Jon Sumrall: "Fired up about the direction we're headed"

Jon Sumrall likes the direction in which the Gators are going (Photo by Chris Spears)

but admits there are holes that have to be filled on a roster that totals 87 – 67 veterans and 20 newbies (high school/juco signees).

“There's still some major areas of concern that we have on this roster, but we have to develop everybody we’ve got to do their best and try to get this football team ready,” Sumrall said Saturday at an impromptu meeting with the media at halftime of Florida’s basketball game with Auburn.

The Gators need to add a fourth scholarship quarterback, at least two more linebackers and they’re thin at defensive tackle. Prior to the new transfer rules which have compressed the portal window to a couple of weeks in January, a coach could get through spring, re-evaluate his roster and then find fill holes in the second window of opportunity.

No such luck anymore.

“We don't have the luxury of that second window now, so that’s a little bit more daunting because you don’t get a chance,” Sumrall said, pointing out that in his first year as the head coach at Tulane he used the spring portal to add a pair of corners who are now playing in the NFL. “I'm not going to have any opportunity to watch this team practice and go correct in the second portal. We just have to watch and practice it and try to fix it, if it's going to make somebody better or maybe move guys around.

“That's a little bit more unnerving. I wouldn't be upset as a first-year head coach if we had the second portal window. I used it to my benefit the last job I was at. I would be okay if they gave us an emergency second portal window in May to make sure after spring ball that we had.”

Something definitely has to be done. Sumrall isn’t the only coach with issues about how the NCAA has figured out how to once again complicate matters. But, until someone comes up with a solution, Sumrall and every other Division I coach will have to adjust to a calendar that is way out of whack.

Next Wednesday, Sumrall can add high school kids who didn’t sign in December and add jucos. He already has a commitment from one junior college transfer – safety Elijah Owens from Mississippi Gulf Coast – and he could find others from the juco ranks in Mississippi, Texas, Kansas and California. Those guys won’t have the benefit of spring practice, however.

Sumrall has already passed one recruiting test in flying colors by getting commitments from five key players to come back to Florida for one more year. In running back Jayden Baugh, EDGE rusher Jayden Woods, linebacker Myles Graham and receivers Vernell Brown III and Dallas Wilson, Sumrall has five players with star power around which to build for the future. Graham and Brown are legacy players so getting them to return was probably easier. Wilson only played in four games due to injuries, but he also was convinced to come back another year, but Sumrall says it was “a little trickier.”

The toughest were Baugh and Woods. Baugh gained 1,170 yards in 2025. His ability to run through tacklers and find a second gear once into the clear made him perhaps the most sought after running back in the nation. Woods had 28 tackles, 3.5 sacks and an interception as a true freshman. He went into the portal but changed his mind after Sumrall made the trip to his home in Kansas City.

 Sumrall got Baugh to agree to stay after an in-home visit in Atlanta on Christmas Eve, one that the coach says involved his wife, kids, mom and “my mom’s dog.” He went to Kansas City for an in-home with Jayden Woods’ family, which he called “complete rock stars.”

He went 2-for-2 on those visits, but that’s not to say they weren’t without anxious moments. He was the new coach, not the one who recruited Baugh and Woods out of high school. He isn’t the coach who already had the relationship with both players and their families so it made for a brand new experience.

“For me being new, those visits while they were maybe a little bit anxiety-filled because you don't know what's going to happen on the other side,” Sumrall said. “I really felt fortunate to be able to go sit in their houses because a lot of these guys I didn't recruit out of high school, right? And so for me to be able to get in their homes and eat a dinner with them or eat a breakfast with them or do whatever, it kind of felt like recruiting a high school guy all over … I'm grateful those guys stayed and grateful a lot of guys stayed. There's a lot of guys that stayed that I think give us a shot to have an opportunity to have success.”

WIDE RECEIVER ADDED

The Gators added a wide receiver from the portal, redshirt freshman Ace Ciongoli (5-11, 190), who prepped at St. Sebastian's School in Needham, Massachusetts.

A LOOK AT THE FLORIDA ROSTER AS OF JANUARY 27

VETERANS (67)

QUARTERBACK (2): Tramell Jones Jr. (6-0, 203, FR); QB Aaron Philo (6-2, 220, RFR, from Georgia Tech)

RUNNING BACKS (5): Duke Clark (6-1, 211, FR); Byron Louis (6-0, 211, FR); Jadan Baugh (6-1, 231, SO); Evan Pryor (5-9, 195, RSR, from Cincinnati); London Montgomery (5-11, 197, SO, from East Carolina)

WIDE RECEIVERS (8): Vernell Brown III (5-11, 178, FR); Dallas Wilson (6-3, 213, FR); TJ Abrams (5-10, 196, RFR); Bailey Stockton (5-11, 185, SO, from Georgia Tech); Micah Mays Jr. (6-2, 196, SO, from Wake Forest); WR Eric Singleton Jr. (5-10, 180, JR, from Auburn); Jaylen Lloyd (5-10, 180, JR, from Oklahoma State); Ace Ciongoli (5-11, 190, RFR, from Indiana)

TIGHT END: (5) Amir Jackson (6-5, 235, RFR); Micah Jones (6-4, 257, FR); Lacota Dippre (6-4, 253, SO, from James Madison); Luke Harpring (6-3, 240, FR, from Georgia Tech); Evan Chieca (6-5, 250, RSO, from New Haven)

O-LINE (13): OT Fletcher Westphal (6-8, 342, RFR); OT Caden Jones (6-8, 333, RSO); OT/OG Bryce Lovett (6-5, 321, RSO); OG Knijeah Harris (6-3, 313, JR); OG/C Roderick Kearney (6-4, 310, RSO); OG Jason Zandamela (6-3, 308, RFR); OT Jahari Medlock (6-5, 321, FR); OG TJ Dice Jr. (6-4, 304, FR); OG Daniel Pierre Louis (6-4, 332, FR); C Harrison Moore (6-5, 300, SO, from Georgia Tech); OG TJ Shanahan (6-4, 315, RSO, from Penn State); OT Eagan Boyer (6-8, 302, RFR, from Penn State); Emeka Ugorji (6-5, 300, FR, from Stanford)

D-LINE/EDGE (11): EDGE LJ McCray (6-6, 268, SO); EDGE Kamran James (6-6, 270, JR); EDGE Jayden Woods (6-3, 248, FR); DL Joseph Mbatchou (6-5, 300, FR); EDGE Kofi Asare (6-5, 251, RJR); EDGE Jaylen Wiggins (6-5, 268, FR); Brendan Bett (6-5, 308, RSO); DL Jeramiah McCloud (6-3, 294, FR); DT DK Kalu (6-4, 309, SO, from Baylor); DE Emmanuel Oyebadejo (6-7, 295, JR, from Jacksonville State); Mason Clinton (6-5, 300, SO, from Southern Miss)

LINEBACKERS (6): Jaden Robinson (6-1, 226, JR); Myles Graham (6-1, 228, SO); Aaron Chiles (6-3, 244, SO); Ty Jackson (6-2, 221, FR); Myles Johnson (6-1, 224, FR); TJ Bullard (6-1, 220, RSO, from UCF)

SECONDARY (12): S Drake Stubbs (6-1, 207, FR); CB Cormani McClain (6-2, 189, RSO); S Bryce Thornton (5-10, 211, JR); S Lagonza Hayward (6-1, 206, FR); CB J’Vari Flowers (5-10, 187, FR); CB Dijon Johnson (6-1, 204, JR); CB Onis Konanbanny (6-0, 184, FR);  CB Ben Hanks III (6-1, 192, FR); S DJ Coleman (6-1, 210, JR, from Baylor); S Cam Dooley (6-2, 208, SO, from Kentucky); S Kanye Clark (6-0, 190, RFR, from UCLA); CB Jordy Lowery (5-11, 189, JR, from East Carolina)

SPECIAL TEAMS (5): PK Patrick Durkin (5-10, 175, SO, from Tulane); P Alec Clark (6-1, 185, RSO, from Tulane); LS Carter Milliron (6-0, 257, SR, from Louisiana); P Miller Fealy (6-2, 210, FR, from Southwest Oklahoma State); LS Hunter Suwold (6-3, 240, FR, from Washington)

SIGNED FRESHMEN/JUCOS (20)

QUARTERBACK (1): Will Griffin (6-3, 230)

WIDE RECEIVERS (3): Davian Groce (6-2, 191); Justin Williams (5-11, 187); Marquez Daniel (6-5, 205)

TIGHT END (1): Heze Kent (6-6, 305)

O-LINE (6): Tyler Chukuyem (6-6, 285); Chancellor Campbell (6-8, 307); G’nivre Carr (6-4, 309); Desmond Green (6-5, 343); Javarii Luckas (6-6, 318); Corey Brown (6-1, 280)

D-LINE/EDGE (3): DL Kendall Guervil (6-2, 323); DL JaReylan McCoy (6-7, 260); EDGE KJ Ford (6-4, 246)

LINEBACKER (1): Malik Morris (6-0, 250)

SECONDARY (3): CJ Hester (6-0, 186); Kaiden Hall (6-2, 192); CJ Bronaugh (6-0, 172); Dylan Purter (6-0, 185); Elijah Owens (6-3, 210, FR, from Mississippi Gulf Coast)

GONERS (32)

QB (1): DJ Lagway (to Baylor)

RB (4): KD Daniels (to Wake Forest); Treyaun Webb (to Appalachian State); Chad Gaspar Jr.; Ja’Kobi Jackson (to Ohio State)

WR (6): Eugene Wilson III (to LSU); Tank Hawkins (to Washington State); Aidan Mizell (to UCLA);Muizz Tounkara (to Houston); Naeushaun Montgomery (to Missouri); Jackson Wade (to Boston College)

TE (4): Hayden Hansen (to Oklahoma); Cameron Kossman (to Boston College); TE Tony Livingston (to Baylor); Scott Isacks (to UAB)

OL (4): OT Marcus Mascoll (to Georgia State); OT Enoch Wangoy (to Ole Miss); OT Devon Manuel (to Appalachian State); OT Noel Portnjagin (to James Madison)

DL/EDGE (3): DL Tavorise Brown (to North Carolina); DL Michai Boireau (to Ole Miss); DT Brien Taylor Jr.

LB (1): Grayson Howard (to South Florida)

S/CB (6): S Jordan Castell (to Kentucky); S Josiah Davis; CB Jameer Grimsley (to Mississippi State); S Teddy Foster (to South Florida); CB Aaron Gates (to Kentucky); CB Shariff Denson (to Ole Miss)

ST (3): P Hayden Craig (to LSU); PK Evan Noel (to Houston); LS Mack Mulhern (to LSU)