Florida is the lone SEC team Kirk Herbstreit and Rece Davis put on their 2026 surprise watch list, and the Gators earned that mention for a simple reason: there’s real curiosity around what Jon Sumrall and Buster Faulkner can do in Gainesville.
During Friday night’s 2026 preseason Herbie Awards on ESPN, Herbstreit and Davis named four teams to keep an eye on entering the new year: Virginia, Houston, Wisconsin and Florida.
Herbstreit pointed straight to the people now driving the program.
“We talked a lot already about the head coach Jon Sumrall, Buster Faulkner as the offensive coordinator from Georgia Tech, we saw what he can do with Haynes King, can he do that with Aaron Philo, who won the quarterback job in Gainesville?”
That combination is what makes Florida interesting. After a few bleak years under former head coach Billy Napier, the Gators appear to have the kind of personality at the top that Herbstreit was getting at. Sumrall brings confidence, and now the question is whether that edge can bring more out of the roster.
The offense is where the attention starts. Aaron Philo is in line to lead the way at quarterback, and Faulkner arrives after serving as Georgia Tech’s offensive coordinator.
His absence was noticeable for the Yellow Jackets in their loss to Colorado on Thursday night, especially after last season’s run-heavy success with Haynes King. Now he’s in Gainesville, and Florida is banking on that same spark showing up there with Philo.
None of it means much until the Gators show it on the field, though. Their first chance comes Saturday against FAU, with Auburn in Week 3 standing out as the next game worth watching.
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The part still hanging over that picture is Denzel Aberdeen, whose eligibility remains unresolved as college basketball continues to work through legal and eligibility questions. Florida can map out a contender with the core it already has, but Aberdeens status could shape just how high the Gators can go and how much margin they have if the season starts to get bumpy. [Read more 🡒]