Florida’s offense has hit a wall, and Jon Sumrall isn’t pretending otherwise.
After the Gators’ 23-7 loss to Oklahoma, the Florida head coach said the staff has not adjusted well enough to life without wide receiver Vernell Brown III, who has been dealing with an injury. Speaking Monday before Florida’s game against Kentucky, Sumrall said the absence has changed how defenses are playing the Gators and exposed a need for the coaching staff to do a better job finding answers.
“When you put a lot in for maybe certain guys and things maybe, to some degree, are built for them package-wise,” Sumrall said. “We may haven’t done a good enough job of finding who’s next.”
Brown’s injury has forced Florida to search for production elsewhere, and Sumrall pointed to Bailey Stockton as someone who has stepped in at times. Even so, he said the staff has to be more intentional about identifying the next players who can take on those roles.
The struggles have shown up in the scoreboard. Florida has managed just 15 points over its last two games, and Sumrall said the responsibility doesn’t stop with the players.
“Every area of our program has to grow. So coaches, players, all of us are in this together,” Sumrall said.
He also said he stays involved in the offense even though he is not the primary play-caller. Sumrall meets regularly with his coordinators and looks for ways to help the team improve, and he said the offensive staff has been frustrated by the recent results while still believing the group can rebound.
“I’ve told them, like, ‘Hey, guys, the same people that are in here that scored 50-some points against Ole Miss, they’re still here,’” Sumrall said.
Brown’s absence has also made it easier for opponents to key on running back Jadan Baugh. He rushed for at least 135 yards in each of Florida’s first four games, all of which included Brown, but over the last five games he’s averaging 47.2 yards per game. Florida’s schedule has gotten tougher, but so has the attention on Baugh.
The Gators will try to get things moving again Saturday at Kentucky. Florida enters the game at 5-4 and needs answers quickly as the regular season winds down. For Sumrall, the fix starts with making better use of the players still available instead of letting one injury keep dragging the offense down.
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