Brandon Spikes doesn’t see Jon Sumrall as just another hire at Florida. He sees a coach who fits the Gators’ world.
The former Florida linebacker, who won a pair of championships with the program in the mid-to-late-2000s, said Thursday on “SEC This Morning” on SiriusXM College Sports that Sumrall brings a needed jolt to the job. Florida, of course, is nowhere near the powerhouse it was during Spikes’ playing days, but he believes the new leader can push things in the right direction.
“I just think he’s a breath of fresh air for the University of Florida,” Spikes said on Thursday’s “SEC This Morning” on SiriusXM College Sports. “You know, Rome wasn’t built overnight, so it’s going to take him a while. But I think he just got what it takes.”
That bond is made even more natural by the fact that Sumrall, like Spikes, played linebacker. Spikes leaned into that connection when talking about the new coach’s presence and edge.
“If you’ve been around him and you’ve spent some time with him, you look in his eyes, he’s a linebacker, man. You know what I’m saying? I’ll get in the trenches with him and go to war any day,” Spikes said.
Spikes also offered a comparison between the Florida teams he knew and the current roster, and he was careful not to oversell the difference. He said it’s hard to line up the two eras cleanly because of the depth “at each position” back then, but he still sees plenty to work with now.
“There’s no question we have talent. The real question for me is the leadership, the discipline, the little things, getting guys where they’re supposed to be, getting guys on the field, guys dialed in. So I think that’s the question,” he said.
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