UF’s Sumrall vows to ‘wake the beast up’ after Gators’ spring game

(Stephen M. Dowell/Orlando Sentinel/TNS)

GAINESVILLE — Coach Jon Sumrall inherited a Florida football program in an extended slumber, along with a fan base worn out by losing.

But a bright-eyed, eager crowd gathered hours before Saturday’s Orange and Blue spring game, energizing a coach who already has plenty to spare.

“This is a special place,” Sumrall said. “You can tell when you pull over to the Gator Walk today; there’s a decent number of people here at 9 in the morning for a noon kick that are ready to see these guys play. Very pleased with the support we’ve had here.

“This fan base is passionate.”

Sumrall plans to repay that passion with championship success absent for nearly two decades, dating back to Urban Meyer’s national title teams in 2006 and 2008. Since Meyer’s departure in 2010, Florida has reached 11 wins just twice (2012, 2019) — a mark Sumrall hit in three of four seasons as a head coach at Troy and Tulane.

The 43-year-old believes Florida still has the ingredients few programs can match: tradition, recruiting footprint, fan support and a gameday environment reflected in a a reported crowd of 47,100 Saturday in the Swamp.

Meyer has served as a sounding board for Sumrall and attended his coaching clinic April 3, alongside Super Bowl- winning coach Jon Gruden and Liam Coen of the Jacksonville Jaguars. On Saturday, Sumrall echoed a message from Gruden, who reminded players that Florida once ruled the SEC.

“We talked about — we’ve got to wake the beast up,” Sumrall recalled. “Like, it’s time we wake this thing up. This is a sleeping giant. 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.”

Spring practices, culminating with the Orange and Blue game, provided Sumrall reasons for optimism and skepticism entering the offseason.

The Gators’ offense under Buster Faulkner flashed explosiveness in the passing game.

Quarterbacks Aaron Philo and Tramell Jones Jr. each threw two touchdowns of at least 20 yards — three of them exceeding 30 — a season after Florida produced an SEC-low 11 30-yard completions in FBS games.

Receivers totaled seven catches of 25 yards or more after just 19 in 2025. Aside from sophomore standout Vernell Brown III’s 31-yard touchdown, newcomers accounted for the rest.

Wake Forest transfer Micah May Jr. delivered the highlight of the day — a 75-yard touchdown from Jones — as he finished with four catches for 122 yards and two scores. Auburn transfer Eric Singleton Jr. and returning redshirt sophomore TJ Abrams led the team with six receptions apiece, with Singleton totaling 92 yards and a 38-yard score.

Georgia Tech transfer Baily Stockton, who played the past two seasons under Faulkner, had four catches for 24 yards and showed burst in space.

“We’ve got some speed there,” Faulkner said. “I think six or seven guys in that room are playing really good football. The hard part for us is going to be to make sure they all get a chance to touch the football.”

Sumrall also offered an update on promising Dallas Wilson, who set spring game records with 10 catches for 195 yards in 2025. The 6-foot-3, 218-pound redshirt freshman is recovering from offseason foot surgery, but could have played if needed.

“Was it the right move to limit him this spring so he can fully get to where he needs to be? Yes,” Sumrall said. “Because when he does, watch out.”

Defensively, UCLA transfer Kayne Clark had five solo tackles, while incoming defensive backs DJ Coleman (Baylor) and Cam Dooley (Kentucky) each had interceptions. True freshman edge rushers KJ Ford and JaReylan McCoy added a sack apiece.

The defensive line, in particular, earned Sumrall’s approval thanks to depth at tackle (Brendan Bett, Joseph Mbatchou, Jeremiah McCloud, DK Kalu) and length on the edge with Kam James, Emmanuel Oyebadejo and L.J. McCray, all listed at 6-foot-6.

“There’s a lot of guys in that room that I think can play winning football,” Sumrall said.

He’s far less certain about the offensive line.

Coaches continued to rotate players and experiment with multiple combinations Saturday, still searching for the right five-man unit.

“We’re nowhere near settled in that room,” Sumrall said.

Significant progress will be required during the offseason program under strength coach Rusty Whitt.

“Rusty does a lot of things well. What he does best is build lineman, and we need that,” Sumrall said. “Those guys have to have a freaking great summer or we got no chance. There’s gotta be a lot of growth that continues to happen — and they will.”

Sumrall sees enough roster gaps that he acknowledged he’d welcome a spring transfer portal, eliminated by the NCAA in 2025.

“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,” he said.

He now plans to meet individually with all 111 players to define roles and set expectations heading into the offseason.

After Saturday’s game, his message was already clear.

“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.”

Edgar Thompson can be reached at egthompson@orlandosentinel.com