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Sumrall starting off pretty good
Posted on 1/8/26 at 7:15 am
Posted on 1/8/26 at 7:15 am
Like many Gator fans, I was pretty angry when we hired Sumrall. Another G5 coach from Louisiana after Billy was pretty much exactly the opposite of what I thought we needed. What we have gotten since his hiring is the exact opposite of the Billy Napier experience, which is a breath of fresh air.
First, (but probably least importantly), was his opening press conference. Billy told us we needed to be patient and that we probably wouldn't like him. Well we tried to be patient, and we sure as hell did not like him by the end. Sumrall came in and talked about how he wanted to win, and win now. Huge difference in attitude.
Second, Billy brought in a ton of guys from his G5 school to his staff. Other than Raymond, Spence and Bateman, Napier did not hire SEC quality coaches. Sumrall has brought in one of the top offensive coordinators in college football, a defensive coordinator who has owned the Gators, and what is indisputably an SEC quality staff. It might be our best staff since Urban.
Last, and probably most importantly, was how Sumrall handled the roster. Billy ran away all of our recruits and his transition class was one of the lowest rated recruiting classes of all time for Florida. Billy also refused to process many of Mullen's non-performing players and kept them around for way too long. Sumrall kept our recruiting class intact and we ended up one of our best transition classes ever. Sumrall also processed a bunch of the fluff Billy had on the roster.
We have 5 players that we really wanted to hold onto going into next season. Jaden Baugh, Jayden Woods, Dallas Wilson, Vernell Brown III, and Myles Graham. Most people expected Sumrall to keep maybe 3 of the 5. 4 out of 5 would have been outstanding. No one thought 5 of 5 would be possible. And Sumrall did just that. Got all 5 to come back.
I am not sure if Sumrall will be successful. Based on our hiring since Urban, there is a very good chance he is not. But I will admit I was way too quick to judge. I don't know if Sumrall could do much better in the first couple weeks on the job.
First, (but probably least importantly), was his opening press conference. Billy told us we needed to be patient and that we probably wouldn't like him. Well we tried to be patient, and we sure as hell did not like him by the end. Sumrall came in and talked about how he wanted to win, and win now. Huge difference in attitude.
Second, Billy brought in a ton of guys from his G5 school to his staff. Other than Raymond, Spence and Bateman, Napier did not hire SEC quality coaches. Sumrall has brought in one of the top offensive coordinators in college football, a defensive coordinator who has owned the Gators, and what is indisputably an SEC quality staff. It might be our best staff since Urban.
Last, and probably most importantly, was how Sumrall handled the roster. Billy ran away all of our recruits and his transition class was one of the lowest rated recruiting classes of all time for Florida. Billy also refused to process many of Mullen's non-performing players and kept them around for way too long. Sumrall kept our recruiting class intact and we ended up one of our best transition classes ever. Sumrall also processed a bunch of the fluff Billy had on the roster.
We have 5 players that we really wanted to hold onto going into next season. Jaden Baugh, Jayden Woods, Dallas Wilson, Vernell Brown III, and Myles Graham. Most people expected Sumrall to keep maybe 3 of the 5. 4 out of 5 would have been outstanding. No one thought 5 of 5 would be possible. And Sumrall did just that. Got all 5 to come back.
I am not sure if Sumrall will be successful. Based on our hiring since Urban, there is a very good chance he is not. But I will admit I was way too quick to judge. I don't know if Sumrall could do much better in the first couple weeks on the job.
6
Posted on 1/8/26 at 7:21 am to generalgator87
In before CAW 
Posted on 1/8/26 at 7:24 am to generalgator87
Optimistic Florida can get to 7 wins this season. Eight wins would be stellar.
Posted on 1/8/26 at 7:25 am to generalgator87
quote:
I am not sure if Sumrall will be successful. Based on our hiring since Urban, there is a very good chance he is not. But I will admit I was way too quick to judge. I don't know if Sumrall could do much better in the first couple weeks on the job.
I am acquainted with some of the personnel who were with Napier at ULL and then followed him to UF. Earlier this season, I was surprised to hear by one just how bad the culture at UF had gotten under Napier. He was known for being a really likeable guy at ULL who I’m told became a massive prick behind closed doors at UF.
Sumrall has to be an upgrade from that.
Posted on 1/8/26 at 7:31 am to generalgator87
Yall didn't want to keep Wilson?
Posted on 1/8/26 at 7:31 am to ibldprplgld
Pressure at ULL and FL are different.
Posted on 1/8/26 at 7:34 am to generalgator87
I hope he turns it around. Football is more fun when Florida is good
Posted on 1/8/26 at 7:38 am to generalgator87
Sumrall is a great dude - you should be thrilled you landed him especially with Faulkner coming on board.
Posted on 1/8/26 at 7:47 am to Porter Osborne Jr
Tre Wilson? If so, he was in the "would be nice to keep, but not needed" bucket for most of our fans.
He was really good when healthy, but he wasn't healthy very often. He's had injury concerns since high school and those have continued throughout his time at UF.
If LSU can keep him on the field, he has a very good chance of doing well for them. But he would have been very expensive to keep which is a big risk when we have so many roster spots to fill. I think (and I think most of our fans would agree) that it was a situation where it was best for both sides for him to go.
He was really good when healthy, but he wasn't healthy very often. He's had injury concerns since high school and those have continued throughout his time at UF.
If LSU can keep him on the field, he has a very good chance of doing well for them. But he would have been very expensive to keep which is a big risk when we have so many roster spots to fill. I think (and I think most of our fans would agree) that it was a situation where it was best for both sides for him to go.
Posted on 1/8/26 at 7:49 am to BevoBucks
Who is the caw really a fan of
Posted on 1/8/26 at 7:53 am to ibldprplgld
He definitely wore out his welcome by the end. He was so married to his "process" and refused to allow anyone to come in and question anything. All of his hires after his initial staff were "yes men" from ULL or young guys that he had relationships with before.
The team this year way way too talented to have 4 wins. But he refused to give up play calling even when he was asked to by Stricklin and our biggest booster. Even though we changed defensive coordinators a few times, he never changed the scheme up (all our DC's were from the Roberts tree, including Roberts himself). He could not adapt to NIL and the transfer portal.
I think he was ready to go by the end, similar to how Mac left and seemed relieved. Mac was one of his big mentors, so that would make sense to me. He never even posted a message to the fans on social media after leaving, which is pretty customary these days. Maybe it was because we boo'd him so much during the last 2 seasons?
The team this year way way too talented to have 4 wins. But he refused to give up play calling even when he was asked to by Stricklin and our biggest booster. Even though we changed defensive coordinators a few times, he never changed the scheme up (all our DC's were from the Roberts tree, including Roberts himself). He could not adapt to NIL and the transfer portal.
I think he was ready to go by the end, similar to how Mac left and seemed relieved. Mac was one of his big mentors, so that would make sense to me. He never even posted a message to the fans on social media after leaving, which is pretty customary these days. Maybe it was because we boo'd him so much during the last 2 seasons?
Posted on 1/8/26 at 8:00 am to generalgator87
Gotcha, I was hoping he would replace Branch at UGA.
Posted on 1/8/26 at 8:17 am to Jdillard343434
quote:
Who is the caw really a fan of
TD caw is an LSU fan alias who found a personality from another site he thought would be funny to mimick here. 24/7 caw is a real gator “fan” but mostly just a negative Nancy.
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