- Jon Sumrall begins his tenure as head coach of the University of Florida football team for the 2026 season starting Sept. 5 against Florida Atlantic.
- The Gators improved their team strength by nearly 14,000 pounds since January under coach Rusty Whitt's guidance.
- A quarterback competition is underway between redshirt freshmen Tramell Jones Jr. and Aaron Philo as the team prepares for the new season.
The 2026 University of Florida football season is right around the corner, as the Gators will host their opening game on Sept. 5 at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium against the Florida Atlantic Owls.
It will also be the first game in the Jon Sumrall era as head coach of the Gators. Sumrall and offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner, defensive coordinator Brad White, and players Jayden Woods and Dallas Wilson met with the media on Tuesday at the Heavener Football Complex.
Sumrall announced that most of the fall camp practices will be in the morning, and the scrimmages will be at night as they prepare for a 7:45 p.m. kickoff in the opener against FAU. Also led by strength and conditioning coach Rusty Whitt, Sumrall talked about the improvement in strength the team has made since they started lifting in January.
“The growth is real. In the four lifts, the power clean, squat, bench and deadlift, our team as a whole improved almost 14,000 pounds,” Sumrall said. “That’s almost seven tons since January for the entire team, and that’s impressive. The offensive line has made significant gains in the weight room, and that was needed.
“Our work there isn’t over, and there will never be an endpoint. This group still needs to maintain their strength and some guys have to get stronger.”
Sumrall takes over a team and a program that went 4-8 a year ago after starting 3-4 under Billy Napier, who was fired on Oct. 19, 2025. There is a lot of improvement and a lot of hope, but also a lot of work to do to get this Florida program back to the level of success expected.
“There are a lot of things. We have to continue to grow as a team and come together,” Sumrall said. “You have to have synergy. You have to have certain guys elevate at certain spots and play winning level football that you still have question marks at. Just consistency. There were flashes of greatness during the spring, but the consistency wasn’t there. We have to get to a space where we bring it every day.”
One of the keys for Sumrall was hiring a great coaching staff, and that started with bringing offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner in from Georgia Tech.
“Buster is well traveled, went to Valdosta State and played for Chris Hatcher, who is an Air Raid/Mike Leach/Hal Mumme disciple,” Sumrall said. “His upbringing is more in that system, which is explosive and fun and it’s very unique. They throw the football a lot. I think he realized from coaching in this league (at Georgia) that you have to run the football at a high level to win in this league, and you have to be versatile and adaptable.”
Fall camp is expected to see a quarterback battle between redshirt freshman Tramell Jones Jr. and redshirt sophomore Aaron Philo, who followed Faulkner from Georgia Tech to Gainesville. Faulkner talked about what he expects from both QBs.
“Both have to be ready,” Faulkner said. “We have a lot of different scenarios and put them through tough situations like third-down pressures and two-minute drills to see where they are.”
Wilson returns to UF after injuries marred his freshman season at wide receiver. He’s ready to get back on the field.
“I’m just going to be looking for the DBs (defensive backs), I’m going to be looking out for Ben Hanks, Cormani (McClain) and those guys,” Wilson said. “I want to get after them guys. You guys can feel the buildup between the DBs and the receivers and that should make for intense practices.”
