Florida, Georgia’s biggest football rival according to some, has named their starting quarterback and it’s a player who has said he hates the Bulldogs “a lot.”

Aaron Philo, the all-time passing yardage leader in Georgia High School football history after attending Prince Avenue Christian School, will be the first Gators’ QB under center when they open the season on Sept. 5 at home against Florida Atlantic.

As much as Georgia fans will be wary of Philo — who transferred to Florida this past offseason from Georgia Tech — they will also be aware of the Gators’ new offensive coordinator and play caller, Buster Faulkner.

Faulkner, of course, was on Kirby Smart’s staff as a quality control coach and quarterbacks coach when the Bulldogs won back-to-back national championships in 2021 and 2022.

Faulkner was more pivotal than his title suggests, as the relationship between Stetson Bennett IV and former UGA offensive coordinator Todd Monken had soured to the point where Bennett said he wasn’t talking to Monken during games and Faulkner was the go-between.

“He (Faulkner) has been extremely important, he’s the one that runs the drill program and just talks ball,” Bennett said in a 2022 DawgNation interview.

“I think probably the main thing that he’s helped at is on the sidelines. He is the mediator between me and Monk. Me and Monk don’t really talk during the games, which I think is probably a good thing because we’re both so (passionate) yeah.

“Buster listens to what Monk says and filters it out. Obviously, he doesn’t tell me everything,” Bennett said. “People say stuff in the heat of the moment and I don’t need to hear all of that it. Just because it’s the nature of the job. He doesn’t need to hear what I have to say. It’s just not important.”

Faulkner is much better known for the job he did against Georgia while at Georgia Tech, helping to lead the Yellow Jackets to a near-upset of the Bulldogs in Athens in 2024.

Georgia Tech amassed 563 yards of total offense against Georgia’s defense in the Bulldogs’ 44-42, 8-overtime win, with former Yellow Jackets QB Haynes King throwing for 303 yards and 2 touchdowns and rushing for 110 yards and 3 touchdowns on 24 carries.

Philo didn’t play in that game — or last season’s 16-9 Georgia win, for that matter — but he has shown his upside at the collegiate level.

Philo contributed mightily to Georgia Tech’s 28-23 upset win over then-No. 4 Miami in 2024, as coach Brent Key used a two-quarterback system with Philo as a passer and King as a rusher.

Philo was 5-of-10 passing for 67 yards and a touchdown and completed a 27-yard pass to Bailey Stockton on a third-and-18 to extend what proved to be the winning touchdown drive.

Coach Jon Sumrall made it clear that, while Philo is the starter for the Gators’ opener, the QB competition will continue with second-year quarterback Tramell Jones Jr.

“I would say (Philo’s ability) to operate at the line of scrimmage at just a touch higher level and be more efficient,” Sumrall said in a GatorsWire.com story, asked what determined the opening game starter.

“There’s no surprise to that in spring because he’s been in the system and Tramell had not,” Sumrall said. “Tramell has improved a ton, but I still think we’re able to operate the full offense at a little bit higher level right now with with Aaron. So that’s probably the biggest separator.”

Philo, in an interview after Florida’s spring game, explained the importance of resiliency after completing 21 of 28 passes for 193 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions.

“…. things are going to go bad in games, everything’s not going to go the way that you want it to go, so you have to be resilient,” Philo said. “You have to be able to bounce back when things goes bad, and I think that’s a great trait of a quarterback.”

Philo believes he can make a variety of throws but recognizes the importance of protecting the football.

“I wouldn’t call myself a risk-taker,” Philo said. “I believe I can make a lot of the throws on the field, which sometimes probably gets me in a little trouble. I need to be better about checking the ball down when it’s not there.”

Former Florida quarterback DJ Lagway, who transferred to Baylor, did a good enough job protecting the football against UGA last season that it took a fourth-quarter Bulldogs’ touchdown for UGA to pull out a 24-20 win.

It took two Georgia fourth-down stops for the Bulldogs to get the win, too.

Florida was up 20-17 and had driven to the Georgia 19-yard line with 9:12 left when the Bulldogs stopped a Gators’ run on second-an-2, and the held Lagway to a 1-yard gain on third-and-1 before stopping Jaden Baugh for no gain on fourth-an-1 at the 18 with 7:54 left.

Georgia scored the go-ahead touchdown on the next drive when Chauncey Bowens broke loose on a 36-yar touchdown run with 4:36 left.

Florida’s attempt to answer fell short when Lagway threw incomplete to a wide-open J. Michael Sturdivant on a third-and-4 from the Florida 31, and again on a fourth-and-4, enabling UGA to run out the clock.

It’s Philo’s team, for now, and if he holds his job he’ll have an opportunity to beat the SEC school located just 13.7 miles from where he attended high school.