Florida is heading into Jon Sumrall’s first season with a lot to prove, and junior linebacker Myles Graham is already carrying a personal edge into the fall.
The Gators are coming off a 4-8 finish in 2025, and Sumrall arrives with ambitions that go beyond simply reaching a bowl game. That backdrop gives Florida plenty of room - and plenty of pressure - to reset quickly.
Graham, meanwhile, isn’t hiding what’s driving him. On Monday’s appearance on "SEC This Morning," the 6-foot-1 inside linebacker said the All-SEC omission stuck with him.
“Oh, yeah, huge chip on my shoulder,” Graham said. “I feel like I’ve been left out a lot this offseason.
Definitely been disrespected. So, I got a lot of unfinished business on the field that I’m ready to go handle.
And they won’t be leaving me off of that next year.”
He’s coming off a season in which he finished with 36 tackles and two sacks, but Graham has made it clear he believes there’s more in the tank. At SEC Media Days in July, he said the added experience from last season has changed the way he sees the game.
"I'm extremely confident just having that, like you said, year of experience last year; it gives me a whole other level of confidence under my belt," he said, via USA Today.
"Just knowing what to expect at this level and playing a lot of snaps, it really helps me just be able to process the game faster and make even more plays and just be a guy that I just want to be the anchor in the defense that anchors that defense in the middle."
That kind of presence matters for Florida, especially with questions around the offensive line and new quarterback Aaron Philo. Early on, the Gators may need the defense to carry more of the load, and Graham’s motivation could be a major part of that push.
If he plays to the standard he believes he can reach, Florida’s defense has a chance to look a lot less overlooked than its linebacker feels right now.
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