You're in Gator Country!
by GEORGE SOMERVILLE
THE TOUCHDOWN’s SEC CORRESPONDENT
While we are still a few weeks from the start of the season, Media Days gave us our first insights into how the new season might shape up.
Having just returned from SEC Media Days in Tampa, unsurprisingly, my focus is on the conference, which caught my imagination over the four days I spent in Florida.
Surprisingly, it wasn’t necessarily the main headlines or the storylines we went into Media Days thinking would dominate the news. Instead – and this is the beauty of such events – other stories caught my attention that I hadn’t given much thought to as I crossed the Pond. So here is the first in the series….Florida in Florida caught us all by surprise. Talk about a story right under your nose.
the sumrall era has begun
Before the assembled press landed in Tampa ahead of SEC Media Days, few outside of Gainesville were talking about Florida Gators football aside from this storied program bedding in another new Head Football Coach. Afterwards, everyone was talking about what football in Gainesville will look like this season.
Maybe it’s because we were in Florida, but there was a whole lot of buzz around the Gators at this year’s Media Days.
Perhaps it was new Florida Head Football Coach Jon Sumrall’s threat to jokingly throw the podium at a journalist who didn’t switch his phone off.
Maybe it was Superstar Gator running back Jaden Baugh’s steely stare when he warned the rest of the SEC what Florida will do this year.
But maybe, just maybe, Jon Sumrall has the Gators program ready and “chomping” at the bit to explode onto that football field on 6th September. Florida Football is buzzing, and now everyone knows it.
Sumrall was electric during his short time in Tampa.
You're in Gator Country
“You’re in Gator Country”, Jon Sumrall opened his Media Days remarks with. It’s difficult not to be impressed with Sumrall’s rhetoric. He’s a players Coach, no doubt; however, this wasn’t a Media Days debut filled with coach-speak. Sumrall is NOT Jeremy Pruitt. Sumrall is passionate, engaging, humorous, and in those few moments on the main stage in Tampa, quickly became a coach you would run through a wall for.
So it’s no surprise that Gator fans are excited for the Sumrall era in Gainesville. There is no looking over the shoulder at what could have been with Kiffin as head coach. No sir. In my short time in Florida, visiting Gainesville straight after Media Days, it’s clear that Gator Country is locked in to Jon Sumrall.
Coaching Carousel
Sumrall is a coach who has grown up in the SEC footprint. Born in Texarkana and growing up in North Alabama, Sumrall “gets it”. It’s easy to label this Coach as a local kid done good, but Sumrall has been a winner wherever he has coached. After finishing his collegiate playing career at Kentucky, his coaching career started as a GA in Lexington. Sumrall paid his dues as a positional coach around the country before getting his first Head Coaching position at Troy University. Sumrall’s time in Alabama with the Trojans was a resounding success. That success brought the opportunity to become Head Coach at Tulane, which again he excelled at. Under Sumrall, Tulane became a Playoff team, which caught the attention of a number of SEC Schools looking to replace their Head Coaches. Sumrall knows how to rebuild a football program, meaning expectations are high in Gainesville. They always are.
High Expectations
But do these expectations weigh heavily on the shoulders of the new Head Ball Coach? In short, no – they do not. Sumrall said in Tampa that “part of why I chose Florida was because of the passion of our fan base. Football matters at the University of Florida. Our fan base cares deeply”. So as I have already said, the new Head Football Coach in Gainesville gets it.
“Our fan base is unlike any in the country”, Sumrall added during his opening remarks. He knows that Gator fans expect a lot from his tenure in Gainesville. He also knows that patience isn’t always in plentiful supply at SEC schools of the magnitude of Florida. So he has to get it right quickly.
Ghosts of Gainesville
To better understand the program, Sumrall has embraced Florida’s football history. Meyer, Wuerffel, Tebow, Spurrier and all the other greats who have left a lasting legacy at the Swamp are referenced by Sumrall at some point during this whirlwind tour of Media Days. And while some might be intimidated by those giants of the College game, Sumrall is embracing life as a Gator. And so he should. At Media Days, Sumrall talked about the welcome he received from Coach Spurrier and his wife, Jerry, as well as from another Gator legend, Coach Urban Meyer.
“They’ve been unbelievable to us” said Sumrall during his opening remarks at Media days. “For me as a Head Coach to walk the same way he’s [Spurrier] walked, to have him as a resource has been great. Urban Meyer has been awesome. Spent a ton of time with him since taking the job on [and] very grateful for making himself available as a resource to me”.
But despite the high energy and the motivational calls to action by Sumrall and his players, they know there is a job to do and a big one at that. Last season’s 4-8 (2-6 in Conference) record was hugely disappointing and cost Billy Napier his job. Florida, like many teams this year, especially those with new Head Coaches, experienced huge turnover in their roster. Florida has 34 transfers and 24 freshmen from High school coming into the program this year, equating to approximately 50% of those on this season’s roster. Implementing the program’s new identity, culture, and a winning mentality has to be efficient, quick and effective.
A line of scrimmage league
When I visited Baton Rouge last year to witness Florida play LSU, I was immediately struck by the size of the Florida team. They were big, huge even. Yet that size didn’t easily translate to domination last year.
“This is a line of scrimmage game. This is a line of scrimmage league” said Sumrall in Tampa.
“But I don’t care what league you’re in. You better be good on the line of scrimmage”.
Sumrall went on to share his own opinion on what happened in the trenches last season.
“I’ve been really pleased with the growth of our offensive line this summer, in particular the weight room. That was probably my greatest disappointment when I took the job and started to watch our team work in January and February, just the strength of our O-line was underwhelming for me; not where I felt like it needed to be”.
An underperforming O-Line only exacerbated the problems quarterback DJ Lagway had last season. Lagway did not live up to the top billing we all gave him last year, although there are a number of reasons for that. So herein lies a cautionary tale about the hype that arises from “talkin’ season”.
However, Sumrall has identified the issue with the O-Line and knows that if his new quarterback is to succeed, he needs to remain on his feet. Gator fans will be pleased with this message from Sumrall.
Fire in their eyes
Florida’s running back sensation Jadan Baugh underlined the job that Sumrall and the coaching staff have done since they got to Gainesville. Baugh told the media how much of a part that played in his decision to return to Gainesville to play football this season.
“They came in with fire in their eyes” Baugh said at Media Days. “I told everyone that” continued Baugh…”when the coaching staff come in with fire in their eyes and they’re ready to just go – I’m ready to play right there and then”.
Baugh also appreciated the lengths that Sumrall and his coaching staff went to to make sure that their star player stayed in Gainesville, including a Christmas Eve visit to Baugh’s grandmother’s house.
“He [Sumrall] came to my grandmother’s house on Christmas Day”, said Baugh who went on to describe the scene with all Sumrall’s family in attendance just trying to get to know his player rather than trying to woo him with coach speak.
“We just sat there and talked about everything, and that stuck out to me the most because that shows a guy who cares – a guy with character”.
the full picture
However, this really only paints half the picture.
Sumrall’s father had passed just at the point that he found out that he had got the Florida job. His father’s funeral was on 23rd December, and speaking on the Marty & McGee Medal days special, Sumrall told the story of what happened.
After the funeral, Sumrall spoke to his Mother and told her to fly back with the family to Gainesville, rather than be on her own in New Orleans, especially around Christmas. So Sumrall and his family, plus his Mum and her dog, flew back to Gainesville.
The first planned stop was to see Jaden Baugh, so the picture described was Sumrall and his family and his Mum and her dog visiting Baugh’s grandmother with all of Baugh’s family. Quite the scene and something that Baugh appreciated. That is a large part of why Florida retained their star running back.
waking up sleeping giants
Florida didn’t feature in preseason polls, which is not surprising given the change of coaching staff, roster turnover and last year’s poor showing. However, the Gators are now appearing on many “sleeper lists”, including most recently The Athletic’s piece.
So can Sumrall and his staff create some mayhem in the SEC this year? Well, almost certainly. Last year, Florida upset Texas, meaning no one can take a visit to the Swamp lightly. The Gators will first see SEC action in Week 3 with a trip to Jordan-Hare, which is about as difficult as it gets. The schedule doesn’t get much easier from there on in, with the next four opponents being Ole Miss (home), Missouri (road), South Carolina (home) and Texas (road) before playing in the Cocktail Party game, which this year will be held in Atlanta.
So the challenge is there for all to see. However, make no bones about it – Head Football Coach Jon Sumrall is here for the challenge and like every other challenge he has faced in life, he’s going to meet it head-on. Florida is going to be a fascinating watch this year. Just leave your phone on silent. Better still, leave it at home.
Go Gators.
The Swamp
Footnote: Speaking of the Swamp, no trip to Gainesville is complete without a trip to this cathedral of football located in the North of Florida. Gator Country.
This was my second time in the Swamp; both times empty – third time is a charm! I’ve written before about visiting Ben Hill Griffin stadium, but for the uninitiated, you can visit the Swamp without being on a tour or scheduled visit. It’s open to the public, and I have to say it’s an experience that never gets old. On my previous visit to the stadium, I bumped into the OHBC Steve Spurrier, which was as awesome an experience as it was surreal. On this occasion, Coach Sumrall rushed by me as he headed back to the training facility – there is just something magical about The Swamp.
So here is my advice. If you are on holiday in Florida as many Brits do and curious about college football, you are spoiled for choice. Miami, UCF and USF are right there in the cities you are visiting. However, I highly recommend the 90-minute drive from the Orlando area to Gainesville. Gainesville is a proper college town and not like Orlando, Miami or Tampa. It’s really not to be missed. If you are visiting during football season, it’s a no-brainer, but even if not, it’s well worth the trip to get inside the Swamp. You never know who you might meet.
GEORGE SOMERVILLE
COLLEGE FOOTBALL WRITER
GEORGE IS A LONG STANDING FANATIC OF LIFE AND FOOTBALL IN THE DEEP SOUTH AND WRITES HIS WEEKLY COLUMN CALLED “IT’S ONLY SEC” FOR THE TOUCHDOWN. HE IS ALSO CO-HOST AND ONE THIRD OF THE COLLEGE CHAPS PODCAST, THE UK’S FIRST PODCAST DEDICATED TO THE COLLEGE GAME.