It’s been 55 days since Jon Sumrall took over as head coach of the Florida Gators. In that time, he’s balanced two jobs, retained some of Florida’s most promising athletes, added 28 transfers, and jump-started the 2027 recruiting class. To call him busy would be an understatement.
“It’s been a little bit of a whirlwind,” Sumrall told the media. “Not a whole lot of slow motion. Sleepless nights, good ones and some bad ones, but mainly good ones.”
On Saturday, Sumrall addressed the fan base directly for the first time during Florida’s men’s basketball game against Auburn.
“I’m so grateful and honored to be the head football coach at the University of Florida,” Sumrall said. “This is a dream come true for me. We’re going to do everything in our power, we’re going to work extremely hard every day, tirelessly, to bring championship football back to the University of Florida.”
“Just like coach Golden and the basketball team, we’re going to give everything we’ve got every day. Nobody’s going to be tougher, more blue-collar, or play harder than us.”
The big five
Player retention became a top priority for Sumrall the moment he arrived in Gainesville. He reinforced that message Saturday, emphasizing the importance of winning in his first year.
“The most important thing to me was trying to retain our best players that we could,” Sumrall said. “Not going to keep them all, ever. When there’s a coaching change, there’s going to be some change and some transition, but that part was critical for us to have any opportunity to have success next year.”
Linebacker Myles Graham, wide receivers Vernell Brown III and Dallas Wilson, running back Jadan Baugh, and edge rusher Jayden Woods were key priorities for Florida’s staff. Sumrall and company went five-for-five, though each retainment followed a different path.
“Myles Graham was probably the quickest to be back, right, it helps when you are a legacy,” Sumrall said. “VBIII similar-ish. Dallas [Wilson] a little trickier, I felt like everyone was trying to get him.”
In an effort to retain star running back Jadan Baugh, Sumrall traveled to Atlanta, Georgia on Christmas Eve for an in-home visit—accompanied by his wife, children, mother, and even his mother’s dog.
“The in-home visit with Jadan Baugh on Christmas Eve with my whole family, that was unique, I don’t think I’ve ever one an in-home visit with a current player that’s on your team and I’ve never done a visit on Christmas Eve.”
Sumrall also visited edge rusher Jayden Woods in his hometown of Shawnee, Kansas after the rising sophomore entered the transfer portal.
“Keeping Jadan Baugh and Jayden Woods makes coaching a lot easier,” Sumrall said. “Those guys are not just really good football players, but they’re the kind of guys you want to build the culture around because of how they carry themselves.”
“I’m grateful those guys stayed and I’m grateful a lot of guys stayed,” Sumrall added. “There’s a lot of guys that stayed that I think give us a great shot for success.”
Earn the logo
Florida is underway with winter workouts, the first step towards building a championship-level program. Led by Director of Football Performance Rusty Whitt, a former Special Forces Sergeant in the United States Army, the Gators plan to push their players beyond anything they’ve experienced before.
“Toughness, confidence, discipline, accountability, grit, just the mindset that we’re going to work hard,” Sumrall said. “We’re never going to back down on anything we ever do; we’re going to put them through some things that they have not experienced, and they’ve already seen some of that.”
One thing is missing: the Gator logo.
“Gotta earn it. Gotta earn the logo,’ Sumrall said. “We ain’t earned it yet. We haven’t earned a damn thing. All we’ve got is our name. Where are you gonna put your freaking name on every day? So to wear the Florida Gator logo, to wear the Gators across your helmet and to wear the Gator head, you got to earn that.”
How soon they earn it remains to be seen.
“I haven’t thought about that yet,” Sumrall said. “I just want to see them work their ass off.”