GAINESVILLE, Fla. — If it seems like forever ago since Florida hired Jon Sumrall after flirting with Lane Kiffin, well, that's because Sumrall has been a man about town over the past nine months.
And Lane has been Lane.
To refresh your memory, Florida introduced Sumrall as head coach on Dec. 5. He returned to Tulane and led the Green Wave to an American Conference championship four days later. He then grieved the loss of his father the day before his Tulane team lost to Ole Miss in the College Football Playoff.
Once he said goodbye to New Orleans, he moved into a hotel in Gainesville for a little while, completed his staff and first Gators roster, and then moved his family to town.
Finally settled, he began to put his stamp on the program with ferocious energy, an approachable demeanor and good old-fashioned coaching.
In between all that, he pumped hands around town, threw out first pitches and took about a million photographs with fans.
Finally, he gets to coach a game when the Gators host Florida Atlantic on Saturday night at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in the season opener.
The moment Florida fans have waited for is finally here.
Without further delay, here is our season-opening edition of The Opening Kickoff for a closer look at the Florida-FAU game: THREE STORYLINES
None loom larger than the first game for Sumrall, who arrived from Tulane after leading the Green Wave to the 2025 American Conference championship. Sumrall has injected the program with energy and accountability that Florida faithful hope will reverse the program's recent trajectory. The Gators are 23-27 in their last 50 games, hence why Sumrall is here.
Georgia Tech transfer Aaron Philo opens the season as the starting quarterback after winning a close competition with returner Tramell Jones Jr. during preseason camp. Philo is atop the depth chart, but expect to see Jones against the Owls as well. Philo has experience in offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner's offense and will be UF's 20th starting quarterback since Tim Tebow took his last snap in the Sugar Bowl at the end of the 2009 season.
This is scheduled to be the final season opener at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium before a major renovation starts after the season. The Gators will continue to play home games at "The Swamp" during the three-year project, but the revamped stadium will be a construction zone for the '27, '28 and '29 openers.
THREE PLAYERS TO WATCH
The last time we saw Gators running back Jadan Baugh, he was running over, around and through Florida State tacklers on the way to a career-high 266 yards in last season's finale. Baugh's performance was one of the season's highlights and created high expectations for his junior season. Baugh remained committed to the Gators and is primed for a big season in UF's retooled offense.
Florida fans are more interested in how Philo performs, but FAU quarterback Caden Veltkamp directs an offense that led the nation in passing (340.2 yards per game) in 2025. Veltkamp topped FBS quarterbacks in completions per game (28.8), third in total offense (307.2), fourth in completion percentage (67%) and seventh in passing yards (3,641). Florida's secondary will be challenged.
Playing off Veltkamp's production, keep an eye on young UF cornerbacks Cormani McClain and Ben Hanks III. Both players have huge upside but remain relatively inexperienced. McClain came on last season to become a starter, and Hanks garnered praise from teammates and coaches in the offseason for his improvement.
FIVE QUESTIONS WITH … GATORS OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR BUSTER FAULKNER
The former college quarterback spent the past three seasons calling plays at Georgia Tech and returns to the Southeastern Conference — he was on Kirby Smart's staff at Georgia from 2020-22 when the Bulldogs won two national championships — to recharge Florida's offense.
Offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner was one of head coach Jon Sumrall's first hires. (Photo: Alyssa Morrison/UAA Communications)
Q: What was the deciding factor in naming Philo the starter for Week 1?
A: Ultimately, it was the body of work, OK, and we're pleased with where Philo's at, really pleased where Tramell's at, where he's come a long way since spring. Really excited about the growth of them, and the quarterback position's all about development. And so, we're going to continue to develop those guys, and right now Aaron gives us the best chance to win football games; that's kind of where we're at with that.
Q: What's a fair expectation of the offense at this point?
A: I have high expectations, too. It's not, 'Yeah, we're gonna have a young quarterback.' We've got some weapons around them, some guys that have played a lot of ball at other places but haven't played a lot of ball here. We haven't played a lot of ball together. So we're still a work in progress. We're nowhere near a finished product, but we're gonna continue to strive every day to be the best we can be. I'll tell you this, I thoroughly enjoy the group of guys we have on offense. It's an awesome group. I love being around them. They take hard coaching; they want to be coached, so we're pushing them through all the things that it takes to get the program where you want it to be.
Q: How do you strike a balance between utilizing running back Jadan Baugh and the talent behind him?
A: We've got a bunch of good ones back there, which is a good problem to have, and I think we have that across the board. I said this early on: one thing that we're going to have to do a great job of is distributing the football. We got guys that have earned the right to get the football. So yeah, you look at Jadan, he's built to last. Not a lot of guys are built to last, but we want to be smart with him. We want him to be able to play. And he's got a long career ahead of him. So we want to make sure that he's fast, he's fresh, his body's in great shape. I anticipate a lot of those guys getting touches, involved in the offense, and some of that'll be how the game goes.
Q: You were part of an elite staff at Georgia. Do you see any similarities with this Florida staff?
A: I see a lot of similarities. That was a great staff. The one I was on at the last place was a phenomenal staff. Been very lucky. I'm very, very particular about who I work for and who I work with. I want to work with great men first and foremost. I want to work for a great guy. When you take football out of it, what kind of person is he? And Jon's unbelievable. It's just the same with the staff. Like I said, there's a bunch of guys with a bunch of bright futures. We got guys that have been coordinators on offense. It was really similar at the other place. So yeah, there's some comparisons, but we haven't done anything yet as a group.
Q: What do you see in Philo's running ability?
A: He's not the last guy I coached [Haynes King] by any stretch of the imagination. He makes good decisions when we ask him to do it. It won't look like what people think it was at the last place, but if he's called on to do it, he can do it, and really all of them can. He's good enough at what we would need him to do there. The good thing is here is, we've got a stable full of backs, a young quarterback, and really a young quarterback's best friend is a good run game. THREE DIGITS
2 — Current SEC coaches with coaching and playing experience in the SEC: Sumrall and Georgia's Smart. 34 — Years since Florida has returned a 1,000-yard rusher from the previous season. Baugh is the first since Errict Rhett returned in 1992 after rushing for 1,109 yards in 1991. 157 — Yards Baugh needs to reach 2,000 for his career. AVAILABILITY REPORT
Florida and FAU meet for the fifth time. The Gators lead the all-time series, 4-0, including a 35-14 victory the last time they met in 2021.
The Gators have outscored the Owls, 155-51, in their four previous matchups.
Sumrall has a 24-3 home record as a head coach, including three wins in conference championship games during his stints at Troy and Tulane.
Florida's last 1,000-yard receiver is Taylor Jacobs, who in 2002 capped a stretch of eight consecutive seasons that UF had at least one 1,000-yard receiver.
Owls receiver Easton Messer earned second-team All-American Conference honors last season with nation-best 104 catches for 1,052 yards.
Sumrall's Tulane team defeated FAU 35-14 a season ago. Veltkamp finished 39 of 57 for 375 yards, two touchdowns and three interceptions.
Gators cornerbacks coach Brandon Harris spent the 2022-24 seasons as an assistant coach at FAU, including co-defensive coordinator his final two seasons.
Florida opens the season with its NCAA-record scoring streak at 473 games and counting. The Gators have not been shut out since a 16-0 loss to Auburn in 1988.
FAU head coach Zach Kittley and his coaching staff return intact, the only FBS school in the country to return its entire coaching staff and starting quarterback.
Transfer receiver Eric Singleton Jr. from Auburn has the most career starts (34) of any player on Florida's roster. Left guard Knijeah Harris has the most career starts (26) for the Gators.
CHARTING THE GATORS
Sumrall will become the 12th Gators full-time head coach in the modern era (since 1960) to make his debut on Saturday. A look at how the previous 11 fared:
"The expectation at Florida is championships in every sport, not just football. That's part of what drew me here. We've got a lot of work to do to be a championship-caliber program day in, day out. We're working hard at it." — Sumrall on expectations
"A whole lot. I think it's saying something that I was the leading tackler and I didn't play up to my standard. I think I can play much better every single game. I left a lot out there that I need to collect." — Gators linebacker Myles Graham, asked how much he can improve
"It's a crazy offense. I'm excited to be in it and glad to be a part of it. Can't wait to see what we do on Saturdays." — Sophomore receiver Vernell Brown III on Faulkner's offense
THEY WROTE IT
From washing dishes at Waffle House to the Gators: defensive lineman Joseph Mbatchou is living a dream, writes Edgar Thompson of the Orlando Sentinel.
Florida is a 26.5-point favorite, so most expect the Gators to take care of business in Sumrall's debut. Florida has the more talented roster, is playing at home, and is eager to remind everyone this is a different team than the one that finished 4-8 last season. Meanwhile, Sumrall has provided a much-needed jolt to the program that has carried over to the players and fans. Add it all up, and the Gators should be 1-0 late Saturday night.
WHY FAU WILL WIN
Veltkamp is hot early, hits some big passes, and the Gators fall behind and start pressing, leading to mistakes. It's unlikely, but the Owls have proven they can move the ball with the 6-foot-5 Veltkamp picking apart defenses.
