Jon Sumrall doesn’t sound interested in letting Florida’s old messes make a comeback.
With the Gators set to open Saturday against FAU, Sumrall made it clear he’s paying attention to the kinds of procedural blunders that became far too familiar during the Billy Napier era - especially the embarrassing business of not getting 11 players on the field with any consistency.
That issue turned into a running joke among Florida fans, but Sumrall treated it like a real point of emphasis after the team’s mock game over the weekend. He said the purpose of that exercise was to work through unusual situations and make sure everyone knew where they were supposed to be when the game actually starts.
He also said he watched the Week 0 games and used them as a teaching tool for his own team.
“I showed our team all the Week Zero games. I showed 20 plays this morning.
There was one game, there were 12 guys on the field on field goal block three times in the same game on Saturday. I'm not going to act like we're perfect, but I'm going to dang sure try to make sure we get 11 guys in the field.”
The most obvious reference there appears to be Florida State’s rough outing against New Mexico State, when the Seminoles were flagged three times for illegal substitution. But the larger point is hard to miss: Sumrall is focused on the basics, and he’s not letting a sloppy detail become a defining issue.
That matters because Florida spent too much of the previous era making the simple stuff look complicated. Getting 11 players on the field shouldn’t be a celebration.
It’s the floor. Yet over the last four years, that standard slipped low enough that it became part of the conversation.
So when Florida lines up Saturday, one thing will be worth watching right away. Not the opponent, not the noise - just whether the Gators are organized enough to handle the most basic job in football.
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