Sumrall has the sleeping giant awakening from an 11-year recruiting slumber

Wake Forest transfer Micah Mays Jr. crosses the goal line at the Orange and Blue Game (Photo by Chris Spears)

In a conversation with Urban Meyer back when he was stacking up top-ranked recruiting classes at Florida, the question of how you measure success came up. Urban was far less concerned with stars as he was finding the right fit and filling the depth chart with quality players who would be ready to step in when their number was called.

The answer he gave me: “One great class is nice, but the way you really measure your success is put two years together. It is only when you put two together that you see if you have holes you didn’t fill.”

Whether at Florida or later at Ohio State, Urban Meyer's recruiting was borderline legendary. Meyer didn’t have today’s advantage of dipping into the portal to find experienced players to fill immediate needs or else his recruiting might have taken on monstrous proportions. At Florida, Meyer went 65-15 with two national championships and two SEC titles. At Ohio State, he was 83-9 with one national championship and three Big Ten titles.

Jon Sumrall has yet to coach his first game at Florida, but if on the field results mirror his success on the recruiting trail then the future is going to be very, very bright. Sumrall does have the portal and combining his transfers with the 2026 recruiting class and a 2027 class that becomes more impressive by the day, it’s not exactly a reach to say that the sleeping giant that is Florida football is arousing from an 11-year slumber.

Sumrall added two more impressive commitments to his 2027 class Thursday when 4-star EDGE rusher Cahron Wheeler (6-5, 250, Baltimore, MD St. Paul’s) and 3-star corner Kamarion Johnson (6-0, 189, Homerville, GA Clinch County) joined a class that has moved up to No. 4 in the 247Sports recruiting rankings. They are the 20^th and 21^st commitments to the 2027 class that has a realistic chance of finishing in the top two when the final rankings come out, especially if the Gators are able to flip defensive lineman Jalen Brewster (6-3, 313, Cedar Hill, TX), the No. 1 player in the country and a Texas Tech commit, and 4-star wide receiver Easton Royal (6-0, 200, New Orleans, LA Brother Martin), currently committed to Texas.

Since taking the Florida job November 30, 2025, Sumrall has brought in 47 players through the portal and high school signings, plus he now has 21 commitments for 2027.

Here is the position-by-position breakdown of the Sumrall recruits:

Quarterback (3)

Will Griffin (6-3, 224, FR, enrolled)

Aaron Philo (6-1, 208, RSO, transfer)

Davin Davidson (6-6, 220, Sarasota, FL Cardinal Mooney, 4-star commit)

Running back (3)

London Montgomery (5-10, 194, RJR, transfer)

Evan Pryor (5-10, 190, RSR, transfer)

Andrew Beard (5-10, 198, Bogart, GA Prince Avenue Christian, 4-star commit)

Wide receiver (11)

Davion Groce (6-2, 197, FR, enrolled)

Justin Williams (5-11, 195, FR, enrolled)

Marquez Daniel (6-5, 205, FR, enrolled)

Ace Ciongoli (5-10, 172, FR, transfer)

Jaylen Lloyd (5-10, 190, RJR, transfer)

Eric Singleton Jr. (5-10, 182, SR, transfer)

Micah Mays Jr. (6-1, 195, RJR, transfer)

Bailey Stockton (5-10, 182, RJR, transfer)

Tramond Collins (6-2, 185, Cottondale, FL, 4-star commit)

Anthony Jennings (6-0, 165, Fort Lauderdale, FL Dillard, 4-star commit)

Elias Pearl (5-11, 185, Port Charlotte, FL, 4-star commit)

Tight end (8)

Heze Kent (6-6, 313, FR, enrolled)

Trip Brown Jr. (6-5, 241, FR, enrolled)

Jayden Jordan (6-6, 240, SR, transfer)

Evan Chieca (6-4, 257, RSO, transfer)

Luke Harpring (6-3, 236, RSO, transfer)

Lacota Dippre (6-3, 255, RJR, transfer)

Jackson Ballinger (6-4, 225, Centerburg, OH, 4-star commit)

Tommy Douglas (6-4, 235, Princeton, NJ The Hun School, 3-star commit)

Offensive Line (14)

Tyler Chukuyem (6-6, 293, FR, enrolled)

Javarii Lucas (6-6, 316, FR, enrolled)

Corey Brown (6-1, 305, FR, enrolled)

G’Nivre Carr (6-4, 315, FR, enrolled)

Desmond Green (6-5, 351, FR, enrolled)

Chancellor Campbell (6-8, 323, FR, enrolled)

Harrison Moore (6-4, 300, JR, transfer)

Umeka Ugori (6-4, 311, SO, transfer)

Eagan Boyer (6-8, 300, RSO, transfer)

TJ Shanahan (6-4, 311, RJR, transfer)

Maxwell Hiller (6-5, 300, Coatesville, PA Coatesville Area, 5-star commit)

Peyton Miller (6-5, 297, Anna, TX, 4-star commit)

Elijah Hutcherson (6-5, 275, Roanoke, VA North Cross, 4-star commit)

Kennedee Jackson (6-6, 300, Lithonia, GA, 4-star commit)

Defensive Line (7)

Kendall Guervil (6-5, 329, FR, enrolled)

JaReylan McCoy (6-7, 271, FR, enrolled)

Mason Clinton (6-5, 290, RJR, transfer)

Emmanuel Oyebadejo (6-6, 303, RSR, transfer)

De’Voun Kendrick (6-4, 278, Tampa, FL Carrollwood Day, 4-star commit)

Stive-Bentley Keumajou Yondui (6-3, 290, Miami, FL Coral Gables, 4-star commit)

Cain Van Norden (6-7, 275, District Heights, MD Bishop McNamara, 4-star commit)

EDGE (3)

KJ Ford (6-4, 250, FR, enrolled)

Zahmar Tookes (6-4, 256, Rochester, NY Brighton, 4-star commit)

Cahron Wheeler (6-5, 250, Baltimore, MD St. Paul’s, 4-star commit)

Linebacker (3)

Malik Morris (6-0, 261, FR, enrolled)

TJ Bullard (6-1, 210, RSR, transfer)

Ja’Bios Smith (6-3, 195, Swainsboro, GA, 4-star commit)

Corner (6)

CJ Bronaugh (6-0, 163, FR, enrolled)

Javier Jones (6-1, 185, FR, summer)

Jordy Lowery (5-11, 167, SR, transfer)

Amare Nugent (6-1, 175, Plantation, FL American Heritage, 4-star commit)

Aamaury Fountain (6-3, 189, Warner Robins, GA Northside, 5-star commit)

Kamarion Johnson (6-0, 189, Homerville, GA Clinch County, 3-star commit)

Safety (6)

Dylan Purter (6-0, 181, FR, enrolled)

Kaiden Hall (6-2, 198, FR, enrolled)

Elijah Owens (6-3, 210, FR, summer)

Eric Parks (6-0, 190, FR, summer)

Cam Dooley (6-2, 205, JR, transfer)

DJ Coleman (6-0, 209, SR, transfer)

Punter (2)

Miller Fealy (6-2, 210, transfer)

Alec Clark (6-0, 181, RJR, transfer)

Kicker (1)

Patrick Durkin (5-11, 194, RSO, transfer)

Long snapper (1)

Carter Milliron (5-11, 240, RSR, transfer)