Ahead of its Saturday afternoon matchup against No. 3 Georgia (6-1), No. 17 Florida (5-2) has released its initial availability report on Wednesday night.

Notably, both of Florida’s top quarterbacks, Aaron Philo and Tramell Jones Jr., appeared with questionable designations.

Philo, Florida’s starter in the first six games of the season, has been dealing with a shoulder injury that kept him out of action in Florida’s 27-24 upset win over then-No. 7 Texas on Oct. 17. The junior was available for that contest, but only in an emergency capacity.

In the fourth quarter of Florida’s 38-19 loss to South Carolina on Oct. 10, Philo was shaken up on an eight-yard scramble before losing his helmet. That forced him off the field for one play before he returned on fourth-and-three. On that play, he missed wide receiver TJ Abrams near the sideline in what would be his final passing attempt of the day.

This season, Philo has a 4-2 record as a starter. He’s completed 105 of 149 pass attempts for 1,341 yards, nine touchdowns and three interceptions. He has also added three rushing touchdowns.

Jones, meanwhile, took advantage of his opportunity against the Longhorns, leading the Gators to victory. He completed 22 of 35 pass attempts for 155 yards and two touchdowns. He also added 41 yards on the ground. That brought Jones’ season totals to 45-of-64 passing for 407 yards, four touchdowns and two interceptions.

However, the sophomore’s first collegiate start took a toll on him physically. Florida head coach Jon Sumrall revealed to the media on Monday that Jones had “a couple of bumps and bruises.”

Despite uncertainty remaining about who will be under center against the Bulldogs, Sumrall continued to express confidence that either one could operate the Florida offense successfully.

“The offense doesn’t change really with one or the other,” Sumrall said Monday. “I do think for us it’s nice because we don’t drastically have to change who we are. We may lean into one guy doing certain things a little differently than the other, but it doesn’t, like all of a sudden, completely give us a different type of team.”

But a major piece of the Gators offense is likely to be back on the field to help either quarterback.

Wideout Vernell Brown III, who has missed Florida’s last three games with a knee strain in his left knee that he suffered against Ole Miss on Sept. 26, was listed as probable on Wednesday’s report.

Before going down, Brown was leading the UF receiver room with 17 grabs for 271 yards and two touchdowns. The sophomore has returned two punts for touchdowns against Campbell on Sept. 12.

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While Brown has tried to give it a go the past few weeks, Sumrall said that he could visibly tell that Brown wasn’t 100%. However, Sumrall said that has changed over Florida’s bye week.

“I’ll put it like this: everyday, the last couple weeks, when he’s been running, I’m like, ‘Hey, how you feeling today?’ Because there’s been some times I’ve wondered, that it didn’t quite look right,” Sumrall said. “[Monday] he looked good and I didn’t go up to him at all and ask ‘Hey how you feeling?’. I just let him practice and he looked like he was feeling pretty good.”

Running back Duke Clark, who suffered a foot injury against South Carolina on Oct. 10 and subsequently missed the Texas bout, was listed as questionable. This season, Clark is UF’s second-leading rusher, dashing for 265 yards and three touchdowns on 36 carries.

However, Florida did release some negative news in Wednesday’s report.

Wide receiver Bailey Stockton, who has emerged in Brown’s absence and ranks second for UF in receptions (27), yards (289) and touchdowns (two), was listed as doubtful for Saturday’s game.

Stockton has appeared in all seven of Florida’s games this season, but has been banged up for a majority of them. Against Ole Miss, his back was injured due to a hit that was called a targeting penalty. Then, against Texas, Stockton suffered a non-contact lower-body injury in the second quarter, but returned to the contest in the second half.

Linebacker Jaden Robinson joined Stockton on the injury report with a doubtful designation. Through seven games this season, Robinson’s 26 tackles rank fourth among Gators. He also has 1.5 sacks and two pass deflections.

Georgia had a couple of key players appear on Wednesday’s report. Notably, standout safety KJ Bolden was listed as questionable, as were running back Chauncey Bowens and wide receiver Isiah Canion. Wideout Thomas Blackshear, linebacker Amaris Williams and safety Tyriq Green were all ruled out.

Contact Max Bernstein at mbernstein@alligator.org. Follow him on X at @maxbernstein23.

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Max Bernstein

Max Bernstein is a fourth-year sports and media journalism major and sports management minor. This Fall, he is a Sports Editor and a Florida Gators and Jacksonville Jaguars reporter at The Alligator. Now in his ninth semester with The Alligator, Max previously served in roles including Digital Managing Editor, Sports Editor, Assistant Sports Editor and Football Reporter. He has also made appearances on the Paul Finebaum Show. In the rare moments Max isn’t working, he’s usually with his girlfriend Reese, watching sports with his fraternity brothers or missing his family and his two cats.