Jadan Baugh takes a handoff from Aaron Philo (Photo by Chris Spears) The goal was to win the week, which the Florida Gators did with plenty of room to spare Saturday night when they opened the season with a 66-21 win over Florida Atlantic at The Swamp. In so many ways, the win far exceeded Sumrall’s expectations but as he spoke to the media post game, he already knew what lies ahead when the coaches meet Sunday afternoon to dissect every play and grade the film. They will see an offense that scored on ten of 11 possessions, racking up 624 yards, 281 on the ground, 343 through the air. By no means was it perfect, but mistakes were few and far between, earning a certain amount of lenience when handing out grades. The defense? That’s when it will get interesting because there were times when the Gators couldn’t get Florida Atlantic off the field. Sumrall wasn’t trying to understate when he said, “Our defense was atrocious at times quite honestly.” Nothing remotely close to cute or dishonest about an assessment that will probably seem worse when the last play is graded. The film doesn’t lie. The same effort against a better opponent could have been disastrous. Florida Atlantic converted 11 of 22 third downs, four of seven fourth downs and ran 90 plays that gained 396 yards. There were no quick strikes, just lots of four or five yard runs coupled with dink and dunk passes that kept the chains moving and the Florida defense on the field. Compounding matters were countless whiffs on tackle attempts or failures to wrap up a ball carrier and put him on the ground. “I’m a little bit frustrated about how we played defensively at times,” Sumrall said. “I don’t think we’re as good as we think we are. I think we got some guys who feel like, you know, we’ve arrived in some spots and that will be addressed. We have got a lot of room to grow on defense. If it doesn’t happen real fast we’re going to get embarrassed and exposed handily in some spots because that wasn’t a great performance by us.” No, it wasn’t great. If you look for positives, then the Gators allowed only three pass plays of more than 15 yards and two running plays that covered at least 10. There were interceptions by DJ Coleman and Dijon Johnson, a decleater hit by Bryce Thornton that knocked an FAU receiver into another time zone and a fourth down stop at the goal line late in the fourth quarter that kept the Owls from hanging a fourth touchdown on the Gators. But this was Florida Atlantic, projected at best to finish middle of the pack in the American Conference, not an SEC opponent like the Gators will face on the road in two weeks at Auburn. Two weeks, yikes! If this had been a greased pig contest that once was a staple of county fairs and rodeos, there would have been an excuse for all the missed tackles that extended FAU drives. It is not a difficult concept to grasp, this notion that the job of a defense is to halt the progress of the ball carrier by driving him into the ground, but Florida’s defenders might have had a better understanding of Galileo’s theory of heliocentrism. There were times when the lack of a pass rush made it seem as if the Gators were dropping 11 into the coverage scheme. No matter the defensive call, the FAU slot receiver kept running the same fade and quarterback Caden Veltkamp kept pitching the ball his way for those nickel/dime gains that turned into a fresh set of downs. How many slot fades can be run before someone figures out (a) the ball is going that way and (b) it would be a great idea to find someone capable of neutralizing coverage? One must wonder. This was not a live re-enactment of the Dallas defense they called Doomsday back in the 1970s nor the one in Pittsburgh labeled the Steel Curtain. It was bad. That is fact and there is no way to get around it, but it could have been worse and there is time to make corrections, not to mention goal number one was accomplished. “1-and-0 was the goal this week and we got there,” Sumrall said. “As of tomorrow at about 5:00 in my mind we'll be 0-0 again. Just another game. Focus on a game one at a time. I know that's coachspeak, but that's how we operate.” Grading the defensive effort, using the film for teaching moments and then flushing it out of the system are priorities in the week ahead as the Gators begin prep for D1AA Campbell. The offensive priorities make for a far shorter to do list of things that must improve. The Gators were so efficient that they didn’t have to punt. There was only one turnover and that was a ball that a Florida receiver should have caught but deflected into the hands of an FAU defender. Rather than the usual first game rash of false starts, holds and delay of game penalties, there was only one offensive penalty the entire game, a third quarter false start by right tackle Emeka Ugorjie. An offensive line that featured four transfers among the five starters allowed only one sack, zero quarterback hurries and zero quarterback hits. Besides catching all but two of the 20 pass completions by Aaron Philo and Tramell Jones, Florida’s receivers had a brilliant game with their downfield blocking. “I will tell you the thing I'm most proud of tonight offensively is our perimeter blocking,” Sumrall said. “Our receivers blocked their ass off. The run game we created tonight at times on the perimeter, our receivers were competing to make blocks. That says a lot about who they are. The character of a football player sometimes isn't revealed by when they're getting their opportunities production. It's what you're doing to serve your team. Those guys I thought really blocked with edge and competitiveness.” The receivers helped spring Jadan Baugh for 160 yards on 14 carries that included runs of 25 and 61 yards. He scored touchdowns on runs of 12, seven and eight yards, breaking the 2,000-yard barrier (2,003) for his career on the third TD run. On plays up the gut, Baugh moved the pile. Outside the tackles, he showed nifty moves and once to the second level, breakaway speed. Asked what he saw on the 61-yard run in the fourth quarter, Baugh responded, “Grass, green grass. That’s it. Green grass. Seen my receivers blocking and I was just like ready to go.” Yards after contact will be figured once the coaches watch the film, but Baugh made it a habit of breaking tackles throughout the night. “I don’t know how many tackles he broke tonight,” Philo said. “Probably can’t even count.” Philo, making his first start as the Florida quarterback and second of his collegiate career counting a start against Gardner-Webb last season at Georgia Tech, accounted for four touchdowns, three passing and one on the ground. Philo completed 16 of his 23 passes for 275 yards and three touchdowns, plus ran one in from three yards out in the second quarter. He connected with Vernell Brown III for a 49-yard TDP on Florida’s first possession, his first touchdown pass as a Gator and the first touchdown Brown has scored in his Florida career. Brown finished the game with six catches for 117 yards. The second Philo TDP went 12 yards to Bailey Stockton on the second possession and the third was a 20-yard connection with backup running back Duke Clark, who also had 68 rushing yards. The touchdown connection with Stockton was special since they have been connecting since their high school days in the Atlanta burbs when Philo was setting Georgia state passing records at Prince Avenue Christian. They signed with Georgia Tech out of high school and when Philo transferred from Georgia Tech to Florida, Stockton followed. Describing the touchdown pass to Stockton, Philo said, “I saw him in the end zone and, you know, it's like just cool, man. Just coming from high school and then you're here playing in The Swamp, throw a touchdown and throw it to Bailey and we've done it so many times.” Tramell Jones took over at QB in the fourth quarter, completing four of his five passes for 68 yards including a 6-yard touchdown pass to tight end Micah Jones. Jones spent the prep week for game one toiling on the scout team so Sumrall was particularly pleased his freshman got a catch for a TD. “He is on the scout team all week right now,” Sumrall said. “He's a young player that needs to get better for the development of himself and for our football team to continue to grow.” The Gators came into the game 26.5-point favorites, so a 45-point margin of victory is impressive even if it is against a team that went 4-8 as a bottom feeder in the American Conference last season. But, a win is a win, even against an inferior opponent. In two weeks, the Gators will begin a 9-game gauntlet of Southeastern Conference teams so there is an urgency for this very young team to grow up, particularly on the defensive side of the football. “A lot to work on, a lot to grow from,” Sumrall said. “I told them just now a journey of a thousand miles starts with single step and that was step one. The goal this week was to be 1-0, and we got to go back it the drawing board and get a little bit better each day this week to keep improving.” ELSEWHERE IN THE SEC Sunday’s game No. 24 Louisville (0-0) vs. No. 9 Ole Miss in Nashville Saturday’s scores No. 3 Georgia (1-0) 63, Tennessee State (0-2) 3 No. 5 Texas (1-0) 59, Texas State (0-1) 7 No. 8 Texas A&M (1-0) 50, Missouri State (0-1) 0 No. 11 LSU (1-0) 51, Clemson (0-1) 10 No. 13 Alabama (1-0) 48, East Carolina (0-1) 10 No. 20 Tennessee (1-0) 56, Furman (1-1) 9 South Carolina (1-0) 57, Kent State (0-1) 0 Kentucky (1-0) 45, Youngstown State (1-1) 13 Auburn (1-0) 17, Baylor (0-1) 16 Arkansas (1-0) 31, North Alabama (1-1) 14 Vanderbilt (1-0) 28, Austin Peay (1-1) 9 Mississippi State (1-0) 62, Louisiana-Monroe (0-1) 13

We have been down this road before. Four times in the last 15 years to be exact. Four new head coaches, all of whom posted a resounding victory in the first game of what turned out to be a very brief tenure, had us believing happy days were here again. Will Muschamp whacked Florida Atlantic 41-3 back on September 3, 2011 for his first win. Jim McElwain’s first win came four years later, a 61-13 thrashing of New Mexico State. Then came Dan Mullen in 2018 with a 53-6 first game win over Charleston Southern. Billy Napier got his first win four years later, a white knuckles 29-26 win over No. 7 Utah. Hope sprung eternal but fizzled out. Other than a first game win to start their careers, the common denominator for all four is they got a large amount of buyout money to agree to vacate the premises. Why Old Yeller (McElwain) got any kind of severance is one of those great mysteries in life since he lied his way out of a job by claiming Florida fans had issued death threats against members of his family. So here we are, another new season, another new head coach. The Gators play Florida Atlantic tonight (7:45 p.m., SEC Network), the maiden voyage of Jon Sumrall, who has spent the previous eight months charming the bloomers off grannies throughout the state while at the same time impressing folks who can discern the difference between a Hail Mary and a hook-and-lateral. Sumrall seems like a good fit, perhaps more so than any of his four predecessors. Yes, Mullen did seem like a good fit since he had done things in Starkville nobody else had ever done plus he had called the plays for two national championship teams but Mullen never embraced recruiting, something Sumrall has attacked from day one. Despite arriving in December while still coaching Tulane for its College Football playoff matchup with Ole Miss, Sumrall retained 16 of the 18 Florida commits on the early signing day, then followed that up by getting Jadan Baugh and Jayden Woods to stay rather than take the big bucks being waved under their noses by other programs. If that didn’t convince you then what he has done in the months since should because the Gators are currently No. 8 in the 2027 recruiting rankings and Sumrall is convincing highly ranked offensive linemen to commit to UF. What a concept that is. File recruiting in a sub-folder under the category of charming the masses. Jon Sumrall can recruit. He is definitely charming. What he hasn’t done is win football games. Oh, he’s going to win tonight. Bet the farm on that one. It would something similar to Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego surviving the Nebuchadnezzar’s fiery furnace for FAU to leave Gainesville with a win. Can you imagine the reaction in the Gator Nation and beyond if that were to happen? Don’t fret. It won’t happen. Sumrall will be 1-0 at Florida about the time the clock strikes midnight and at least temporarily Gator fans will be overwhelmed by a case of the warm and fuzzies. Sustaining the good will earned by a game one victory will take time but if Sumrall can do what the four previous coaches couldn’t, which is to elevate Florida back to elite status, then years into the future at least 400,000 Florida fans will claim that they were among the 90,000 or so who were at The Swamp on September 5, 2026. *** As we get older, we are prone to nostalgic moments when we recall firsts in life. I have three firsts that I store away in a special place in my heart and mind: my first concert, my first visit to Hong Kong and my first Florida football game. Concert: The Beatles, September 11, 1964. It was the Gator Bowl in Jacksonville. I was there because I had won two tickets by being the ninth caller to a Gainesville radio station. My grandparents drove a friend and me to Jacksonville. I have no idea what they did while we saw The Beatles sing 12 songs. They were on stage 36 minutes. In the 62 years since I’ve seen the Rolling Stones, Beach Boys, Hall and Oats, Billy Joel, Ray Charles, Elvis, Queen, Chicago, Luciano Pavrotti, Frank Sinatra and countless others, but seeing The Beatles live remains the most special. Hong Kong: I flew in from Taipei on Singapore Airlines, landing early evening on that 8,000-foot finger into the harbor that was the Kai-Tak runway. From my window seat I was amazed looking across the harbor at the skyscrapers on Hong Kong Island. Limo to the Grand Hotel on Kowloon, Peking Duck dinner at Spring Deer Restaurant on Mody Road where I met a Singapore Airlines flight attendant that I had flirted with on the flight, then a 15-minute walk to the Star Ferry. I was already stuffed from dinner, but the two of us succumbed to Mrs. Fields chocolate chip cookies that were being baked right there at the boarding gate. On the other side, the tram up to Victoria Peak. At the top looking down on Hong Kong Harbor at night is something I’ll never forget. Florida 18, Georgia Tech 17: My first college football game, but more important, my first Gator game. I was already a Gator through and through. My grandparents lived three blocks from the university and my grandfather’s cousin was Dale Van Sickel. I had never been in a stadium so large or in a crowd that big (something like 40,000 there that day). I remember the buzz when Bobby Dodd Jr. took the field. I didn’t know at the time that Georgia Tech coach Bobby Dodd was his dad. I remember the fourth quarter drive and Larry Libertore pitching the ball to Lindy Infante for a touchdown that cut Georgia Tech’s lead to 17-16. Then Ray Graves held up two fingers. The Gators were going for the win instead of sending in the kicking team to tie the game. Bob Woodruff, the previous coach, would have gone for the tie but Coach Graves was willing to put it all on the line. Georgia Tech expected another option and that’s what it looked like, but after faking a handoff to fullback Jon MacBeth, Libertore took another two steps down the line still selling option. Tech had that one smoked out, but a funny thing happened on the way to predictable. Libertore stopped, saw MacBeth in the end zone and shot putted a pass to him for the win. I yelled and screamed then watched as perfect strangers hugged each other. I was a Gator for life! SANKEY 1, LSU 0 LSU submitted its roster for tonight’s opener with Clemson minus the names Dae’Quan Wright and Zxavier Harris, recently in NFL camps but now seeking a fifth season back in college. A Baton Rouge judge ruled Thursday they could play, the same day Greg Sankey and the SEC filed a lawsuit in Federal Court in Birmingham. The Federal judge has yet to issue a ruling, but LSU backed down anyway. The case in Baton Rouge centers on the principle of fairness, that it is unfair these players can’t get a fifth year of eligibility when last year’s third year guys get two more under the newly implemented NCAA 5-for-5 rule. The Baton Rouge judge said it’s unfair and granted an injunction favorable to the players returning to college to play another year. This is why athletes all over the country have been winning injunctions that allow them to return to school for one more season. The 5-for-5 rule is brand new, so fairness can be argued successfully. The NCAA needs to offer a compromise on this one, allowing a fifth year except for those who spent time in professional training camps. Sankey and the SEC know fully well that 5-for-5 is so new that the challenges will be endless, so rather than challenge fairness, the legal path taken was LSU is a member of a very exclusive club – the Southeastern Conference – in which membership is by invitation only. By accepting the invitation, which is totally voluntary, LSU agreed to follow the rules or face sanctions for breaking them. Rather than fight a local judge who the SEC knew would rule favorably for LSU, Sankey took the fight to US District Court in Birmingham where (1) Federal law trumps local or state law; and (2) the argument shifted to the SEC’s right to enforce its own rules and by agreeing to membership in the SEC, LSU is obligated to follow the rules or face punishment. So, LSU has backed down, but for how long? If they’re smart in Baton Rouge – a dicey proposition to say the least – they will end this nonsense now, but this is Lane Kiffin we’re talking about and he’s always bucking for a fight. Is Lane smart enough to understand that he’s not the smartest guy in the room if Greg Sankey is present? In the immortal words of Clint Eastwood as Detective Harry Callahan, “A man’s got to know his own limitations.” SEC PICK’EM Saturday winners: Florida over Florida Atlantic; Alabama over East Carolina; South Carolina over Kent State; Kentucky over Youngstown State; Georgia over Tennessee State; Texas over Texas State; Tennessee over Furman; Arkansas over North Alabama; Texas A&M over Missouri State; and Vanderbilt over Austin Peay. Upset alerts: Clemson vs. LSU and Baylor vs. Auburn, tossups. Sunday winner: Ole Miss over Louisville.

PHOTO BY CHRIS SPEARS Hhheeerrrrrree come the Gators! (And Buddy!) By BUDDY MARTIN GatorBaitMedia.com Tonight, when the lights come on and the band cranks up and that first roar rolls across Florida Field, I’ll be there. Again. I’m now nearing my seventh decade of covering Gator football, which makes me either experienced, stubborn or a man who has misplaced the directions to retirement. Probably all three. Yet here I am, as excited about an opener as I was when my notebook was new, my knees didn’t creak and you could cover college football without needing a law degree, an accountant and an expert in the transfer portal. Making the trek from Ocala to The Swamp has been a blessing for me these past half dozen years because I get to go with my good friend Chris Spears whose photographs have graced GatorBaitmedia.com for quite some time. It is truly special have someone like Chris transporting me and guiding us back to our respectful positions at the stadium where we will log another 10-hour marathon — Chris out there on the field braving the elements while I sit smugly in a press box with all the amenities. Chris is a little younger than me – but we both love this. The Gators open tonight against Florida Atlantic as a 26.5 point favorite. And I can already feel that familiar tug. College football has changed. The money is bigger, the rosters are more temporary and the coaches swap addresses faster than a traveling salesman. But on opening night, the old magic still works. The helmets still shine. The grass still glistens. The band still punches you in the chest. And for a few hours, everybody in orange and blue is undefeated. Even at my advanced age, that’s enough to get the blood moving. I have also made myself a preseason promise: I will not allow Lane Kiffin and his latest batch of shenanigans to spoil my football season. I’m serious this time. Whatever Lane says, posts, hints, denies, leaks or launches into cyberspace, I will remain calm. (Sometimes!) I will not take the bait. I will not allow him to rent space in my head. At least not until halftime. I already know one thing will be missing from my Saturdays. Laura Rutledge is no longer the host of “SEC Nation,” and I’m going to miss her. Laura is one of those rare television people who can be polished without becoming plastic. She understands the SEC, handles the chaos and knows when to talk and when to let the moment breathe. Now she’s a swirling superstar at ESPN, juggling assignments, crossing platforms and making it all look easy. Good for her. She has earned every bit of it. But Saturdays will feel a little different without her steering the SEC Nation bus through the smoke, noise and occasional livestock of a college football campus. Another treat for me is working with my son Brenden, our company president and producer extraordinaire, who grew up a toddler screaming “Go Gators, not you Georgia!” at the TV screen. He’ll be there on the sideline doing video today for yet another season — maybe 14 or 15 previously. What a privilege to work side-by-side with your son! As for these Gators, I believe they’re going to be interesting. And fun. Those two words haven’t always traveled together around Florida football lately. Jon Sumrall has already created a stir, and that’s not a bad place to start. Florida football needed a jolt. It needed some edge, some urgency and somebody willing to shake the dust off the furniture. Sumrall looks and sounds like a coach who understands that Florida is not supposed to apologize for wanting championships. There is pressure here, of course. There always has been. The pressure is not a design flaw. It is part of the privilege. If you don’t want the heat, don’t take the keys to the Swamp. (Note USC fans who barely showed up last week.) Sumrall’s two coordinators may prove to be two of his most important recruits. Brad White is going to be special. He has experience, imagination and a defensive temperament that ought to play well in Gainesville. Florida has spent too much time lately trying to tackle people with good intentions. White’s defense should be more aggressive, more disciplined and much harder to move. He also has players. Jayden Woods, LJ McCray, Cormani McClain and Kamran James are only the beginning. There is size, speed and enough talent on that side of the ball to make Saturdays uncomfortable for somebody besides Gator fans. Last season, Florida simply could not stop people often enough. Third down became an invitation instead of an obstacle. Too many opponents stayed on the field, extended drives and drained the life out of the stadium. That has to change. I believe it will. Then there is Buster Faulkner, the offensive coordinator whose stay in Gainesville may be productive but brief. If Faulkner does what I think he can do with this offense, some athletic director will eventually arrive with a wheelbarrow full of money and a head-coaching job. That’s the way this business works. If nobody wants your assistants, you probably hired the wrong assistants. For now, Faulkner has Aaron Philo at quarterback and a toolbox full of playmakers. Eric Singleton Jr. can fly. Vernell Brown III has the talent and bloodlines to become a star. Dallas Wilson, Jadan Baugh and the rest give Florida enough weapons to make the field feel crowded. Philo does not have to be Superman. He needs to be accurate, decisive and smart with the football. Get the ball to the people who can run, stay out of third-and-forever and let Faulkner work. It sounds simple because football always sounds simple in September. So tonight I will make that familiar trip, find my seat and open another season. Almost seven decades of Gator football have taught me not to predict too much, trust too quickly or declare anybody the next Steve Spurrier before the first commercial break. But they have also taught me never to surrender the excitement of opening night. The Gators are new. The coaches are new. The possibilities are new. And this old sportswriter will be there, still watching, still wondering and still believing that something unforgettable might be waiting beneath those lights. That is what football does to us. Thank goodness it still does.

Based on UAA Photo They know the sound. They know the feeling. They know the Swamp. By Eddie Gilley GatorBaitMedia.com Opening-day jitters. Call them butterflies. Call them nerves. Call them whatever you want, but they arrive every year, right on schedule. Players feel them. Coaches feel them. Fans feel them, too. It’s that rush of anticipation, that jolt of adrenaline, that tossing and turning the night before kickoff. It’s the feeling that tells you college football is finally back and another season of Florida Gators football is about to begin. The players will downplay it, of course. They’ll say all the right things during the week. They’ll talk about preparation, execution and treating the opener like any other game. They may even convince themselves they believe it. But look into their eyes just before kickoff. You’ll see it. Some players mask the nerves with a pregame ritual. Some take a knee and say a prayer. Others sprint, jump and bounce around as though they have been plugged directly into the stadium lights. Maybe somebody even throws a backflip. But the butterflies are there, fluttering beneath every set of shoulder pads. The veterans handle them better because they know what is coming. They have run through the tunnel beneath the sign warning that “Only Gators Get Out Alive.” They have pushed past the smoke billowing from the South End Zone and raced through the Pride of the Sunshine as the fight song blares around them. They have heard the roar of 90,000 Gators. They have seen the flags waving, the crowd chomping and the cheerleaders charging toward the north end zone. They know the sound. They know the feeling. They know the Swamp. Even the most seasoned veteran, however, will still feel something when that Gator growl rolls across the stadium and the crowd answers. For the freshmen, it will be an entirely different experience. Some played high school football in packed stadiums. They have gone through the rehearsals, the mock game week and probably a practice run onto Florida Field. But Saturday night will be different. Your first time always is. For a few moments, everything will seem faster, louder and brighter. Their hearts will pound. Their legs may feel a little lighter than usual. It may take a series or two for them to settle down. But they will settle down. The transfers live somewhere between the freshmen and the veterans. They have experienced opening games, large stadiums and hostile crowds. Some may have played for programs with fan bases every bit as passionate and rowdy as Florida’s. But they have never done this wearing orange and blue. This will be the first time they hear the Gator growl as one of the good guys. The first time the Swamp erupts for them. The first time they charge onto Florida Field knowing nearly everyone in the stadium wants them to succeed. Their butterflies may not last as long as those of the freshmen, but they’ll be there. I’ve been on the field when the Gators come storming out of that tunnel. It is one of those magical moments that is difficult to explain to anyone who has never experienced it. I’ve watched family members get that opportunity, and I’ve seen the emotion wash over them. Your heart accelerates. The noise seems to pass through your body. If the Florida heat and humidity haven’t already made you sweat, the anticipation will. It is a moment every die-hard Gator should experience at least once. This Saturday night brings an added charge because it marks the beginning of the Jon Sumrall era. Florida opens against Florida Atlantic as a four-touchdown favorite, carrying history, expectations and the weight of a hungry fan base into the Swamp. The Gators are 4-0 all-time against FAU, outscoring the Owls 155-51 in four meetings, all played in Gainesville. The largest margin came in 2007, when Urban Meyer’s defending national champions rolled to a 59-20 victory. Florida and FAU met again in 2011, when Will Muschamp began his tenure as the Gators’ head coach with a 41-3 win. Now Sumrall gets his turn to make a first impression. History certainly favors Florida. Since 1906, the Gators are 83-15 in season-opening games played anywhere in the state of Florida. But history won’t make the first tackle Saturday night. It won’t calm an anxious freshman, settle a transfer’s heartbeat or answer the biggest question hovering over Gainesville: Will Jon Sumrall win his debut? When Saturday night finally arrives, the jitters will return with it. The players will feel them. The coaches will feel them. The fans will feel them. I’ll feel them. Then the smoke will rise. The band will play. The crowd will roar. The Gators will come charging out of the South End Zone, and all those butterflies will turn into something else. Belief. Hope. And the unmistakable thrill of another college football season beginning in the Swamp.

The Sumrall Era begins Saturday night in The Swamp, new offense, new defense, new mentality. Will this be the first wake up call for the beast that is Florida Football? By Loren Meadows, GatorBaitMedia.com, Host of the Gator Lowdown with Loren Meadows The Sumrall Era begins Saturday night The hiring of Jon Sumrall was met by many as second place or “safe” hire by Athletic Director Scott Stricklin after talks with everyone’s favorite Mississippi resident stalled and the Gators chose to go in a different direction. After further review and Thursday’s events to boot, it looks like the Gators may have dodged a bullet and for the first time in 20 years have a coach that feels truly blessed to be the coach at the University of Florida. For Jon Sumrall Saturday is the first opportunity to take a once in a lifetime opportunity and put all the hard work into practice dominate an in-state foe and get win number one with the Gators. Florida Atlantic is looking to improve on a disappointing 4-8 campaign in Zach Kittley’s first year in Boca and nothing would do the body good more than an upset win in The Swamp. While both offenses will look to create explosive plays and light up the scoreboard it will most likely be the defense that can create turnovers and get after the other team’s quarterback that could rule the day. Florida Atlantic Offense Key Players: #8 WR Easton Messer (5-9, 190, 5th Yr.), #10 QB Caden Veltkamp (6-5, 245, Gr.), #5 RB Leonard Farrow (5-10, 195, Gr.) Key Matchups: Easton Messer v. Bryce Thorton, Florida Atlantic Offensive Line vs. Florida D-Line To say that the Florida Atlantic wants to be play fast would be putting it lightly. This offense is designed to get as many plays in as fast as they possibly can and force the defense into misalignments and miscommunication that lead to big plays in the passing game. Last season Messer led the American Conference with 104 receptions last season and will be asked to repeat that feat this season. Be it out wide or in the slot, Messer is a fearless presence in a receiver group that saw four receivers catch 40 balls or more with the lead back adding 40 as well. The trigger man is Caden Veltkamp who also followed Kittley from WKU and threw for 3,641 yards and 24 touchdowns. He is back and his familiarity with the offense and at the pace he can operate it is what makes this offense deadly. The Achilles heel of 2025 was turnovers (20 int’s) and the inability of the Owls to run the ball effectively. Last season the rushing offense was next to last in the American with less than four yards per carry. The boost the running game the Owls went to the state of West Virginia to grab Fairmont State transfer Leonard Farrow who was one of the top backs in Division II football. While many may question what a Division II player may do for a running game that struggled in 2025, ask Ole Miss how they feel about their former Division II quarterback. Farrow has exceptional vision, and runs behind his pads extremely well. He had two 250 yard games in 2025 and will arrive at The Swamp with a chip on his shoulder to prove he belongs. The Owls are going to throw it and throw it a lot, and while the offensive line struggled to get a push on the ground last season they gave up less than two sacks per game and for a team that throws it a high clip that is pretty good. Can Florida’s talented edge rushers disrupt the quick passing game and control the line of scrimmage? Messer is a gifted route runner with great hands. Can a rebuilt and somewhat maligned Florida secondary identify him and keep him from finding space to work? Florida Atlantic Defense Key Players: #6 LB Leon Hart Jr. (6-0, 215, Gr.), #1 DL CJ Doggette Jr. (6-2, 295, Gr.), #5 Edge Deshaun Batiste (6-3, 258, Sr.), #3 CB JK Johnson (6-0, 185, Gr.) Key Matchups: Florida Offensive Line vs. Hart and Doggette, JK Johnson vs. Florida Receivers The FAU offense operates so fast that it can be hard for any defense to find its footing. The defense played hard last year but when the offense struggles the defense in on the field a ton. Hart was one of the top tacklers in the American last season with 97 tackles and Doggette was one of the better edge rushers tallying four sacks on the season. Unfortunately the defense struggled as a unit finishing next to last in the conference in total defense, rush defense, and last in turnovers. Saturday night the Gators are going to look to set the tone early and see if they can establish the ground game early and keep the potentially deadly FAU offense of the field. Look for FAU to load the box if possible and force Aaron Philo to be the difference maker against a retooled secondary led by Oklahoma State transfer JK Johnson. Johnson and company will face one of the best young group of receivers in the country and if the FAU front doesn’t hold up it may not matter as Faulkner and company feast on a defense that struggled to find its footing all last season. The Skinny: What we know is that Jon Sumrall demanded offseason perfection from his team this winter and was willing to postpone spring practice to get it. For all that has been said publicly this is a program that is looking to flip last years 4-8 season on its head and get back to winning ways in Gainesville. The pace will be fast, and Sumrall has admitted that it has been hard to simulate in practice. Luckily, defensive coordinator Brad White has seen this before from the likes of Tennessee and others in the SEC and should have his unit ready to go. Offensively, the new look Gators have settled in on a signal caller who should be comfortable running a system that he is familiar with albeit in different colors. Buster Faulkner will lean on Baugh early but look for the perimeter to take over late as Philo and Sumrall get an easy win and coast into 2026 1-0. Prediction: Florida 31 FAU 10

“Up your nose with a rubber hose!” – John Travolta as Vinny Barbarino in the TV sitcom “Welcome Back Kotter” Essentially, that’s what Greg Sankey and the Southeastern Conference said to LSU, its entire administration, athletic director and football coach Lane Kiffin Thursday afternoon when they filed a lawsuit in Federal District Court in Birmingham on the grounds that LSU violates the league’s first amendment right of expressive association. Let’s skip through all the legal mumbo jumbo for a moment to get to the heart of what just happened. LSU urged some players who had moved on to the NFL to file a lawsuit before a friendly judge in Baton Rouge, who issued a temporary injunction against the Southeastern Conference and NCAA that will allow players already in NFL training camps to return to college to play a fifth year. After about a week of phone calls, meetings and discussions, Greg Sankey and the Southeastern Conference took a two-by-four and smacked everybody but the Tiger Stadium cleanup crew in the face, then for good measure offered a knee to the groin. Two things to contemplate here: (1) This is a case that the Southeastern Conference is going to win; and (2) the response by Sankey and the SEC was anything but subtle. First things first. First amendment right of expressive association in plain English says this: The SEC is a member-by-invitation fraternity/sorority of 16 schools, none of whom had a gun held to their heads when they voluntarily joined the league. In joining this prestigious, powerful and financially lucrative organization, the schools agree to abide by the rules or face punishment for breaking them. You don’t like a rule? Well, you lobby all your buddies who are presidents and athletic directors, then you argue it out at the SEC Spring Meetings in Destin where there is an up-and-down vote. If a majority agrees and the new rules don’t violate the NCAA rules, then there is change. Otherwise, it’s suck it up buttercup. Play by the rules or else you face the wrath of Sankey and the rest of the league. When the SEC presidents held a vote to oppose LSU and the ruling in the Baton Rouge court, it was 16-0. Even LSU chancellor Wade Rousse voted for it before recusing himself and withdrawing his vote. Rather than back down, LSU remained defiant, prompting the lawsuit in Birmingham on Thursday. The SEC has legal ground to stand on here. The SEC isn’t arguing whether or not the rule is fair. The SEC says these are the rules and if LSU doesn’t like the rules it knows the procedure it has to go through to change them. Furthermore, the SEC is arguing that LSU is a voluntary member of the Southeastern Conference and as a member it agrees to follow the rules or face sanctions if it goes off the rails. LSU knows the rules but has chosen – some might say quite deviously – to ignore them, perhaps believing the timing and jurisdiction are favorable to run out the clock. That strategy was helpful to Diego Pavia, who beat the NCAA in court for an extra year of eligibility. Perhaps also LSU believes the SEC lacks the guts to hit back with anything other than a slap on the wrist and not the draconian sanctions being suggested by Georgia attorney general Chris Carr, who believes expulsion from the league is appropriate. Whatever the reasoning, LSU has decided it’s worth it. In Lane Kiffin-think, any publicity whether good or bad keeps him in the limelight. Sometimes it's best to remember that old saying discretion is the better part of valor. Kiffin’s indiscretion is exactly the kind of thing that irritates Greg Sankey, who just so happens to be the single most powerful individual in all of collegiate athletics. Sankey’s nature is to resolve things behind closed doors, but when cornered there is a side of him that retaliates in a vigorous, leave no doubt who holds the cards manner. The choice of Federal District Court in Birmingham, the headquarters city of the Southeastern Conference, is a cannon shot across the bow of the dinghy that is LSU’s boat about to sink. While the SEC was filing its lawsuit in Birmingham, Baton Rouge judge William Jorden, was hearing testimony regarding the temporary injunction he issued in favor of 44 athletes who are trying to return to college after testing the pro waters. Jorden ruled that 37 of the 44 athletes have no connection to the SEC, therefore no standing. That leaves seven including tight end Dae’Quan Wright and defensive tackle Zxavier Harris, who played for Kiffin at Ole Miss last year and who were both in NFL training camps. Kiffin, it is alleged, urged Wright, Harris and presumably others to file suit to regain their collegiate eligibility. Sankey spent three hours in Baton Rouge defending the SEC’s opposition to Judge Jorden’s ruling. Wright testified that he made “seven figures” of NIL money at Ole Miss but none while in the Cleveland Browns training camp. Harris testified that while he signed an NFL contract with the New Orleans Saints, he never got paid. Their testimony might sway Judge Jorden, a fixture in the Baton Rouge community. He’s a Southern University School of Law grad whose wife grew up in Baton Rouge. Given that Sankey’s appearance in Baton Rouge required extra security measures, it seems rather unlikely that Judge Jorden will issue an unfavorable ruling for Wright and Harris. The way LSU seems bent on making this a bare knuckles fight, it seems a quick ruling in favor of Wright and Harris is in store since LSU has until Friday to turn in its roster for the Saturday night opener with Clemson at Tiger Stadium. Local judge vs. the mighty SEC might sell well in the state of Louisiana, but shouldn’t factor in Federal Court in Birmingham because the SEC has chosen wisely to center its lawsuit on the fact that LSU is a league member by choice and has voluntarily chosen both to follow the rules and the way to arbitrate disagreements. LSU might try to sell this on the doctrine of fairness, but fairness has nothing to do with the SEC lawsuit. The SEC says rules are rules. A 60-yard field goal counts the same three points as one from point blank range. A half court buzzer beater counts the same as a 21-foot jumper from the corner. A 400-foot home run counts the same as a pop fly down the line that carries a few inches past the 325-foot sign. If coaches want to change the rules, they have a procedure to follow in the offseason. The SEC has rules already in place that LSU wants changed. The SEC is standing by its rules that have been in place for awhile, rules that by its voluntary membership in the SEC LSU has agreed to abide by. Once again, LSU can argue until the cows come home that the rule isn’t fair, but fairness has nothing to do with the way the SEC has chosen to fight. To sum it up, again not in Southernese and not legalese, this is the equivalent of LSU bringing a pocket knife to a gun fight by choosing to match Lane Kiffin’s wits against those of Greg Sankey. There is a reason why those who know him will swear that Greg Sankey is always the smartest guy in the room. He might not have said it out loud, but Greg Sankey’s actions on behalf of the SEC say it loud and clear to Kiffin and LSU: “Up your nose with a rubber hose!”

Denzel Aberdeen drives against Maryland in 2025 Sweet 16 game Think of Denzel Aberdeen as icing on an already delicious cake. With him the Florida Gators are the very smart choice to win the 2027 NCAA basketball championship. Without him, the Gators are still the smart choice but Denzel adds experience and knows what it takes to emerge from that three-week tournament gauntlet as a national champion. So, the question that has yet to be answered is will he either get the waiver from the NCAA that will allow him a fifth year or will he have to go through the courts? The easy thing to do would be for the NCAA to grant his waiver. After all, the NCAA has already cleared Franck Kepnang for a seventh – that’s not a misprint – season. Denzel played 36 minutes as a true freshman so this seems a no-brainer even for the NCAA. However, if the NCAA doesn’t grant the fifth year, there are friendly judges that will make him eligible. Adding Denzel Aberdeen to the Florida roster only adds to what will be the deepest and most experienced team in the country. Todd Golden, who has proven to be a master of roster construction, has seven bigs and eight perimeter players assuming Aberdeen is eligible. The front court of All-American Tommy Haugh, national defensive player of the year Rueben Chinyelu, and Alex Condon will be starting for a third consecutive year. All three chose to come back to UF for a national title run rather than go to the NBA where all three would have been drafted. They make up the best front line in the country. During the summer Golden added Euros Domen Petrovic, a proven scorer who can rebound, and Arturas Butajevis, who can play the high post or down low. With Viktor Mikic and freshman Jones Lay available, the Gators can overwhelm opponents with size and interior defense. Aberdeen is the perfect sidekick for returning point guard Boogie Fland. Aberdeen can hit shots, take it to the rack and he’s a lights out defender, and he is capable of giving 10-12 minutes per game at the point. If somehow he is ineligible, Golden has plenty of options starting with SEC sixth man of the year Urban Klavzar and Isaiah Brown. The backup point is Alex Lloyd, who has made great strides since a tentative freshman year. Had he been healthy last year, AJ Brown could have been the shooter the Gators needed. He will get his chances this season. CJ Ingram is a hybrid guard/small forward. He might be the first one off the bench when Tommy Haugh needs rest. This is a complete roster with no glaring weaknesses. The Gators finished last season 9th in offensive efficiency, 6th in defensive efficiency per kenpom.com. Bringing Aberdeen back from Kentucky should have the effect of making the Gators one of the top three teams defensively. Offensively, this should easily be a better 3-point shooting team. If there are no droughts launching threes, the Gators could turn out to be the most efficient offensive team in the country. There are no guarantees that Florida will win its second national championship in three years, but the Gators have size, experience and proven chemistry to win it all with or without Denzel. If you wager on such things, however, put your money on Denzel Aberdeen in the starting lineup starting with the exhibition game with Baylor in Jacksonville on October 18 and all the way through the end of the season. FLORIDA ROSTER BREAKDOWN Questionable (1): Denzel Aberdeen (6-5, 190, SR, from Kentucky) Returning (11): Tommy Haugh (6-9, 215, JR); Alex Condon (6-11, 236, JR); Rueben Chinyelu (6-10, 265, JR); Urban Klavzar (6-1, 185, JR); AJ Brown (6-4, 210, SR); Alex Kovatchev (6-5, 195, SR); Boogie Fland (6-3, 185, JR); Isaiah Brown (6-4, 210, JR); Viktor Mikic (6-11, 260, JR); CJ Ingram (6-7, 205, SO); Alex Lloyd (6-3, 185, SO) Incoming freshman (1): Jones Lay (6-11, 240) International signed (2): Arturas Butajevas (6-10, 235, from Lithuania); Domen Petrovic (6-9, 230, from Slovenia) THE REST OF THE SEC ALABAMA Legal issues (1): Aden Holloway (6-1, 178, JR) Returning (5): London Jemison (6-8, 205, FR); Keitenn Bristow (6-8, 190, SO); Preston Murphy (6-1, 175, JR); Collins Onyejiaka (6-11, 265, FR); Amari Allen (6-7, 205, FR) Incoming freshmen (5): Tarris Bouie (6-4, 175); Quayden Samuels (6-6, 200); Jaxson Richardson (6-6, 200); Anderson Diaz (6-1, 180); T.J. St. Louis (6-10, 215, from Canada) From the portal (4): Brandon Garrison (6-11, 245, JR, from Kentucky); Jamarion Davis-Fleming (6-10, 240, FR, from Mississippi State); Cole Cloer (6-7, 190, FR, from North Carolina State); Drew Fielder (6-10, 216, JR, from Boise State) Outlook for 2026-27: Once in the NCAA Tournament, the Crimson Tide has struggled against taller, more physical teams so Nate Oats invested in size in the portal, the best of which was Kentucky transfer Brandon Garrison, who can rebound and defend but doesn’t score much. Aden Holloway, who averaged 16.8 per game before arrested on drug charges, is in a second chance program but his status is still up in the air. Amari Allen dropped out of the NBA Draft to return for a sophomore season. Jaxson Richardson is the best of four freshmen, all of whom are expected to contribute. ARKANSAS Returning (4): Billy Richmond (6-5, 205, SO); Jaden Karuletwa (6-5, 185, SO); Isaiah Sealy (6-7, 200, FR); Paulo Semedo (7-1, 225, FR) Incoming freshmen (6): Jordan Smith Jr. (6-2, 180); JaShawn Andrews (6-4, 195); Abdou Toure (6-6, 200); Maper Maker (7-0, 215); Ilia Frolov (6-11, 225, from Russia); Miika Muurinen (6-10, 210, from Finland) From the portal (2): Cooper Bowser (6-11, 210, JR, from Furman); Jeremiah Wilkinson (6-1, 185, SO, from Georgia) Outlook for 2026-67: There are mixed reviews of the four-game trip to The Bahamas during the summer. Georgia transfer Jeremiah Wilkinson (17.4 per game last year) and freshman Jordan Smith are legitimate scorers and Billy Richmond III is John Calipari’s Swiss Army Knife who does whatever the team needs. Those three played very well in Nassau. The big guys weren’t very effective, particularly on offense even though they had serious size advantages. Because it’s Calipari the Hogs will most likely be preseason top 10, but the big guys have to develop for that to be reality. AUBURN Questionable: Kolby King (6-1, 190, SR, from Utah State) Returning (3): Kevin Overton (6-5, 180, JR); Tahaad Pettiford (6-1, 175, SO); Simon Walker (6-4, 195, FR) Incoming freshmen (2): Caleb Williams (6-5, 195); Narcisse Ngoy (6-11, 220) From the portal (5): Bukky Oboye (7-1, 200, RSO, from Santa Clara); Owen Freeman (6-10, 230, JR, from Creighton); Thomas Dowd (6-8, 225, JR, from Troy); Adam Olsen (6-8, 225, FR, from South Alabama); George Kimble III (6-2, 184, SO, from Vanderbilt) International commitments (1): Matas Rubstavicius (6-6, 190, from Lithuania) Outlook for 2026-27: Tahaad Pettiford and Kevin Overton, who starred in Auburn’s run to the NIT title are back so the starting backcourt is proven and efficient. The questions are up front where Steven Pearl has to find an entire front line. Transfer Thomas Dowd (from Troy) averaged a double-double and Adam Olsen (South Alabama) shot nearly 40 percent from three. They should start along with Narcisse Ngoy, a 7-footer from France. The Tigers should be good enough to at least make the second round of the NCAA Tournament. GEORGIA Returning (4): Blue Cain (6-5, 190, JR); Marcus Millender (5-11, 180, JR); Kanon Catchings (6-9, 190, SO); Kareem Stagg (6-8, 230, FR) Incoming freshmen (3): Donovan Williams (6-3, 180); Hakeem Weems (6-9, 170); Kemauri Millender (6-0, 175) From the portal (4): Freddie Dilione (6-5, 195, JR, from Penn State); Brady Dunlap (6-7, 190, SO, from Saint Louis); Andrew Osasuyi (6-9, 205, FR, from St. Bonaventure); James Scott (6-11, 210, JR, from Ole Miss) International commitments (2): David Ugonna Ike (6-11, 230, from Nigeria); Mading Kuany (6-8, 175, from Australia) Outlook for 2026-27: Mike White will win his usual 18-20 games and lose 10-12. In an expanded NCAA Tournament that should be good enough for the first round. Blue Cain, Marcus Millender and Kanon Catchings are proven against SEC competition but the Bulldogs don’t have good size and will struggle against big, physical teams. KENTUCKY Returning (5): Reece Potter (7-1, 210, JR); Kam Williams (6-8, 190, SO); Trent Noah (6-5, 220, SO); Brayden Hawthorne (6-8, 190, FR); Malachi Moreno (7-0, 250, FR) Incoming freshmen (2): Mason Williams (6-2, 185); Zyon Hawthorne (6-2, 180) From the portal (6): Zoom Diallo (6-3, 190, SO, from Washington); Alex Wilkins (6-5, 175, FR, from Furman); Justin McBride (6-8, 230, JR, from James Madison); Jerone Morton (6-4, 200, JR, from Washington State); Franck Kepnang (6-11, 225, SR, from Washington); Milan Momcilovic (6-8, 220, SR, from Iowa State) International commitment (1): Ousmane N’Diaye (6-11, 210, from Senegal) Outlook for 2026-27: The Wildcats were looking like a potential top 10 team until Mark Mitchell elected to return to Mizzou rather than transfer to UK. Mark Pope landed the best shooter in the transfer portal in Milan Momcilovic, who got more money from UK than he would have gotten as a second rounder in the NBA Draft. Malachi Moreno’s decision to forego the NBA Draft was huge. Pope signed a point guard in Zoom Diallo (from Washington) and a power forward who scored at James Madison in Justin McBride. Kentucky should be better but enough to save Pope’s job? If the Wildcats don’t make it to the second NCAA weekend, there will be a conclave in Lexington where the Big Blue Nation will wait for three puffs of smoke because the old Pope will be a goner. LSU Questionable (4): RJ Luis (6-7, 196, G-League, formerly St. John’s); Donovan Dent (6-2, 185, SR, from UCLA); Skyy Clark (6-3, 210, SR, from UCLA); Gilad Levy (7-3, 240, from Israel); Marcio Santos (6-9, 250, from Brazil by way of Israel) Returning (0): Incoming freshman (1): Marcus Vaughns (6-8, 221) From the portal (4): Mouhamed Dioubate (6-7, 215, JR, from Kentucky); Divine Ugochukwu (6-3, 190, SO, from Michigan State); Abdi Bashir Jr. (6-7, 170, from Kansas State); Austin Nunez (6-2, 170, SR, from UT-San Antonio) International commitments (2): Saliou Niang (6-5, 190, from Senegal by way of Italy); Michael Ruzic (7-0, 230,from Croatia by way of Barcelona) Outlook for 2026-27: Leave it to Will Wade to turn LSU into a complete sideshow. The Tigers retained no players from the previous season and signed only one freshman. Wade landed four from the portal and two internationals who should be eligible. This is where it gets interesting. UCLA transfers Skyy Clark and Donovan Dent are eligible thanks to a restraining order in California, but that could be nullified. Israel big man Gilad Levy is 24, a pro since 2018 and a high school graduate prior to 2022. Marcio Santos, a Brazilian who has been playing professionally in Israel will be 25 on November 2 when the collegiate season opens up. And then there is RJ Luis, the former Big East Player of the Year who spent two seasons in the G-League on a two-way contract. The SEC has a rule that says he can’t play so it’s going to take a court ruling to make him eligible. No matter who is eligible and who isn’t, it’s going to be a long and controversial year for LSU. MISSISSIPPI STATE Returning (5): Josh Hubbard (5-10, 185, JR); King Grace (6-5, 195, FR); Cameren Paul (6-7, 210, FR); Tee Bartlett (6-11, 290, FR); Gai Chol (6-11, 245, JR) Incoming freshmen (3): Tristan Reed (6-9, 230); Jalyn Collingwood (6-5, 190); Willie Burnett III (6-4, 175) From the portal (7): RJ Johnson (6-4, 225, SO, from Kennesaw State); Kendyl Sanders (6-8, 230, FR, from Utah); TJ Simpkins (6-4, 185, JR, from Seton Hall); ND Okafor (6-9, 235, SR, from Washington State); Thomas Bassong (6-8, 203, FR, from Florida State); Ashton Magee (6-7, 205, FR, From Southern U); Trevor Reed (6-8, 215, from Denison) Outlook for 2026-27: The Bulldogs return All-SEC Josh Hubbard, a 22.1 per game scorer last season. Freshmen Tristan Reed and Willie Burnett are going to have to play and contribute sooner not later. RJ Johnson shot 42.3 percent from three at Kennesaw State. Washington State transfer ND Okafor, who has 113 games of collegiate experience, is going to have to hold his own in the paint. He scores well enough but has been a weak rebounder. Can Trevor Reed make the jump from Division II Denison to the SEC? He needs to contribute. Middle of the pack in the SEC would be an accomplishment. MISSOURI Questionable: Mark Mitchell (6-9, 240, SR) Returning (6): Trent Pierce (6-10, 210, JR); Luke Norweather (6-11, 232, JR); Trent Burns (7-5, 235, SO); Annor Boateng (6-6, 215, SO); Nicholas Randall (6-9, 240, FR); Aaron Rowe (6-2, 155, FR) Incoming freshmen (3): Jason Crowe Jr. (6-3, 170); Aidan Chronister (6-7, 180); Toni Bryant (6-9, 215) From the portal (6): Jaylen Carey (6-8, 245, JR, from Tennessee); Jamier Jones (6-6, 218, FR, from Providence); Bryson Tiller (6-10, 240, SO, from Kansas); Kennard Davis Jr. (6-6, 204, JR, from BYU); Jordan Crawford (6-2, 180, JR, from South Dakota), Cord Stansberry (6-3, 175, JR, from Western Carolina) Outlook for 2026-27: Mark Mitchell played in the NBA Las Vegas Summer League, then announced he was transferring to Kentucky, but since he didn’t enter the transfer portal would have been ineligible at UK. So, he’s back at Mizzou, needing a court order or an NCAA ruling that will give him a fifth year. If he can play, he will team up with Kansas transfer Bryson Tiller to give Mizzou a strong inside presence. Dennis Gates could have a top 25 team if transfer guards Jordan Crawford (South Dakota) and Cord Stansbury (Western Carolina) can handle the ball handling while providing some scoring too. Gates signed three stud freshmen including Jason Crowe, who should take over the point. This is a team that could make the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament. OKLAHOMA Questionable (4): Akoldah Gak (6-11, 225, from Australia via G-League); BJ Edwards (from SMU); Duke Brennan (from Villanova); Pop Isaacs (6-2, 170, SR, from Texas A&M) Returning (5): Xzayvier Brown (6-2, 165, JR); Dayton Forsythe (6-2, 187, SO); Derrion Reed (6-8, 220, SO); Kai Rogers (6-10, 247, FR); Alec Blair (6-7, 192, FR) Incoming freshmen (2): Gage Mayfield (6-7, 200); Quincy Wadley (6-4, 185) From the portal (4): Khani Rooths (6-8, 205, SO, from Louisville); Tyler Hendricks (6-5, 175, RJR, from Utah Valley); Pop Isaacs (6-2, 170, SR, from Texas A&M); Yaak Yaak (6-11, 225, JR, from Oregon State) Outlook for 2026-27: Porter Moser has perimeter scorers in Xzayvier Brown, Derrion Reed and Dayton Forsythe, but he needs a big man and if Villanova transfer Duke Brennan (12.4 points, 10.3 rebounds) doesn’t get a fifth year, the Sooners are going to have trouble with any team that has size. SMU transfer BJ Edwards and Texas A&M transfer Pop Isaacs need an injunction or NCAA okay to play a fifth year. If they are eligible the Sooners will be a fringe NCAA team thanks to tournament expansion to 76 teams. OLE MISS Questionable: Micah Handlogten (7-1, 260, SR, from Florida); Corey Stephenson (6-6, 210, SR, from Florida International) Returning (2): Patton Pinkins (6-5, 200, FR); Ilias Kamardine (6-5, 185, JR) Incoming freshmen (3): Yohance Connor (6-2, 170); Jaron Saulsberry (6-6, 170); Daniel Patton (6-7, 205) From the portal (6): Roman Siulepa (6-6, 220, FR, from Pittsburgh); Adam Clark (5-10, 155, JR, from Seton Hall); Christian Brown (6-8, 236, FR, from James Madison); Stefan Cicic (7-0, 260, RFR, from Pepperdine); Desean Haskins (6-8, 200, RSO, from St. Joseph’s); Santiago Trouet (6-10, 218, JR, from Arizona State) International commitment: Ben Henshall (6-5, 200, JR, from Australia) Outlook for 2026-27: Making the NCAA Tournament will depend on the courts or a waiver from the NCAA for Florida transfer Micah Handlogten and FIU transfer Corey Stephenson. With Handlogten Chris Beard has a rim protector and strong offensive rebounder. Stephenson averaged 18 a game at FIU. Ilias Kamardine and Patton Pinkins are returning starters who can score and defend. Seton Hall transfer Adam Clark needs to take over the point so Kamardine and Pinkins can roam the perimeter. Aussie Ben Henshall could emerge as a perimeter scorer. SOUTH CAROLINA Returning (2): Grant Polk (6-6, 197, FR); Hayden Assemian (6-6, 230, FR) Incoming freshmen (1): Marcus Johnson (6-2, 180) From the portal (7): Kory Mincy (6-2, 185, JR, from George Mason); Aleksas Bieliauskas (6-10, 235, FR, from Wisconsin); Shane Blakeney (6-5, 175, JR, from Drexel); Camden Heide (6-7, 205, JR, from Texas); Jakub Necas (6-10, 240, JR, from Duquesne); Davion Hannah (6-6, 190, FR, from Alabama); Nasir Hines (6-10, 200, SO, from Palm Beach State College) International commitment (3): Juan Francisco Fernandez (6-9, 220, from Argentina); Hugo Lopez (6-9, 210, from Spain); Mathias Vazquez (6-8, 230, from Brazil) Outlook for 2026-27: Situation grim. Not much in the way of talent and the transfer portal didn’t produce any game-changing talent. The best two transfers are Kory Mincey (George Mason) and Shane Blakeney (Drexel), neither of whom is as good as the departed Meechie Johnson. Texas transfer Camden Heide can defend and do a lot of good things, but he’s a plugger not a star. Lamont Paris shouldn’t make long term real estate investment in Columbia and the surrounding area. TENNESSEE Questionable (1): Jalen Washington (6-10, 225, from Vanderbilt) Returning (2): Ethan Burg (6-3, 199, SO); DeWayne Brown II (6-8, 251, FR) Incoming freshman (4): Ralph Scott (6-8, 190); Manny Green (6-6, 205); Marquis Clark (6-1, 175); Christopher Washington Jr. (6-9, 195) From the portal (8): Tyler Lundblade (6-5, 195, SR, from Belmont); Dai Dai Ames (6-1, 185, JR, from California);Miles Rubin (6-10, 205, JR, from Loyola Chicago); Jalan Haralson (6-7, 220, FR, from Notre Dame); Terrence Hill Jr. (6-3, 180, SO, from VCU); Braden Lue (6-8, 223, SO, from Kennesaw State); Juke Harris (6-7, 200, SO, from Wake Forest); Christian Fermin (6-10, 215, SR, from VCU) Outlook for 2026-27: After years of trying to do it with defense, Rick Barnes has done a 180, loading up on double figures scorers from the portal. Juke Harris, who averaged 21.4 points at Wake Forest, was a top 10 transfer. Dai Dai Ames, who scored nearly 17 a game at Cal, will take over the point. Tyler Lundblade is a pure shooter from Belmont. The list goes on and on. What Barnes doesn’t have is a big guy who can rebound. If Vandy transfer Jalen Washington doesn’t get a fifth year, the Vols won’t have a strong inside presence. There is no depth behind Washington, so the Vols will be vulnerable against teams that can defend the perimeter and score on the inside. TEXAS Returning (4): Matas Vokietaitis (7-0, 245, SO); Anthon McDermott (6-4, 200, FR); John Clark (6-8, 200, FR); Lewis Obiorah (7-0, 250, FR) Incoming freshmen (4): Austin Goosby (6-5, 186); Bo Ogden (6-5, 195); Joe Sterling (6-4, 180); Coleman Elkins (6-10, 240); Marcus Spears Jr. (6-9, 210) From the portal (5): Isaiah Johnson (6-1, 170, FR, from Colorado); David Punch (6-7, 245, SO, from TCU); Amari Evans (6-5, 220, FR, from Tennessee); Elyjah Freeman (6-8, 185, SO, from Auburn); Mikey Lewis (6-3, 180, SO, from Saint Mary’s) International commitment (1): Mantas Laurencikas (6-2, 185, SO, from Lithuania) Outlook for 2026-27: A lot of experts believe Sean Miller has a team capable of making the Final Four thanks to the potential of a front line of Matas Vokietaitis, TCU transfer David Punch and Marcus Spears Jr., the top 2027 recruit who reclassified to 2026. The Longhorns have to find a point guard. Colorado transfer Isaiah Johnson and Saint Mary’s transfer Mikey Lewis are more scorer than distributor. Miller is hoping the answer is in Lithuanian Matas Laurencikas, who had a breakout season in Monaco last year. If the Longhorns can get the play at the point and find the chemistry they are a very dangerous team capable of a deep run in March. TEXAS A&M Questionable (2): Bryson Warren (6-3, 191, JR, from the G-League); Jordan Pope (6-2, 185, SR, from Texas) Returning (4): McKenzie Mgbako (6-8, 217, JR); Jamie Vinson (6-11, 225, SO); Chris McDermott (6-7, 225, SO); Jeremiah Green (6-3, 189, FR) Incoming freshmen (2): Josh Irving (6-10, 200); Neiko Mundey (6-2, 185) From the portal (6): PJ Hagerty (6-3, 192, JR, from Kansas State); Cade Phillips (6-9, 212, JR, from Tennessee);Jalen Reece (6-0, 185, FR, from LSU); Tyshawn Archie (6-1, 175, JR, from McNeese State); Jalen Shelley (6-8, 190, SO, from Loyola Marymount); Lukas Walls (6-5, 203, JR, from Radford) Outlook for 2026-27: Bucky Ball 2.0 landed the top scorer in the portal in K-State’s PJ Hagerty (23.4 per game) and a pair of complementary pieces in McNeese State’s Tyshawn Archie and Jalen Shelley from Loyola Marymount. Size is not a problem if the Aggies can get into a run and shoot game, but if forced to play half court basketball they have neither the bulk nor the length to compete. Bryson Warren played in the G-League so he’s probably a no go. Jordan Pope has played in 135 collegiate games. He will need a court order. The Aggies are good enough to make the tournament and maybe even win a game, but that’s about it. VANDERBILT Returning (4): Tyler Tanner (6-0, 170, SO); Chandler Bing (6-5, 211, FR); Jayden Leverett (6-11, 245, FR); Jaylon Dean-Vines (6-4, 181, FR) Incoming freshmen (4): Ethan Mgbako (6-6, 215); Anthony Brown (6-1, 160); Jackson Sheffield (6-9, 240); Gabe Nesmith (6-5, 175) From the portal (5): Berke Buyutuncel (6-9, 245, JR, from Nebraska); Ace Glass (6-3, 185, FR, from Washington State); Bangot Dak (6-9, 180, JR, from Colorado); Sebastian Williams-Adams (6-8, 230, FR, from Auburn); T.O. Barrett (6-4, 200, SO, from Missouri) Outlook for 2026-27: Mike Byington’s guard-oriented offense got good news when All-SEC Tyler Tanner withdrew from the NBA Draft. He scores, he passes and he’s tenacious defensively. Byington went to the portal to pick up Ace Glass from Washington and T.O. Barrett from Missouri so the Commodores should thrive on the perimeter. There isn’t a lot of size so the Commodores are going to have to outrun and outshoot opponents to win. They’ll do enough of that to make it to the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament.

This week, ahead of his LSU debut against Clemson, a new book pulled the whole file out of the drawer again. This is my satire. By Buddy Martin GatorBaitMedia.com They tell us Joey Freshwater is a myth. A rumor. A ghost that haunts a stool at Innisfree with a Vegas Bomb in his hand and a business card that just says “Joey — Regional Manager.” Lane Kiffin himself, under oath before the sacred tribunal of Clay Travis, swore he has never once introduced himself as Joey Freshwater. He admitted only to Jimmy Chestnut — then laughed and took it back — while a book on his Saban years was busy documenting the whole aquatic operation in hardcover. Fine. If Joey Freshwater doesn’t exist, then he must contain multitudes. What follows is my best reconstruction of the extended Freshwater Cinematic Universe — a few names the historical record has coughed up, and quite a few this columnist is proposing as regional franchise expansions now that our man has landed in Baton Rouge. The Confirmed Canon Joey Freshwater — The original. Tuscaloosa, roughly 2014-2016. Rumored to conceal the identity of Alabama’s offensive coordinator from women who watched college football and had a functioning television. Jimmy Chestnut — The alias Kiffin voluntarily confessed to on the Clay Travis show before immediately claiming he was kidding. In legal terms this is what we call “a clue.” Joey Saltwater — Coined by Clay Travis on-air the moment Kiffin took the FAU job. Kiffin’s on-camera response: “I like that.” Boca Raton wildlife has not been the same since (Busted Coverage, Bama Hammer). The Expanded Universe (proposed) Bobby Bottled Water — The Ole Miss years. Reformed. Publicly hydrated. Introduces himself at The Library on The Square while holding a Liquid Death and gesturing at his AirPods. Claims he’s “just here for the trivia.” Robbie Rainwater — The Oxford rain-delay special. Deploys only on Saturdays when a 3:30 kickoff goes to lightning delay and the entire population of Rush Street is displaced indoors. Wears a windbreaker. Buys one round for the table and disappears into a Waffle House. Jim Saltwater — Joey’s older brother. Retired. Owns a “boat.” Will not stop talking about his boat. Has never once been photographed on the boat. Chip Sparkling — LSU launch model, 2026. Wears linen. Orders Topo Chico with lime. Tells women he “works in energy” — technically true because LSU pays him ninety-one million dollars. Tommy Tap — Emergency alias. Deployed when the bar has run out of everything else and Coach is forced to drink whatever comes out of the sink. Notoriously ineffective. Zero completions. Vinny Vitamin — The wellness pivot. Claims he’s on a cleanse. Has a Whoop strap. Tries to get her number by asking about her sleep score. This is the one he uses in the yoga studio, per AL.com’s Joseph Goodman, who has been on the Freshwater beat since 2020. Sammy Sparkling — Vinny’s cousin. San Pellegrino guy. Drops the word “minerality.” Has been shut down in three time zones. Freddy Filtered — The Brita persona. Deploys at the on-campus coffee shop, not the bar. Orders an oat milk cortado. Tips in cash. Asks if you’re “in the honors college or the real one.” Ricky Reverse Osmosis — Only comes out on the road. Away games only. Undefeated in Fayetteville, winless in Athens. Deacon Distilled — The image-rehab tour, coming to a book jacket near you. Sober-curious. Speaks in AA aphorisms he learned from a podcast. Wife’s idea. Chad Sparkling-Kiffin — What the internet is already calling him. Not really an alias so much as an accurate description. Nick “Little Nicky” Saltine — Reserved exclusively for encounters in which the target has actually watched a football game before. Kiffin tries to pass himself off as a Saban nephew doing color commentary “for the SEC Network digital side.” Has fooled exactly one bachelorette party, in Destin, in 2019. The Aquifer — Not a name. A persona. Kiffin doesn’t say a word. Just points at his drink, points at hers, and lets Twitter finish the sentence. The most successful of the entire line, statistically speaking. Undefeated when accompanied by a well-timed X post about the officiating. Retired Numbers Joey Groundwater — Attempted, briefly, during the Knoxville year. Discontinued after research revealed “groundwater” also describes what is under a Tennessee apartment allegedly maintained without Layla Kiffin’s knowledge. Too on the nose. Joey Brackish — Proposed during the transition from FAU to Ole Miss, when Kiffin was, quite literally, neither salt nor fresh. Rejected on branding grounds. Joey Hard Seltzer — Considered and abandoned. Focus groups indicated the target demographic already knew this guy and had blocked him. --- Coach Kiffin has denied all of this on the record, and I want to be very fair to him: He has never confirmed being Joey Freshwater. He has confirmed only being Jimmy Chestnut, and then said he was kidding, and then posted a photo of an Alabama fan wearing a No. 69 jersey with FRESHWATER on the back. He signs his own social posts “aka Joey Freshwater” via friendly outdoor magazines. This week, ahead of his LSU debut against Clemson, a new book pulled the whole file out of the drawer again. So no — the man is not Joey Freshwater. He is simply a coach who happens to travel with an entire Culligan truck of plausible deniability. Roll Tigers. Hydrate responsibly.

Faulkner knows Philo well. He watched him throw footballs all over Georgia in high school, then coached him at Georgia Tech. He knows the arm, the instincts and the competitive wiring. By Buddy Martin GatorBaitMedia.com “I’m a Ramblin’ Wreck from Georgia Tech, and a hell of an engineer. A hell of a, hell of a, hell of a, hell of a, hell of an engineer.” They’ve been singing that one on the Flats since 1911. Every so often, though, a Ramblin’ Wreck rambles further than Atlanta — and for most of the last century, he was still in the same conference. Georgia Tech was a charter member of the SEC in 1932 and stayed there until Bobby Dodd yanked the Jackets out on Jan. 24, 1964. The official reason was the old 140 Rule on scholarship limits. The unofficial reason wore crimson. Two years earlier, Alabama’s Darwin Holt had planted a forearm under the chin of Tech captain Chick Graning and left him unconscious with a fractured skull, a broken nose and a mouthful of former teeth. Legend has it Bear Bryant wouldn’t let Holt hit his own teammates in practice. That had as much to do with the divorce as any rule book. By the time Aaron Philo takes his first meaningful snap for Florida this fall, he’ll be walking a path older than most of the people in the world folks, even ancient artifacts like me in the press box. The good news is that he was brought to UF by a mentor from — Tah Dah! — The Flats in Varsity Grill country. There are two kinds of quarterbacks in this world. Those who throw the football through the open window. And those who stand around admiring the curtains. Buster Faulkner prefers the first kind. Florida’s offensive coordinator doesn’t want Aaron Philo operating the offense like a nervous driver looking for a parking spot at Publix. See it. Trust it. Let it fly. “He has a unique ability to cut it loose,” Faulkner said. “That’s a trait you want all your quarterbacks to have.” Faulkner knows Philo well. He watched him throw footballs all over Georgia in high school, then coached him at Georgia Tech. He knows the arm, the instincts and the competitive wiring. Coach Bobby Dodd Sr. The Georgia Tech transfer — named QB1 by Jon Sumrall last week and set to debut against FAU on Saturday night — is only the latest name in a strange, sturdy tradition. Yellow Jackets have been wearing orange and blue for 66 years. Some played the position at Florida. Some coached it. One coached the greatest to ever do either. The through-line runs straight back to Bobby Dodd. When Ray Graves Emptied The Flats The pipeline opened in 1960, and it opened wide. Florida hired Ray Graves away from Tech, where he’d spent 11 seasons as Dodd’s defensive coordinator. Graves promised Gainesville something the old regime never had: An offense that wouldn’t punt on third down. Yes, third down. That had become a Bob Woodruff trademark, which tells you everything you need to know about Florida football before Graves arrived. Graves didn’t come alone. He brought a 28-year-old assistant named Franklin Cullen Rodgers — the kid everybody called “Pepper” — who had quarterbacked Georgia Tech’s 12–0 national championship team in 1952. And they brought Bobby Jr. Bobby Dodd Jr. had three SEC scholarship offers. None came from his old man. Both Dodds agreed it was wiser for the boy not to play for the father. There’s a nice symmetry in that: Bobby Sr. had been an All-American quarterback at Tennessee before he ever coached at Tech, and now his son was going to play the same position, for a rival SEC school, under two men who used to work for him. The 1960 Florida–Tech game is the one they still tell in Gainesville. As sophomore Bobby Jr. rotated in behind Larry Libertore, took a sack, then fired a 32-yard strike to his fullback. He fumbled once, then ran the ball to the two-yard line with 30 seconds left. Florida won 18-17 on a brand new gimmick called the two-point conversion. For one afternoon, the son had beaten the father — in a stadium that suddenly felt like Atlanta South. The Coach Who Groomed Spurrier Pepper as a Yellow Jacket (Georgia Tech Photo) Pepper stayed in Gainesville as OC through 1964, later became Tech’s head coach, and eventually got fired there, because Atlanta is Atlanta. What he did with his quarterbacks matters more than any bowl trophy he ever hoisted. In 1964, a sophomore from Johnson City, Tennessee took over the huddle. Steve Spurrier’s quarterbacks coach was Pepper Rodgers. As Furman Bisher told it for years, Pepper had a gift: He could explain what he wanted a quarterback to do in the quarterback’s own language. “I owe my coaching career to Coach Pepper Rodgers,” Spurrier said after Rodgers died in 2020 at 88. Chew on that lineage a minute. The 1952 Tech quarterback teaches the 1966 Florida Heisman winner how to read a defense. Spurrier comes home to Gainesville in 1990 and builds the Fun And Gun. Every Gator quarterback from Shane Matthews to Danny Wuerffel to Rex Grossman to Tim Tebow owes a little something to a Yellow Jacket, Which Brings Us To Aaron Philo Buster Faulkner, Georgia Tech’s offensive coordinator the last three seasons, is now Sumrall’s OC in Gainesville. Faulkner brought Philo with him — Haynes King’s backup at Tech the last two years, now the Gators’ starter with three years of eligibility. The transfer portal didn’t exist when Bobby Dodd Jr. drove down U.S. 441 with a duffel bag. But the pattern is the pattern. A Georgia Tech quarterback, following a former Georgia Tech assistant, arriving in Gainesville with a job to do. Since Tebow rode off toward Heisman immortality, Florida has handed the football to 19 different starting quarterbacks. That’s not a rotation. That’s a receiving line. Philo came to Florida because his position coach did. Simple as that. And yet, without meaning to, he’s become the newest link in a chain that runs from Bobby Dodd’s sideline through Ray Graves’s Sugar Bowls through Pepper Rodgers’s chalkboard through Steve Spurrier’s Heisman ballot straight to a locker with his name over it. Sixty-six years after Bobby Dodd Jr. threw that 32-yard strike against his own father’s team, Aaron Philo will jog out of the tunnel at Ben Hill Griffin wearing orange and blue. He almost certainly doesn’t know any of this. Somewhere, Pepper Rodgers is grinning.

Aaron Philo hands the ball off at practice in August (Photo by Chris Spears) Grip it and rip it. In Buster Faulkner’s offense, particularly with a group of receivers that rank among the fastest and most talented in all of college football, there will always be the temptation for the quarterback let it fly and go for the big play. Faulkner, more of a self-professed horizontal passer back in his college days at Valdosta State, doesn’t mind that mentality in his quarterbacks now that his own football journey has taken him to Gainesville, where he is Florida’s offensive coordinator. He won two national championships at Georgia coaching up former walk-on Stetson Bennett IV into a grip it and rip it guy who threw as pretty a deep ball as you would find anywhere in the college ranks. In three years as the offensive coordinator at Georgia Tech he transformed Haynes King from a run first, pass second QB into a dual threat capable of breaking down defenses with downfield darts. Pre-Faulkner, neither Bennett nor King were thought of as pro prospects, but both find themselves on NFL rosters today. The last two stops have cemented Faulkner as some sort of quarterback whisperer who gets to test out his philosophies as a play caller and offense designer Saturday at The Swamp when the Gators play host to Florida Atlantic (7:45 p.m., SEC Network). At Georgia, Faulkner worked for Kirby Smart and directly under offensive coordinator Todd Monken. At Georgia Tech, the head coach was Brent Key, a former offensive lineman who favors a running game supplemented by a vertical passing game. Upon taking the Florida job, first-year head coach Jon Sumrall gave Faulkner a blank canvas to install a productive, efficient offense equally capable of grinding out first downs as it is chunk plays in the passing game. To make that work, Faulkner’s focus since arriving is to adapt his offensive philosophy to the talents of Aaron Philo, who followed him to Florida from Georgia Tech, and Tramell Jones, last year’s backup to DJ Lagway at Florida. New system, new coach, two new quarterbacks, both of them with limited experience. That’s a recipe for growing pains, many of which have already been ironed out in the months since spring practice, enough so that Faulkner has given the starting edge to Philo with Jones right on his heels. “We're pleased with where Philo's at, really pleased where Tramell's at, where he's come a long way since spring,” Faulkner said Tuesday. “Really excited about the growth of both of them and the quarterback position's all about development, right? So we're gonna continue to develop those guys and right now, Aaron gives the best chance to win football games. So that's kind of where we're at with that.” Philo spent the previous two years working with Faulkner at Georgia Tech where he was King’s backup. Philo got one start (2025 against D1AA Gardner-Webb, 59-12 Georgia Tech win) but his signature moment came as a true freshman in 2024 when he stepped in when King was injured and led the Yellow Jackets to a come-from-behind 30-29 win over North Carolina State. Philo’s experience with Faulkner gave him an advantage over Jones in the spring. “Early on, if you had made a decision after the first week of spring, yeah, that would have been it,” Faulkner said. “But it didn't come down to that, right? I thought Tramell did a phenomenal job of – you know, getting better at the things that he needed to get better at over the summer. And look, he's still a young guy, didn't play a lot as a senior, hadn't played a lot yet, but I anticipate him having a great career. Whenever that number's called, I believe that he'll be ready to play.” Both Faulkner and Sumrall are pleased with the way both Philo and Jones have developed since the spring, enough so that Sumrall said Monday he believes the Gators can win with either one at quarterback. They both have strong enough arms to make every throw. Both are athletic enough to turn a potentially negative play into a drive-extending play with their feet. And, both have a grasp on an offense that Faulkner has tailored to the talents of both his quarterbacks and the outstanding skill people in the running backs, wide receivers and tight ends rooms. Some things the Gators do this fall might bear a resemblance to the two years Faulkner spent coaching quarterbacks at Georgia. Others might look quite the same as the past three years at Georgia Tech, but this isn’t a one size fits all approach. The offense has been adapted to the skills of the quarterbacks and supporting casts. “We've got a totally different looking receiver room, tight end room, running back room, different quarterback room than I had at the last place,” Faulkner said. “So, there's a lot of things that we're doing that we didn't do at the last place.” The last place didn’t have Jadan Baugh, who makes everybody’s short list of the best running backs in the country. The last place had some good receivers but not as many as there are at Florida and certainly not as fast. The talent on hand is certain to ignore the obvious sure thing play to light up the defense with the kind of throw that backs the linebackers and safeties out of the box, which, in turn, creates space and alleys in which to throw the football. When that happens, it’s time to grip it and rip it, which has a lot to do with why Philo is the starting quarterback. “He has a unique ability to cut it loose, right?” Faulkner said. “And that's a trait that you want all your quarterbacks to have. And then we've got to do a good job of honing him in because he's not afraid to rip it. The guy ripped it. I watched him in high school for three years, set all kinds of records, throwing the ball all over the place. Trust what you see. He sees leverage really well, you know, and pull the trigger.” The key here is knowing when to grip it and rip it. The same holds true for quarterbacks running the ball. Bennett at Georgia was a pure pocket passer who was smart enough to know when to tuck and run. The Georgia Tech offense included entire packages for King to run the ball so throwing the ball downfield was a way to put the linebackers and safeties on their heels. Both Bennett and King were excellent decision-makers. It is Faulkner’s experience that Philo can see the field and know instinctively what to do. Long gainers are nice, but so are plays that move the chains and keep the possession going. It is critical to know and understand what each situation calls for. “You can be a good runner if you're just decisive,” Faulkner said. “You make the right read. You hit it vertical. We don't need 30-yard gains. We need 10-yard gains. And he's really decisive. He makes good decisions in that 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 [quarterbacks on the UF roster] can. So yeah, he's good enough that what we would need him to do there.” Philo and Jones are the trigger men to an offense that hasn’t been proven yet. While there are dynamic returning players such as Jadan Baugh, Vernell Brown III and Dallas Wilson, critical jobs as starters and backups will be filled by inexperienced returnees and transfers. There are a lot of moving parts that haven’t had time to mesh together but Faulkner sees the potential. “I have high expectations as well,” he said. “Yeah, we're going to have a young quarterback. We've got some weapons around them, some guys that have played a lot of ball in 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 going to 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 to where you want it to be. And like I said, we're nowhere near that, but we're going to continue to work to get there. “ Faulkner on head coach Jon Sumrall: “His leadership is second to none, as good as I've been around. I've been very fortunate over the last few years to work for some guys that were really good. His leadership, his ability to get in the front of the team and motivate is it's fun to watch. I'm thankful to be a part of it … to me, the best thing about his leadership is he asks, asks for input … When he asks, I'll, I'll give my input, you know, and that's what he hired me to do, so it's a great dynamic. We’ve got a great staff. We’ve got a bunch of guys that are going to be coordinators. We've got future head coaches. We've got some young guys that are bringing a lot of energy and ideas and keep us creative on offense. It's a total group effort, but it starts with his leadership.” Faulkner on the Florida coaching staff: “I'm very, very particular about, you know, 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. So there's a bunch of guys with a bunch of bright futures. We got a great guys that have been coordinators on offense. It was real similar at the other place … we're about to tee this thing up here in a few days and we'll see how it goes, but it's a great group to come to work with each and every day.”

A few thoughts to jump start your Tuesday morning: There is no shortage of talented bodies when Jon Sumrall and coordinator Brad White survey the back end of Florida’s 2026 defense. The numbers are sufficient. Experience? That’s a totally different animal. Among the projected starters in the defensive backfield is Ben Hanks III, a sophomore who played in three games a year ago. Hanks will play the corner opposite Cormani McClain, who started six games a year ago. Like Hanks, Cormani is a former 5-star recruit with enormous ball skills but only 11 starts stretched over three seasons. Behind them are Dijon Johnson, who is coming off an injury that ended his 2025 season, and J’Vari Flowers, a sophomore who had two starts as a true freshman last year. There is more experience at safety where Bryce Thornton and Baylor transfer DJ Coleman are listed as the starters but neither have distinguished themselves as dynamic playmakers. Kentucky transfer Cam Dooley and sophomore Lagonza Hayward are the backups. At STAR, UCLA transfer Kanye Clark is listed as the starter with Baylor transfer Alfonzo Allen Jr. is the backup. Talent is what these guys share in common, but their overall lack of experience causes concern as the Gators open the season against Florida Atlantic, which runs a high tempo offense that slings the ball all over the yard. A year ago FAU led the entire country in going for it on fourth down (41-62) and offensive snaps (80 per game) as well as pass attempts (582 in 12 games). Sumrall knows what to expect since last year as Tulane’s head coach he earned a 35-24 win over the Owls that saw the Green Wave defense give up 472 total yards, 375 through the air where FAU threw 57 passes among its 87 snaps. From that team, the Owls return starting QB Caden Veltkamp (3,647 yards, 24 TDPs) and wide receivers Easton Messer (104 catches, 1,052 yards, 5 TDs) and Dominique Henry (40-575, 4 TDs). “These guys, they were the fastest offense in college football last year,” Sumrall said. “They went for it on fourth down more than anybody in college football last year. I think game one, if I'm not mistaken, they went for it nine times in the first game against Maryland last year. Nine. Last year when we played them at Tulane – it was at our place – and you blinked and they're inside the red zone. Like, what happened? How'd they get here so fast? They're really good. So there's some familiarity that maybe helps. But I don't think you can simulate some of the things they do in practice no matter how hard you try. Their tempo is so fast. Whatever the fastest is, they're faster because they were No. 1 in the country.” ELSEWHERE IN THE SEC No. 13 Alabama (0-0): Freshman running back EJ Crowell, who was a 5-star recruit, could be available for the season opener if he gets approval from the training staff … William Sanders beat out Mal Waldrep for the starting job at left guard. Saturday’s game: vs. East Carolina (0-0) Arkansas (0-0): Saturday’s game: In case you missed it, Ron Roberts, who was Billy Napier's defensive coordinator the last two seasons, is now the defensive coordinator for Arkansas. His 2024 Florida defense was ranked 15th in the SEC, his 2025 defense was 13th. Saturday's game: vs. North Alabama (1-0) Auburn (0-0): Alex Golesh says the Tigers are “light years ahead” of his year one experience as the OC at Tennessee and his first year as head coach at South Florida … Auburn has sold a record 84,043 season tickets. Saturday’s game: vs. Baylor (0-0) in Atlanta No. 3 Georgia (0-0): Defensive tackle Xzavier McCloud has left the team. McCloud says he’s done with football and officially retired from the game … Former UGa safety JaCorey Thomas, who spent time in a Carolina Panthers NFL mini-camp, plans to file a lawsuit that will enable him to play a fifth year and enter the transfer portal. Saturday’s game: vs. Tennessee State (0-1) Kentucky (0-0): In a non-football transaction, Mark Mitchell, an All-SEC big man who had won a temporary restraining order to play a fifth year at Kentucky, did not sign with the Wildcats and instead is returning to Missouri. He still needs a TRO from the courts or else the NCAA granting him a waiver to play. Saturday’s game: vs. Youngstown State (1-0) No. 11 LSU (0-0): Even though LSU has signed two players who were in NFL training camps, Lane Kiffin says the Tigers will abide by SEC rules Jack Pyburn was claimed off the NFL waiver wire by Kansas City Monday. Pyburn withdrew his 5-for-5 eligibility claim … Former LSU head coach and College Football Hall of Fame member Jerry Stovall died at the age of 85. Stovall was the 1962 Heisman Trophy runner-up. Saturday’s game: vs. Clemson (0-0) Mississippi State (0-0): Jaden Rashada, the center piece of a lawsuit that in many ways defined the Billy Napier years at Florida, is a backup quarterback at Mississippi State, somehow with two more years of eligibility. Since signing with Florida in December of 2022, Rashada has done time on rosters at Arizona State, Georgia and Sacramento State. He’s 61-124 throwing the ball for 749 yards with five TDPs and four interceptions. Saturday’s game: vs. Louisiana Monroe (0-0) No. 25 Missouri (0-0): Sounding off on all the eligibility lawsuits that have both football and basketball programs in Division I in chaotic disarray, football coach Eli Drinkwitz said, “This stuff is not good for any student-athlete – and it’s a direct reflection of our inability as leaders to come up with a plan,” Drinkwitz said. “The season has kicked off, and we do not know what the rules are for eligibility. That’s embarrassing, man.” Thursday’s game: vs. Arkansas-Pine Bluff (1-0) No. 10 Oklahoma (0-0): Jake Maikkula is out for the season opener with UTEP. In his place as the starting center is sophomore Ryan Fodjie. Fodjie played more than 400 snaps last season, most of them split between tackle and guard. Friday’s game: vs. UTEP (0-0) No. 9 Ole Miss (0-0): Louisville running back Isaac Brown, who has been battling through some lower leg issues, will be available for Sunday’s game with Ole Miss. Brown averaged 8.8 yards per carry a season ago. The Ole Miss rush defense a year ago finished 12th in the SEC in yards allowed per game (149.07) and 13th in yards per carry (4.15). Sunday’s game: vs. No. 24 Louisville (0-0) South Carolina (0-0): Needing to rebound from last year’s disappointing 4-8 record, head coach Shane Beamer said, “I really like where we are right now, offensively, defensively, special teams, the progress we made, the way things have come together.” Saturday’s game: vs. Kent State (0-0) No. 20 Tennessee (0-0): The Vols will wear a helmet sticker honoring Dolly Parton all season long … Among the upgrades at Neyland Stadium is a Champion’s Corner which will honor coaches General Bob Neyland, Doug Dickey and Phillip Fulmer. Saturday’s game: vs. Furman (0-0) No. 5 Texas (0-0): Steve Sarkisian weighed in on schools that are attempting to bring in players who were in NFL camps at the expense of players already on the roster Monday. Sarkisian said, "The fact that somebody out there is going to take a player off of an NFL roster and tell somebody who's been doing it for nine months to go kick rocks, that doesn't sit well with me. I think that's wrong. That, morally, is wrong." Saturday’s game: vs. Texas State (0-0) No. 8 Texas A&M (0-0): Head coach Mike Elko responded Saturday to a question about eligibility issues that have not been resolved. Elko said, “It’s a statement about where we are from a governance standpoint that we are having conversations about what the rules are going to be regarding roster management on August 27 and we kick off… there’s games tonight, there’s games Saturday, and we’re not even really sure what the rules are around who can play on our teams this fall.” Saturday’s game: vs. Missouri State (0-0) Vanderbilt (0-0): Temple transfer Khalil Poteat, who was granted a fifth year of eligibility by the courts, has signed with Vandy. The 6-5, 280-pound defensive end had 14 tackles and a sack last season. Saturday’s game: vs. Austin Peay (1-0) CAGLIANONE’S SCORCHING HOT AUGUST Former Gators Jac Caglianone offered a glimpse of things to come with a breakout month of August for the Kansas City Royals. The 23-year old who hit a school record 75 home runs in three seasons at UF, hit .411 for the month (39-95) with eight doubles, six homers and 26 RBI, raising his season total to .283 with 25 doubles, two triples, 23 home runs and 66 RBI. Of his 23 home runs, all but three have traveled at least 400 feet. The Tampa Plant product hit home runs of 347, 368 and 393 feet. All the others ranged from 402 to 448 feet. Also enjoying a hot August was former Gator Pete Alonso for the Baltimore Orioles. Alonso, who played high school ball at Tampa Jesuit, hit .333 for the month (35-105) with three doubles, nine homers and 22 RBI. Alonso ranks eighth in Major League Baseball with 32 home runs this season and is tied for sixth with 91 RBI. He is four home runs away from 300 for his career. ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT: Leave it to Lane Kiffin to do a rather nifty impersonation of Eddie Haskell at the podium Monday for his weekly press conference at LSU. With a Thursday court date looming that will determine if LSU can add a pair of players who spent August in NFL traning camps, Lane did his best to act as if he’s simply an innocent bystander in this process, one who will gladly comply with the rules no matter the outcome of the hearing that pits LSU against both the Southeastern Conference and NCAA. “All we’re waiting for is clarity this week from the SEC, which can’t give clarity until Thursday’s ruling,” Kiffin said with a straight face, adding later that LSU will comply with the rules if the athletes aren’t allowed to play. Maybe the folks in Louisiana who live, die, eat, breathe and sleep LSU football are buying this but it doesn’t sell in Sheboygan. Kiffin, through their agents, has been urging numerous players in NFL camps to consider a return to college football in the event they fail to make a roster. A Baton Rouge judge has ruled favorably for LSU, going so far as to issue an order that prevents the SEC from punishing any coach or school that signs a former pro. So Thursday’s hearing has the feel of one of those wild west fast draw gunfights, in this case pitting Kiffin wearing the black hat and SEC commissioner Greg Sankey in the white hat of the good guys. No matter who wins the Thursday hearing, however, expect this scenario repeated as it works its way through the courts. Lane Kiffin may say he will comply with the rules, but he will also fight until the highest court in the land rules. It is easy to point fingers at Lane Kiffin, who seems to find a way to the center of so many controversies, but the real culprit is the NCAA, which, in its infinite wisdom created these eligibility problems with inconsistent rulings and selective enforcement. The NCAA needs desperately to win this case but right now it is a tossup at best. Had the NCAA shown any reasonable sense of fairness in its rulings over the years it wouldn’t be squandering millions of dollars in billable hours to law firms scattered across the country fighting the Lane Kiffins of the world.

The Gator Media Gathering Recently at Spurrier's GG For 5th Anniversary. The guy on the far right in the orange shirt paid.(NOT!) Photo by Freddie Wehbe Sumrall remembers what The Swamp sounded like when he played in it in 2004, and he wants that noise back — not once a year, every Saturday. By Buddy Martin GatorBaitMedia.com Well, folks, here we go. No white smoke over the Sistine Chapel — but a few new rays of sun are finally cutting through the glum over The Swamp. The tarps are coming off, the pressure washing is done, and the orange-and-blue hue has a brand new shine and a new pied piper is leading the way. I don’t mind telling you: I like what I’m hearing out of Jon Sumrall. The man doesn’t rattle, even if he does run from some things that do. “I don’t get nervous,” Sumrall said Monday, kicking off his first Florida game week. “If I see a rattlesnake, I might get nervous.” Hang your hat on that one. That’s a coach who knows game day belongs to the players, and that the Maalox moments are Monday-through-Friday problems. One Week at a Time Ask him what a successful season looks like and Sumrall won’t bite. Vegas has the over/under at 7.5, favoring the under. The coach isn’t playing that parlor game. “My expectation is to try to go 1-0 this week, and that’s my thought process every week,” he said. “We’ll review it, we’ll flush it, and we’ll do the same thing the next week.” There’s wisdom in that — and, let’s be honest, a little mercy for the rest of us. This program has been trying to swallow the elephant in one gulp for a while now, and choking on it. Four losing seasons in five. Billy Napier became the first Florida coach with a sub-.500 record in nearly 80 years. The faithful haven’t celebrated a double-digit winning campaign since 2019. Bite by bite might just be the way back. Healthy — Actually Healthy Music to Gator ears: This team isn’t banged-up. It isn’t questionable. It’s healthy. Around here, that qualifies as a minor miracle. Credit strength coach Rusty Whitt, who put it plain. “Weak things break,” Whitt said. “If we’re getting beat up, it’s my damn fault.” Accountability with a side of Tabasco. I love it. Respect for FAU — Familiarity, Not Overconfidence Florida opens as nearly a four-touchdown favorite, with the over/under at 59.5 points. Sumrall isn’t buying the projected season record or the 27.5 points his Gators are favored by. He faced FAU a year ago at Tulane and hasn’t forgotten it. He called them “the fastest offense in college football” last season, the most aggressive fourth-down team in the country, and warned that “you blink, and they’re inside the red zone.” He praised their quarterback Caden Veltcamp— “big guy, good arm, runs better than you think” — singled out No. 8 (Easton Messer) at receiver, and said flatly that tempo like theirs cannot be simulated in practice, “no matter how hard you try.” New FAU coach Zach Kittley brings that breakneck no-huddle to Gainesville. Last year against Sumrall’s Tulane, the Owls piled up 472 yards and still lost 35-24 because they coughed it up four times. Veltkamp — 3,641 yards, 24 TDs, 17 picks — is back. That last number ought to catch the eye of new UF defensive coordinator Brad White, in from Kentucky, hoping to wield a rejuvenated defense. Monday Is His. Saturday Belongs to the Boys. Stencil this one on a wall somewhere inside the football building. “Monday through Friday, those are my days. Saturday is the players’ day,” Sumrall said. “I’ll be amped up, but that day’s not about me. Never will be. If they don’t rise to the occasion, they fall to the level of their training. We want them to be so trained that Saturday night they can go cut loose. I don’t care if we’re playing in a parking lot, I’m excited. Go cut it loose.” Go cut it loose. That may just become the mantra of the 2026 Gators. Fill It. Make It Feel Like 2004. Sumrall remembers what The Swamp sounded like when he played in it in 2004, and he wants that noise back — not once a year, every Saturday. “There should not be an empty seat,” he said. If Florida wants to be a top-20, top-10, playoff-caliber program, the venue has to carry itself like one. That was less a request than a challenge — delivered to a fan base that has been waiting a long time to be asked. Standing With Sankey — and With His Own Roster On the swirling debate about late roster additions, Sumrall drew a hard line. He supports Commissioner Greg Sankey’s stance, he set his roster “a while ago,” and he’s not chasing loopholes. Part of it is procedural — you still have to be enrolled in classes to be a student-athlete, and that window has closed. Part of it is philosophical, and this is the part that will play in the locker room: It wouldn’t be fair to the guys who have been grinding all summer to have somebody parachuted in over the top of them. “If you’re a college player, you’re a college player,” he said. Rules of the league. Rules of the university. End of discussion. The Résumé Speaks Don’t forget who we’re dealing with. Sumrall went 23-4 at Troy with a Sun Belt title. Then 20-8 at Tulane with an American Athletic Conference championship and a College Football Playoff bid — a place Florida, by the way, has never been. That’s 43-12 in four seasons. Now comes the biggest rung on the ladder: Waking up a sleeping giant that’s been snoring since Tebow. About That Quarterback The Gators trot out their 20th starting quarterback since Tim Tebow left in 2009. Twenty. Read that number and try not to laugh, or cry. The new man is Aaron Philo, the third-year transfer from Georgia Tech who out-dueled sophomore Tramell Jones III. Philo’s edge: he already knows the offense. New coordinator Buster Faulkner comes over from Tech too. Don’t be surprised if Jones gets a series against the Owls. From Section 32 An expected sellout will be sweating through their polos, ready to believe again. Jadan Baugh, Dallas Wilson, Vernell Brown III, Myles Graham, Jayden Woods — the stars are back. The health is there. The coach is loose. After four losing seasons in five, Gator Nation has the look of a house scrubbed clean by a Stanley Steamer — carpets pulled up, windows thrown open, the smell of a new season drifting through the screen door. Some of that is the schedule. Some of it is the health report. Most of it is the man at the lectern, who talks like a coach who has been preparing his whole career for exactly this job. Sumrall isn’t promising a parade. He’s promising a process — a Monday through Friday you can trust and a Saturday you can enjoy. He wants The Swamp loud. He wants his players free. He wants to be 1-0 this week. Gator Nation is famished. And Jon Sumrall walks into his first game week with the calm of a man who’s already looked a rattlesnake in the eye. Saturday night, we start to find out. Turn out. Fill the seats. Go cut it loose.