Jon Sumrall brings blunt talk to Florida’s rebuild
Florida’s new coach used SEC media days to set a hard edge for a program coming off its roughest five-year stretch in decades.
By Deshawn Carter · Sports Writer
3 min read
Jon Sumrall has not coached a down at Florida yet, but the new Gators boss is already setting a very clear tone: polish can wait, improvement cannot.
Speaking Wednesday at SEC media days in Tampa, Sumrall said his team is still far from where he wants it, according to CBS Sports’ Brandon Marcello. His warning was not dressed up for July optimism.
“My message is, we're gonna do everything we can to be really good this year and beyond,” Sumrall said, according to CBS Sports. “We have nowhere near arrived. I'm very, very hungry for our team to improve, because if we don't improve, we're going to get our ass beat.”
That candor lands at a tense moment in Gainesville. CBS Sports reported that Florida has had losing seasons in four of the past five years, its worst five-year stretch since the late 1940s. Former coach Billy Napier went 22-23 before being fired seven games into his fourth season.
Sumrall arrives with a much shinier recent record. Across four seasons at Troy and Tulane, he went 43-12, won three conference championships and posted three 11-win seasons, according to CBS Sports.
Florida has not won 10 games since 2019, when Dan Mullen opened with back-to-back 10-win seasons and later led the Gators to the SEC Championship Game in 2020. Sumrall told reporters he spent “a ton of time” with former Florida national title coach Urban Meyer during the offseason.
The coach’s sharpest public assessment may have been aimed at the trenches. Sumrall said he was “very underwhelmed” by the offensive line’s strength when he arrived in Gainesville, CBS Sports reported. He added that the linemen have since grown more comfortable moving heavy weight and that their bodies have changed.
The quarterback job is also unsettled. Aaron Philo, who came from Georgia Tech along with offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner, is competing with returning backup Tramell Jones. Philo was a backup in the ACC last season, but CBS Sports noted that he broke Trevor Lawrence’s Georgia high school passing yardage record with 13,922 yards.
Sumrall said he has no set date for naming a starter, joking that the decision could stay private until five minutes before kickoff. He praised both quarterbacks for sharing a weight-room rack, pushing each other and supporting each other, while saying poor teammate behavior would be the fastest way to lose the job.
Whoever wins it should have options. Former five-star receivers Vernell Brown III and Dallas Wilson are back, and Florida also added transfer Eric Singleton from Georgia Tech. Wilson missed spring practice while recovering from a foot injury suffered during his freshman season, according to CBS Sports, but Sumrall said he is back and called him “freaking awesome.”
On defense, Sumrall gave a more cautious read, saying Florida has “a lot of new faces” and players who need to step forward.
His players are already echoing his edge. Linebacker Myles Graham, Florida’s leading tackler last season, told CBS Sports that Sumrall is energetic, consistent and demanding while also reminding players he loves them. Running back Jadan Baugh said the team has been taught to answer adversity with “good” and learn from it.
Sumrall also showed his team-meeting standards in public. When a reporter’s phone rang during his media-day session, CBS Sports reported that he stopped and said the person would have been kicked out of a Florida team meeting, adding that they were lucky he was not going to throw the podium.
The new coach has handled the transfer portal and NIL era from the start of his head-coaching career in 2022, and he told reporters that the current chaos is “all I know.” At Florida, the challenge is clear enough: turn blunt talk into wins.
This story draws on original reporting from CBS Sports.