Jon Sumrall is trying to bring a winning culture back to Florida football. To help his players understand the importance of winning and the expectations that come with playing at Florida, Sumrall brought six championship-winning head coaches from across the athletic department to speak to the team throughout fall camp. Five of them have won national championships.
“I think one of the great things about being the University of Florida is the standard of everybody is championships and excellence,” Sumrall said. “Basically, everybody who’s won a national championship here is going to talk to our guys to know what that looks like.”
The speakers included Todd Golden, Kevin O’Sullivan, J.C. Deacon, Mike Holloway, Tim Walton and Jenny Rowland.
Here are quotes from their speeches to the team, acquired from Florida Athletics’ social media.
Todd Golden / Head Coach of Florida Men’s Basketball
“I want guys that really want to be at Florida. I want guys that really want to be here. A lot of you guys had options, choices to go to different great schools all across America. Every guy in my program, I make sure that Florida is their dream school, Florida is where they want to be. If you have a great attitude, if you work your ass off, and most importantly, if you want to make Florida the best it can be, I guarantee you guys we’ll have an amazing season.”
Kevin O’Sullivan / Head Coach of Florida Baseball
“We talk about the difference between being a teammate and brotherhood. Teammates win games; brotherhoods, they bring championships. They bring championships, and there’s a huge difference. I got hired in the summer of 2007, and I remember walking into my first meeting, and I look over to my right. I got Urban Meyer sitting there with two national championships. I got Billy Donovan standing there with two national championships. I’m saying, ‘This just got real.'”
JC Deacon / Head Coach of Florida Men’s Golf
“The thing I’ve been raised on is work ethic and attitude. In our program, we’re having a lot of success right now. Those two things are non-negotiable. Ya’ll know that. You can’t work hard; you can’t have a great attitude; you shouldn’t be here.”
Mike Holloway / Head Men’s and Women’s Track and Field and Cross Country Coach
“At some point in time, it goes back to what I said in the beginning: it takes a buy-in. It takes a total belief from everybody that’s down here on one knee that you guys can and will be the best team in the country. It’s just that simple. You guys have a chance to make this place the special place that everybody says it is, but the place isn’t special because we have facilities. What makes this place special is the people. And what will make this football team special is you guys.”
Tim Walton / Head Coach of Florida Softball
“We have two things in common. Number one, we all want to be here. I didn’t lose anybody in the transfer portal this year. That’s hard to do, but I didn’t lose anybody. All my kids coming back wanna be here. All the kids we brought in in recruiting wanna be here. And the last thing, which I think is by far one of the most important things that we all do every single day, is we’re Gators. And that’s what I’ll tell you guys about what you guys do. You make such a huge impact on all of us. Whether you’re a starter or you’re the guy getting ready to start, it doesn’t matter. You make a big, huge impact on this campus and in this community.”
Jenny Rowland / Head Coach of Florida Gymnastics
“Championship teams aren’t built in one day. It’s tiny, small habits that you continuously do extraordinary for a really long time. And that’s something that I’m so excited to see you all take the spotlight on Saturday nights. Take that opportunity and play with your heart, play for each other, play for the Gators. Why don’t you all go be that team where everybody gets to chase you guys.”