Gators head coach Jon Sumrall at an event during his five seasons as an assistant coach at the University of San Diego. (Photo: Courtesy of University of San Diego Athletics)
Jon Sumrall Series, Part V: A Long Way From Huntsville, He Meets A Mentor
Tuesday, September 1, 2026 | Football, Scott Carter
Share:
By: Scott Carter, Senior Writer
Editor's note: This is the fifth installment in a series of stories that tell the journey of Gators head coach Jon Sumrall, from his birth in Texarkana, Texas, to his formative years in Huntsville, Alabama, to his time playing and suffering a career-ending injury at the University of Kentucky. From there, the series discusses the birth of his coaching career in Lexington and San Diego. Finally, his multiple stops at Troy and Tulane paved the way for him to the University of Florida.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Ron Caragher knew what was and wasn't important in college football. He learned those lessons first as a quarterback in the 1980s at UCLA, where he played behind Troy Aikman, and then as an assistant coach for nine seasons at his alma mater.
He departed the Los Angeles campus in 2003 for a job as running backs coach at Kentucky, eventually adding recruiting coordinator to his title. That is where he met a young linebacker named Jon Sumrall.
It didn't take long for Caragher to start leaning on Sumrall to entertain recruits when they visited the UK campus.
"He was a very popular host,'' Caragher said. "Jon just had such a likable personality. Everyone seemed to get along with him."
The Caragher-Sumrall relationship quickly took on a different tone when Sumrall was forced to retire before his senior season because of spinal stenosis. They became colleagues when Sumrall moved into a graduate-assistant role.
A California native, Caragher pursued the University of San Diego opening after the 2006 season when Toreros head coach Jim Harbaugh left for Stanford. He got it. He hired Sumrall to be the Toreros' defensive line coach and recruiting coordinator, Sumrall's first full-time coaching job. Jon Sumrall on the sideline at the University of San Diego. (Photo: Courtesy of the University of San Diego Athletics).
Sumrall was all in, willing to pack up his Southern roots and move cross-country. One of his biggest supporters had reservations. Sandy and George Sumrall, his parents, were constants at Jon's games throughout high school and college. George was close to 60, and his health had started to decline.
And San Diego was a long way from Huntsville.
"George was the least on board for that,'' Sandy said. "I don't know why it troubled him so much that Jon was going that far away. Maybe because he knew he wouldn't get to go to all of his games."
As his father battled health issues in Sumrall's first season in San Diego – Jon turned 25 that summer – he immersed himself in the work of being a coach. He made the journey with Caragher knowing little about San Diego's program or the striking campus perched atop Alcalá Park, overlooking the Pacific Ocean and San Diego Bay.
All Sumrall knew was that he was a football coach.
"I learned that it didn't matter how many people were in the stands; whatever program you're involved in, that is the most important program in the world,'' Sumrall said. "Wherever you're doing it, that's the big time."
Sumrall instantly grew attached to the non-scholarship players at the Roman Catholic private school. He wasn't much older than they were.
"Their desire to go bust their tail and practice, I think, resonated with me as a young coach,'' he said. "These are my type of dudes. They just loved football."
Paul Tremblay arrived at USD the season before Sumrall and did not play as a true freshman. A defensive tackle from Solana Beach, California, Tremblay immediately noticed his new position coach's twangy pitch and zealous approach to football.
Tremblay emerged as a standout for Sumrall's unit over the next three seasons until, as a senior in 2010, he was forced to retire during the season due to a lingering back injury. Sumrall could relate, and the two formed a closer bond than they already had as Tremblay took the same route as Sumrall had at Kentucky and became a graduate assistant.
The late Dave Adolph was a legendary figure in coaching circles. (Photo: San Diego Union-Tribune file)
"Jon cared about us,'' said Tremblay, who went into coaching for a few years before becoming a firefighter in Phoenix. "That was really clear from the start. He had a huge impact. Jon was probably one of the closest relationships I ever had with a coach, probably outside my own father and some other male mentors.
"He has morals and ethics and values that he doesn't compromise for anyone. No amount of money, no job in the world is going to change the way he carries himself."
The two have remained in contact over the years, and Tremblay has plans to bring his 6-year-old son to the Florida-Campbell game. The Toreros met Campbell regularly as Pioneer Football League rivals when Sumrall and Tremblay were at USD.
While Sumrall impacted his players at San Diego, he also found someone who helped shape the coach he would become – a mentor who became a father-like figure during their season together.
Toreros defensive coordinator Dave Adolph was near the end of a legendary career when Caragher took over and brought Sumrall with him. Adolph's career spanned five decades, and he served as a defensive assistant for some of the game's biggest names: Harbaugh, Woody Hayes, Don Coryell, Mike Shanahan, Jon Gruden, Bobby Ross and Sam Rutigliano.
He's famous in coaching circles for constantly asking players and coaches: "Do you love football?" And in his office, he displayed a famous Hayes quote for all to see: The overweight player, the out-of-shape player, a player that doesn't care — all look the same.
Harbaugh had hired Adolph at San Diego, and when Caragher took over, Adolph stayed for one more season before stepping away to care for his ailing wife.
Adolph helped fill in many of the blanks for Sumrall, who was 45 years younger.
Jon Sumrall was 25 during his first season as a full-time college football assistant coach. (Photo: Courtesy of the Sumrall family)
"I had to build myself as a coach,'' Sumrall said. "One of Dave's strengths was coaching the coaches."
The same generosity that Sumrall encountered in Adolph was something his family saw repeatedly.
Adolph's grandson, fifth-year Ohio State receiver David Adolph, continues to learn more about his grandfather's legacy as he gets older. Dave Adolph died in 2017, a couple of months after serving as honorary captain for both Ohio State and Michigan in their annual rivalry game.
"He loved pouring into everyone,'' David Adolph said. "He helped me in more ways than I could have imagined when I was young. And it wasn't just football. He inspired me in a lot of different ways. I hear a lot of people, you know, come up to me and ask if my grandpa was Dave Adolph and tell me these stories about him."
Almost a decade after their single season together with the Toreros, Sumrall was driving in Alabama when he received word that Adolph had died at 79.
"I cried like a baby," he told the San Diego Union-Tribune. Former San Diego head coach Ron Caragher gave Jon Sumrall his first full-time assistant opportunity. (Photo: Courtesy of the University of San Diego Athletics)
Sumrall's career has taken off since his days at San Diego, reaching heights he and his mentor couldn't have seen in 2007. Now, almost 20 years later, Adolph and his father have both passed away.
While George Sumrall may have fretted over his son's move so far away, Adolph ensured he was in good hands.
The Toreros won, and by the time Sumrall's run at USD was over, Caragher had promoted him.
The young assistant who arrived in San Diego knowing little about the program left five years later as its assistant head coach and defensive coordinator, carrying with him lessons from Caragher, Adolph and the players he coached.
"Being around Dave Adolph really got him off to a good start,'' Caragher said. "My thoughts on [Jon] were confirmed. Not only was he a really good coach and personable, which comes up in the recruiting area, but he was also a really good X's-and-O's technician.
"I think the University of Florida is in good hands moving forward."
