The Jon Sumrall era at Florida is about to start, and the new Gators coach is hoping the home crowd does its part when Florida Atlantic comes to town.
After a long offseason, Florida is finally ready to move forward under the former Tulane coach, whose reputation has followed him for years. Sumrall has built a track record as a winner and as a coach who can flip a program’s trajectory, and now he’s being asked to do it in Gainesville. That’s the backdrop as Florida tries to move past a stretch that has included losing records in four of the last five seasons.
For Sumrall, the debut is about more than just getting a win. He wants the atmosphere in the stadium to match the standard he’s trying to build.
“Saturday night, it needs to feel like we want to be a top-20, top-10 team, a playoff team,” Sumrall said. “That's our goal and our vision.
It needs to feel like that every time we play in that stadium. So I look forward to hopefully seeing that crowd Saturday night embrace our football team, and our guys are ready to put in a lot of work.”
Florida Atlantic is the first opponent, but Sumrall is not treating the Owls like a soft opening. He knows what they can do on offense, and he’s seen enough to respect the challenge.
The Owls were one of the best offensive teams in college football last season, and Sumrall said his team has to stay locked in because any Saturday can go sideways if you’re not ready. He also has first-hand experience with Zach Kittley’s group from last year, when Tulane beat Florida Atlantic 35-24.
“Zach Kittley's a really good football coach, and he's got a great staff … These guys, they were the fastest offense in college football last year,” Sumrall said. “Last year, we played them at Tulane at our place, and you blinked, and they're inside the red zone.
You're like, ‘What? What happened?’”
Florida will also lean on transfer Aaron Philo in the opener. He’s expected to start, bringing a limited but notable résumé from Georgia Tech, where he played in eight games over two seasons and threw for 938 yards with two touchdowns and three interceptions.
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