy explains why Florida can exceed expectations in 2026
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Greg McElroy is optimistic about Florida in Year 1 under Jon Sumrall.
On the latest episode of the Always College Football podcast, McElroy broke down why he feels good enough about the Gators to rank them at No. 22 in his preseason rankings despite having one of the most difficult schedule in the nation.
The connection between new offensive coordinator Buster Faulker and incoming transfer quarterback Aaron Philo is atop the list. Faulkner and Philo both arrive in Gainesville after previously working together at Georgia Tech. Philo was primarily a backup with the Yellow Jackets, but was impressive enough to warrant significant investment from the Gators this offseason.
As McElroy notes, that level of continuity is highly-unusual for a first-year staff.
“The quarterback and the play-caller arriving in the same building, from the same building, installing the same offense that they’ve both installed multiple times. That’s a shortcut that almost no first-year staff gets to take,” McElroy said. “It could be worth 2 or 3 games over the course of the season.”
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Here’s a clip of McElroy’s analysis:
It should be noted that Philo has not officially won Florida’s starting quarterback job. He’s competing with returning backup Tramell Jones, who is a former 4-star prospect with significant upside in his own right.
Regardless of who ends up starting for the Gators, they hope to have a much-improved offense in 2026. Last season, Florida ranked 12th in the SEC in yards per play.
“On paper, this is a really good roster,” McElroy said. “Potentially even a top 15 roster … This is a very solid football team that has a chance to be much better than the experts predict this year.”
Here’s the latest win total market for Florida on Kalshi:
Spenser is a news editor for Saturday Down South and covers college football across all Saturday Football brands.
