Quarterback Aaron Philo signals touchdown after one of Florida's scores in Saturday's victory at Jordan-Hare Stadium. (Photo: Anthony Garro/UAA Communications)
Sumrall's Quick Wit, Quick Turnaround Set Tone For Ole Miss
Tuesday, September 22, 2026 | Football, Scott Carter
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By: Scott Carter, Senior Writer
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — In his brief time as Florida's head coach, Jon Sumrall has shown more than a fiery demeanor on game day.
He's proven he's quick on his feet.
Sumrall once again showcased his penchant for quick one-liners on Monday when asked about the No. 21-ranked Gators being favored by oddsmakers over No. 4-ranked Ole Miss in Saturday's Southeastern Conference showdown at The Swamp.
"There's a lot of good drugs out there, huh?" he said.
Whether you grew up in Miami or Marianna, Floridians know Gator fans long for three things above all else: wins, points and a head coach with some spice in his personality.
Sumrall has checked all three boxes in his first nine months. Florida is off to its first 3-0 start in seven years, is second in the SEC in scoring (54.0 points per game), and Sumrall has quickly become a fan favorite despite being a relative unknown to a significant portion of the Sunshine State when hired.
In his first season, Sumrall is like a UF freshman – each week a new experience surfaces, a test arrives more difficult than the previous.
Last week, in Florida's SEC opener at Auburn, the Gators (3-0, 1-0) returned home with a 44-39 win and suitcases packed with feel-good vibes. This week, the high-powered Rebels (3-0, 1-0) and quarterback Trinidad Chambliss come to town seeking to crash the party.
Sumrall has done his homework. Jon Sumrall paces the sideline in Saturday's win at Auburn. (Photo: Anthony Garro/UAA Communications)
"We got to get a lot better,'' he said. "Last week's performance will not cut it against the offense we're getting ready to play. I can't wait to see our fanbase, but our guys gotta get ready to play a lot better football, or we will be really disappointed in the outcome."
The Gators won for the first time at Auburn since 1999 in Saturday's much-anticipated visit to Jordan-Hare Stadium. They celebrated appropriately. However, Sumrall saw too much to stay giddy for long.
The Gators were in complete control after Jadan Baugh's 53-yard touchdown run gave them a 41-24 lead with 12:38 left. Auburn refused to fade quietly into the night, and trimmed the lead to 44-39 with 24 seconds left on Byrum Brown's 35-yard touchdown pass to Chas Nimrod.
"The last touchdown they had makes me want to puke watching it,'' he said. "It was, I mean, just really bad football."
Auburn rolled up 156 yards, 15 points and 10 first downs in the fourth quarter to make it more interesting than Sumrall preferred until the Gators recovered an onside kick and ran out the clock in the final seconds. Not helping their cause, the Gators committed 16 penalties for 138 yards.
Cutting down on the mistakes tops Florida's priority list heading into Saturday afternoon's game on ABC at 3:30.
"I show them all the bad from the game and how that will cost us," Sumrall said. "And made very clear how good the opponent is this week. If we play like we did last week or the previous week, really any of the weeks we played so far this year, we will not win Saturday."
Ole Miss delivered head coach Pete Golding a signature victory last week, too. The Rebels beat LSU, 32-24, in the mega-hyped return of former coach Lane Kiffin to Oxford. Chambliss spoiled his former coach's return, passing for 363 yards and accounting for three touchdowns.
LSU defensive coordinator Blake Baker tried multiple ways to slow down Chambliss, who shredded the Tigers for 248 yards passing in the first half. Baker rushed three or four and dropped seven into coverage. At other times, he turned up the pressure. Chambliss countered with all the answers.
Gators defensive coordinator Brad White can relate from his time leading Kentucky's defense.
"Yeah, it was kind of in a game that I was coaching last year that it was the rise of Trinidad,'' White said Tuesday. "We knocked out Austin [Simmons]. He came in the last two series. So, yeah, you're all welcome. He's a really talented player. I mean, unbelievable arm strength, obviously mobility. He can escape anywhere in the pocket. He can work down it. It's going to be a huge challenge for us."
Chambliss (77 of 110, 924 yards, 7 TD, 2 INT) leads the SEC in passing yards, and receiver Deuce Alexander (20 receptions, 295 yards) leads the conference with 98.3 yards receiving per game. The Rebels could be without standout running back Kewan Lacy, who suffered a shoulder injury in the win over LSU.
Lacy departed the game in the third quarter after rushing for 43 yards on nine carries. He scored on a 5-yard run in the first quarter. Lacy rushed for 224 yards and three scores in a 34-24 victory over Florida last November in Oxford. He also faced Sumrall's Tulane team twice, rushing for a combined 155 yards in the two Ole Miss victories.
Receiver Vernell Brown III (left) and running back Jadan Baugh celebrate the road win at Auburn. (Photo: Anthony Garro/UAA Communications)
Meanwhile, the Gators counter with Baugh, who leads the SEC in rushing with 458 yards and eight touchdowns through three games. While Chambliss is a concern for Florida's pass defense – the Gators are ranked 14th in the SEC (231.7 yards per game) – Baugh is the center of attention for the Ole Miss defense. The Rebels are last in the SEC in rushing defense (159.0 yards per game).
White is stressing the task ahead for his secondary.
"We need to continue to improve. We need to get better. Like, it's just the bottom line,'' he said. "We need to get better back there. We had a chance on Saturday to play better than we did, to close the game out. There's plenty of calls that I would love to have back, and there's plenty of calls that we should have been able to execute and get off the field as well."
The Gators are hopeful of adding another weapon on offense in fifth-year receiver Eric Singleton Jr., who has been sidelined with a high-ankle sprain since the opener.
"He maybe could have gone [at Auburn], but I wasn't going to let his desire to play in that situation override common sense," Sumrall said. "You force a guy like that back too soon with his skill set, and then something bad happens that we could have avoided, and then you set him back four more weeks."
The Gators are only three weeks into Sumrall's tenure. At least nine more to go. They hope there's more.
The message on Sunday was that Auburn was over. It was a good win, but the Rebels are better.
"Teams that win are tough, they're urgent, they're disciplined, and they're detailed," Sumrall said. "The type of teams that don't – they're complacent, they're soft, they lack urgency. I'm not thinking about that game ever again. I'm thinking about this one this week and moving on, and we have a huge task. If we are not fully moved on to getting ready for Ole Miss, this is going to be ugly for us on Saturday."
