Jon Sumrall’s first season at Florida comes with plenty of noise, and Josh Pate isn’t buying the idea that anything short of a huge leap should be the standard.
Steve Spurrier already poured gasoline on the conversation by saying a nine-win season should be the floor for the new Gators coach. But Pate pushed back on that kind of expectation during “Josh Pate’s College Football Show” on Sunday, saying an 8-4 finish is the more realistic target for Florida this fall.
“I think Sumrall inherited a good enough squad here,” Pate said. “Plus Sumrall is just good enough himself to get 8-4 out of this team this year.
That is reasonable. Now Jesse said, well, it was one game.
What’s the difference?
“Well, one game is a ton of difference, Jesse. But I think 8-4 is closer to like me pressing my head against the ceiling, instead of just a most likely scenario. So, if anything, I’m airing on the upside with Florida.”
Florida does not look like a team starting from scratch, but Pate pointed out the gap between the Gators and the SEC’s biggest spenders. He said the roster is still about $15 million behind the top teams in the league, and there are obvious questions up front and under center. The program named Aaron Philo the starter on Monday.
That quarterback situation is where Pate sees the season really being shaped. His view is that Florida does not need Philo to be a star, just steady.
“Listen, really good at tailback, really good at wide receiver," Pate said. "Aaron Pjilo, I think slash hope in time is going to be a plenty good enough quarterback here. This is not a team that has to have a superstar, transcendent talent at quarterback.
"They could, frankly, they could have boring quarterback play. And maybe the more boring, the better down there...
And so a lot of you throw around the term game manager in a pejorative manner. I don’t.
I think it’s a compliment.”
With the SEC schedule standing in the way, Pate’s bottom line is that 8-4 would be a strong first-year result for Sumrall and the Gators. He also noted that with better resources in 2027, Sumrall could get Florida into the College Football Playoff next season.
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Florida Just Got A Reminder Of What It Lost In The Backcourt
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For Florida, the reminder is less about one departure than about the uncertainty around the whole rotation. Javon Bennett and Isiah Harwell are among the names in the mix, but the Gators still have pieces whose status hinges on court orders or NCAA clearance, which leaves the backcourt picture unsettled heading into the next stage of the offseason. Losing a player like Lee does not settle those questions, and it only sharpens them. [Read more 🡒]