Florida lands Georgia Tech QB Aaron Philo and Auburn gets South Florida QB Byrum Brown

Florida and Auburn have new quarterbacks to pair with new head coaches. Georgia Tech's Aaron Philo announced his commitment to the Gators on Tuesday and will follow former Yellow Jackets offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner from Atlanta to Gainesville. Philo is expected to compete with redshirt freshman Tramell Jones Jr. for the starting job to replace departed DJ Lagway. Philo joins former Tech teammate Bailey Stockton, a receiver and brother of Georgia quarterback Gunnar Stockton, and Penn State offensive lineman TJ Shanahan as key guys to pick Florida since the transfer portal opened Friday. The Gators are rebuilding under new coach Jon Sumrall. South Florida's Byrum Brown, meanwhile, announced he is following former Bulls coach Alex Golesh to Auburn. Brown reposted on his Instagram account an On3 post announcing that the quarterback is making the move. Brown has thrown for 7,690 yards and 61 touchdowns while also rushing for 2,265 yards and 31 scores over the last four seasons at South Florida. He completed 66.3% of his passes for 3,158 yards with 28 touchdowns and seven interceptions this season. He also rushed for 1,008 yards and 14 touchdowns on 175 carries while helping South Florida go 9-3 in the regular season. Brown opted out of playing in the Bulls' 24-10 Cure Bowl loss to Old Dominion and entered the transfer portal. He had a similarly productive season in 2023 before a lower leg injury limited him to five games in 2024. Brown completed 64.8% of his passes for 3,292 yards with 26 touchdowns and 11 interceptions while rushing for 809 yards and 11 touchdowns on 203 carries in 2023. Philo, a 6-foot-2, 220-pound junior Philo worked with Faulkner the past two seasons, serving as backup to Haynes King and appearing in eight games. In other transfer news, Kenny Minchey announced on social media that he had signed with Kentucky, bringing an end to the former Notre Dame backup quarterback's eventful recruitment out of the portal. Initial reports indicated Minchey had committed to Nebraska before he ended up choosing Kentucky. Minchey lost a closely contested training camp competition with C.J. Carr before going 20 of 26 for 196 yards while backing up Carr at Notre Dame this season. He also rushed for 84 yards and a touchdown on seven carries.