Jon Sumrall came out of spring camp worried about Florida’s offensive line. The quarterback battle may have grabbed the headlines, but the bigger issue for him was up front, where he needed answers at both tackle spots. He even said the Gators had “no chance” if that group didn’t take a step over the summer.
Now, after a few months of work, his tone has changed.
At 2026 SEC Media Days, Sumrall said he’s been encouraged by what he’s seen from the unit, especially in the weight room.
“I’ve been really pleased with the growth of our offensive line this summer, in particular the weight room,” Sumrall said. “That was probably my greatest disappointment when I took the job and started to watch our team work in January and February, just the strength of our O-line was underwhelming for me; not where I felt like it needed to be. They embraced the challenge and worked hard.”
He said the group has responded with pride and accountability.
“They have a lot of pride in their craft and what they’re doing,” Sumrall added. “And I’m very direct.
When we do something well, I tell our guys we did it well. When we don’t, I let them know it wasn’t good enough.”
Sumrall also pointed to two transfers who have helped shape the room’s standard. He singled out center Harrison Moore, who came from Georgia Tech, and guard TJ Shanahan, who transferred in from Penn State.
“I think we got great leadership in that room. Two transfers that have really set the standard how we work. Harrison Moore, offensive center from Georgia Tech, and TJ Shanahan, offensive guard from Penn State have both kind of elevated maybe the rhythm that that room marches to.”
For Sumrall, the emphasis on the offensive line is about more than one position group. He knows exactly how much the battle in the trenches matters.
“This is a line of scrimmage game. This is a line of scrimmage league.
But I don’t care what league you’re in. You better be good on the line of scrimmage,” Sumrall said.
He also made it clear that spring camp may not have been the best time to judge the group anyway. Florida was working with a largely new unit, and the staff spent much of the spring rotating players through different spots to figure out who fit where.
“We’ve only got two guys that really started football games at University of Florida that are returners, so it’s a very new group,” Sumrall said. “We also through the spring rolled a lot of different combinations. I think the offensive line takes continuity, time to gel, the cohesion component of playing offensive line as a unit matters.”
“So we were mixing and matching so many different groupings that I don’t know if it was fair to them in the spring to really assess where we’ll play as a whole unit on the O-line come this fall because we were trying to find out which guys could be swing guys, and by that I mean tackle to guard or left side to right side or which guys can snap.”
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