Gators head coach Jon Sumrall entered and departed Ben Hill Griffin Stadium on Saturday determined to build a team that can win by the time the season arrives in September. (Photo: Audrey Djuricich/UAA Communications)
Sumrall Sends Clear Message After Spring Game: 'It's Coming'
Monday, April 13, 2026 | Football, Scott Carter
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The week of his first game as a head coach in 2022, Jon Sumrall welcomed a visit to No. 21-ranked Ole Miss and an opportunity to match wits against Rebels coach Lane Kiffin.
Sumrall had taken over a Troy University program coming off a 5-7 season, three consecutive losing seasons, and a team with many more questions than answers. He shared his views on the difficult opener with the Dothan (Ala.) Eagle.
"What better way to figure out where you are at a starting point than to play somebody like Ole Miss,'' Sumrall told the newspaper. "Let's go measure ourselves against somebody who is really, really good. Now, I'm not into moral victories. I don't want to go over there and just play good … I want to win. But I do think that it gives you a really good measuring stick for where you are and where you need to go."
Despite forcing three turnovers and owning a 13-minute advantage in time of possession, the Trojans lost 28-10 in a respectable showing against a Rebels team that started 7-0 and climbed as high as seventh in the national rankings before a late-season collapse. Meanwhile, Sumrall's Trojans took a different path. They dropped two of their first three games before reeling off 11 consecutive wins, including victories in the Sun Belt Conference Championship and the Cure Bowl to finish 12-2.
The Gators are more than four months away from their regular-season opener against Florida Atlantic and Sumrall's official debut, but after Saturday's Orange & Blue Game, Sumrall sounded like a coach thirsty to test the Gators the way Ole Miss did his initial Troy team.
"We're gonna wake up tomorrow, and we've got to get our ass back to work," he said. "Spring practice may be over, but us getting better so we can try to win football games here is far from over."
This is the third time in the past five seasons Sumrall has been where he is now: a first-year coach burning to win – and win fast. He repeated his Troy success at Tulane, where he inherited a more talented roster and led the Green Wave to back-to-back conference championship games, and last season, to the College Football Playoff.
Each stop has posed different challenges for Sumrall, and Florida is no different. The Gators are five games under .500 (29-34) since the start of the 2021 season and haven't won a Southeastern Conference championship (2008) since Sumrall was a young defensive line coach at the University of San Diego.
Florida, with three national championships and three Heisman-winner statues, is unlike his previous jobs, and Sumrall is fully aware of why he was hired.
"It's time we wake this thing up. This is a sleeping giant,'' he said. "I'm telling you right now, it ain't a matter of if we're gonna win here. It's how fast we're gonna win.
"It's coming."
That is the kind of fire and passion Florida fans want to hear, and Sumrall has aced the introduction phase to the Gators faithful. He has won over many of the fans who voiced displeasure when Kiffin went to LSU. He has done countless interviews and public appearances to generate excitement. He hired a veteran staff who is already making headway on the recruiting trail, and he remains the authentic, regular-guy coach he said he was when he was hired.
Following Saturday's spring game, Sumrall expressed his thoughts in his typical straightforward fashion.
Quarterbacks Aaron Philo and Tramell Jones Jr. were solid, the receivers flashed, but the offensive line has a long way to go before Sumrall can rest easy.
"Those guys have to have a freaking great summer or we got no chance,'' he said. "There's gotta be a lot of growth that continues to happen — and they will."
Sumrall said Rusty Whitt, the director of performance, whom he retained at Troy, hired at Tulane and brought to UF, has a history of building linemen in the weight room, and that will be a primary focus this offseason. Defensively, Sumrall sees potential in the front seven and is still looking for the right combination in the secondary.
The Gators are a work in progress, and if there is a difference in Sumrall's third stint as a head coach, the options to add to the roster are more limited than during his time at Troy and Tulane due to revised transfer portal rules.
"I would love to be able to go out and have that little free-agency period, and fix a couple spots a little bit more than we got fixed right now – and it's not really available to you,'' he said. "I don't have that luxury to go around, so we have to just continue to develop it as we got. Nobody is going to be anointed the starter tomorrow. Long way to go."
As first tests go, Saturday's Orange & Blue Game was based largely around Philo and Jones, at least in the eyes of fans and the media. Philo finished 21 of 28 for 193 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. Jones completed 13 of 17 for 210 yards and two scores.
Offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner departed confident in the young quarterbacks' progress – and the offense overall – as summer approaches.
"I was really worried about our operation coming in, just being really the first time that we've been able to be in front of a group, in front of a crowd, have real referees, us signaling and doing the things that we want to be able to do at the pace we want to be able to do it at," Faulkner said. "And I thought our guys did that at a high level, and that's pretty good to see."
Faulkner said he and offensive line coach Phil Trautwein, who was a UF player when the Gators last won the SEC title, constantly talk about how many days they have to prepare for the opener. The calendar says they have 145 days left as of Monday.
Sumrall is determined to find more answers before then.
What he knows for sure is that he can do at Florida what he did at Troy and Tulane: win conference championships and make the CFB Playoff.
"You start with the history and pageantry. This fan base is passionate. Championships are the standard and expectation,'' Sumrall said. "We've got to get it back there. We've got to wake this beast up. This winning thing, it's coming. Now, I'm not patient. I want it to happen every day. But we are going to land some pieces in recruiting. We're about to do some things that I think — and build a roster here — that is going to bring it back to where we all want it to be."
His first spring game is in the books, and Sumrall continues to hit the perfect notes for a program and fan base as hungry to win as he is.
Sumrall had taken over a Troy University program coming off a 5-7 season, three consecutive losing seasons, and a team with many more questions than answers. He shared his views on the difficult opener with the Dothan (Ala.) Eagle.
"What better way to figure out where you are at a starting point than to play somebody like Ole Miss,'' Sumrall told the newspaper. "Let's go measure ourselves against somebody who is really, really good. Now, I'm not into moral victories. I don't want to go over there and just play good … I want to win. But I do think that it gives you a really good measuring stick for where you are and where you need to go."
Despite forcing three turnovers and owning a 13-minute advantage in time of possession, the Trojans lost 28-10 in a respectable showing against a Rebels team that started 7-0 and climbed as high as seventh in the national rankings before a late-season collapse. Meanwhile, Sumrall's Trojans took a different path. They dropped two of their first three games before reeling off 11 consecutive wins, including victories in the Sun Belt Conference Championship and the Cure Bowl to finish 12-2.
The Gators are more than four months away from their regular-season opener against Florida Atlantic and Sumrall's official debut, but after Saturday's Orange & Blue Game, Sumrall sounded like a coach thirsty to test the Gators the way Ole Miss did his initial Troy team.
"We're gonna wake up tomorrow, and we've got to get our ass back to work," he said. "Spring practice may be over, but us getting better so we can try to win football games here is far from over."
This is the third time in the past five seasons Sumrall has been where he is now: a first-year coach burning to win – and win fast. He repeated his Troy success at Tulane, where he inherited a more talented roster and led the Green Wave to back-to-back conference championship games, and last season, to the College Football Playoff.
Each stop has posed different challenges for Sumrall, and Florida is no different. The Gators are five games under .500 (29-34) since the start of the 2021 season and haven't won a Southeastern Conference championship (2008) since Sumrall was a young defensive line coach at the University of San Diego.
Florida, with three national championships and three Heisman-winner statues, is unlike his previous jobs, and Sumrall is fully aware of why he was hired.
"It's time we wake this thing up. This is a sleeping giant,'' he said. "I'm telling you right now, it ain't a matter of if we're gonna win here. It's how fast we're gonna win.
"It's coming."
That is the kind of fire and passion Florida fans want to hear, and Sumrall has aced the introduction phase to the Gators faithful. He has won over many of the fans who voiced displeasure when Kiffin went to LSU. He has done countless interviews and public appearances to generate excitement. He hired a veteran staff who is already making headway on the recruiting trail, and he remains the authentic, regular-guy coach he said he was when he was hired.
Following Saturday's spring game, Sumrall expressed his thoughts in his typical straightforward fashion.
Quarterbacks Aaron Philo and Tramell Jones Jr. were solid, the receivers flashed, but the offensive line has a long way to go before Sumrall can rest easy.
"Those guys have to have a freaking great summer or we got no chance,'' he said. "There's gotta be a lot of growth that continues to happen — and they will."
Sumrall said Rusty Whitt, the director of performance, whom he retained at Troy, hired at Tulane and brought to UF, has a history of building linemen in the weight room, and that will be a primary focus this offseason. Defensively, Sumrall sees potential in the front seven and is still looking for the right combination in the secondary.
The Gators are a work in progress, and if there is a difference in Sumrall's third stint as a head coach, the options to add to the roster are more limited than during his time at Troy and Tulane due to revised transfer portal rules.
"I would love to be able to go out and have that little free-agency period, and fix a couple spots a little bit more than we got fixed right now – and it's not really available to you,'' he said. "I don't have that luxury to go around, so we have to just continue to develop it as we got. Nobody is going to be anointed the starter tomorrow. Long way to go."
As first tests go, Saturday's Orange & Blue Game was based largely around Philo and Jones, at least in the eyes of fans and the media. Philo finished 21 of 28 for 193 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. Jones completed 13 of 17 for 210 yards and two scores.
Offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner departed confident in the young quarterbacks' progress – and the offense overall – as summer approaches.
"I was really worried about our operation coming in, just being really the first time that we've been able to be in front of a group, in front of a crowd, have real referees, us signaling and doing the things that we want to be able to do at the pace we want to be able to do it at," Faulkner said. "And I thought our guys did that at a high level, and that's pretty good to see."
Faulkner said he and offensive line coach Phil Trautwein, who was a UF player when the Gators last won the SEC title, constantly talk about how many days they have to prepare for the opener. The calendar says they have 145 days left as of Monday.
Sumrall is determined to find more answers before then.
What he knows for sure is that he can do at Florida what he did at Troy and Tulane: win conference championships and make the CFB Playoff.
"You start with the history and pageantry. This fan base is passionate. Championships are the standard and expectation,'' Sumrall said. "We've got to get it back there. We've got to wake this beast up. This winning thing, it's coming. Now, I'm not patient. I want it to happen every day. But we are going to land some pieces in recruiting. We're about to do some things that I think — and build a roster here — that is going to bring it back to where we all want it to be."
His first spring game is in the books, and Sumrall continues to hit the perfect notes for a program and fan base as hungry to win as he is.
Players Mentioned
QB
/ Football
QB
/ FootballJon Sumrall Postgame Press Conference 4-11-26
Saturday, April 11
Buster Faulkner Postgame Press Conference 4-11-26
Saturday, April 11
Brad White Postgame Press Conference 4-11-26
Saturday, April 11
Tramell Jones Jr. Postgame Press Conference 4-11-26
Saturday, April 11
