With Florida’s 2026 season set to begin in just a few days, Gator Country is giving subscribers a chance to submit questions in our Florida Football Mailbag. Here’s part one.
wgbgator: IF you had to pick an ‘under the radar’ breakout player to watch out for … who would it be?
NM: I’ll pick one for each side of the ball. On offense, it’s a little more difficult to pick because the path to playing time is tough at the skill positions. With that being said, I’m going with sophomore running back Duke Clark. A lot of attention is on Jadan Baugh and Evan Pryor, and rightfully so, but I believe Clark is one of the most underrated players on Florida’s roster. He’s a tough runner between the tackles and explosive in the open field.
On defense, I like sophomore linebacker Ty Jackson. He’s physically gifted, and the mental side of the game is starting to come around for him. He’s a playmaker.
mfafard: Napier liked full control. Mullen hated recruiting. And McElwain could not in fact teach anyone to play quarterback. I know Sumrall has not coached in a game yet, but do you have any first impressions on what his weakness may be?
NM: Truthfully, it would be unfair to label anything as a weakness right now. As you mentioned, he’s yet to coach a game at UF, so anything I mention would be a huge reach. I feel like Sumrall won the offseason. He hired the right coordinators, retained all of Florida’s best players and got a good start on the 2027 recruiting class. Now we wait for the games.
I would have liked to see Florida add a high-caliber offensive tackle in the portal, but of course, money is a huge factor there, and there are limited options at that position. It’s difficult to navigate the portal in your first year when you have so many areas to address.
Another thing I’ll mention: Offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner won’t be at UF forever. If Sumrall wants long-term success, he’ll have to continually show he can put together a good staff, and I believe he can.
But no weaknesses yet for me.
grouchygator: Which 3rd year players are likely to declare for the 2027 draft?
NM: The five-for-five ruling may change players’ opinions on whether they should leave or come back after their junior year
Jadan Baugh is the first name that comes to mind. That one seems like a no-brainer. Aaron Chiles and Myles Graham are certainly good enough to go pro with good seasons. Even LJ McCray, although I think a fourth or even fifth year could really benefit him. Kicker Patrick Durkin is another.
Ultimately, I’m not in their heads, and even if I was, it’s too early to tell. We have an entire season and NIL negotiations that would take place before that decision. It’s too early.
slocala: Appears Sumrall, White, and Faulkner are all sideline guys. Which coaches will be in the “coaches box” for the season?
NM: Buster Faulkner will actually be in the box during games. Brad White will be on the field. It’s simply a preference for both coordinators. I’ll work on getting you more names of the coaches/analysts who will be in the box.
gator_nica: What do you believe will be the Run-Pass ratio in this new offense?
NM: It largely depends on how Florida’s games go. It could be 60-40 either way, depending on what the personnel and game situation dictate. But ultimately, I think it will be close to 50-50 when it’s all said and done.
proudgator1973: Where do you expect to see the greatest improvement on the field as a result of either new coaches, new coaching techniques, new coaching philosophies?
NM: I think you’ll see a team that’s more physically ready for the challenge of the SEC. From day one, Jon Sumrall aimed to rebuild Florida’s strength and conditioning department.
Buster Faulkner is the real deal. Florida will be prepared offensively, with play-calling that emphasizes sequencing and sets up plays for later in the game. There will be weak spots offensively, and it won’t be perfect, but they’ll have a detailed game plan.
And I think you’ll see a team that’s hungry to win.
IAmBornAGator: How is the interior defensive line shaping up that was the one area on D where we basically had to get an all new set of starters heck one could argue an all new two deep.
NM: I wouldn’t go as far as to say Florida has an entirely new two-deep or even a new set of starters. The Gators return their most-used defensive tackle from last season in Brendan Bett, who’s had a strong offseason and is ready to make an even bigger jump. They did lose Michai Boireau and Brien Taylor Jr., as well as Caleb Banks, although Banks was not a factor last year due to injury.
Florida focused on retention at this position, bringing back a pair of second-year players in Jeramiah McCloud and Joseph Mbatchou. The strides they make will determine the effectiveness of the position. McCloud is a stud. Mbatchou is a rock up the middle but needs to improve his pass-rush ability.
They also have Jamari Lyons and Baylor transfer DK Kalu for depth, and have the flexibility to move Emmanuel Oyebadejo inside, a 300-pound edge rusher. The position may lack a superstar right now, but I’m much more comfortable with where this unit is at than I was entering the offseason.
ThePlayer: Do you have more faith in the offense to score points at critical times or the defense to keep the opponents from scoring?
NM: Good question. I would have easily said the defense early in fall camp, but the offense took strides in the back half of camp. I believe this is a line-of-scrimmage game, so I’m sticking with the defense because I like Florida’s front seven. But I also feel like Florida’s depth offensively is stronger, and I think the second-team offense is ahead of the second-team defense. So, truthfully, it depends on how healthy Florida stays.
Keefer: A little revisionist history here maybe Nick. Was there a particular time, or moment, when you knew that the last coach was in over his head and needed to be terminated? I’ve always wanted to ask you that question.
NM: A two- or three-part answer here for me. Florida’s 41-17 loss to Miami in 2024 was when I knew Napier wouldn’t work at UF long term. Not only was the loss a clear indication that they weren’t prepared for the challenge, but his defensiveness afterward told me he couldn’t handle the pressure and responsibility of the job.
I think two weeks later, after another bad loss to Texas A&M, is when I publicly admitted UF needed to go in a different direction. My first “Oh crap” moment was the season-opening loss to a walk-on quarterback at Utah.
Funny enough, I actually thought Napier would be the coach in 2026 because I thought DJ Lagway would save his job for the short term. But obviously, that didn’t end up happening, as we’re here.
Nostradamus: What changes about the S&C program in season vs off season?
NM: The goal. The goal during the offseason is to build strength, add muscle and lean mass, improve speed, etc. The goal in-season is to maintain that. So typically, that means less lifting volume, shorter workouts and a lot more recovery. You want your players to be as fresh as possible so they can perform on game days. It’s about maximizing availability and performance, while during the offseason, you’re trying to build yourself up and improve as much as you can.