Jon Sumrall didn’t need long to put his stamp on Florida, and he’s not pretending the job is finished.
Three games into his run in Gainesville, the Gators already look different, and Sumrall said the change starts with how the team carries itself. Speaking on the SEC Teleconference on Wednesday, he pointed to a new edge in the group’s mentality.
"I think our mindset has changed. I think we’re playing with a different level of resiliency and toughness than what I felt like was going on here when I got here.
And I think our guys expect to win. So that’s one component, I think, that I’m pleased with.
How we play the game, some detail, some consistency. There’s a lot of areas where you still have to improve upon a lot to become the type of team we want to be long term.
And so, we’re a long way from a finished product here. We haven’t even begun to scratch the surface for what my vision is for how we play this game week in, week out.
But I do feel like we’re headed in the right direction, but there’s still so much that we are not doing that we need to execute better, to play at a really, really high level, day in, day out."
That’s the clearest sign yet of the shift Florida hoped for when it brought in the former Tulane and Troy head coach to replace Billy Napier in December of last season. The Gators were looking for someone who could bring back the kind of winning standard the program enjoyed under Urban Meyer and Steve Spurrier, and Sumrall has already given them reason to believe that direction is real.
There’s still a long way to go, by his own admission. He wants more detail, more consistency, and better execution before Florida reaches the level he envisions. But the tone around the program has changed fast, and that matters.
If the Gators can beat No. 4 Ole Miss at home this weekend, they’ll put themselves in position to keep pushing in both the SEC and College Football Playoff races as the season rolls on.
In Other News...
Ole Miss Reels As Two Student Deaths Leave Alarming Questions Unanswered
A somber weekend on the Ole Miss campus has left the university community searching for answers after officials confirmed the deaths of two male students, ages 18 and 20. Law enforcement is handling the cases as two separate investigations, and university leaders have been careful to say very little beyond urging restraint as the facts are still coming in.
Investigators recovered packaged kratom at both scenes, but have not said whether it played any role in either death. With autopsy and toxicology results still pending, the uncertainty has only fed a wave of social media speculation, leaving the school and its students waiting for official findings before drawing conclusions. [Read more 🡒]
Ole Miss Gets A Timely Defensive Boost Before A Charged Road Test
Sharif Denson was back in the mix for Ole Miss in the win over LSU, and the timing mattered. After working his way back from injury, the former Florida defensive back turned in nine tackles and gave the Rebels a steadier presence in the secondary, the kind of return that can settle a defense heading into a difficult stretch.
Denson said the extra week of rest was important, and he also made clear he sees his role as bigger than just getting back on the field. He has leaned into a leadership role in the secondary, and now Ole Miss gets one more layer to this weeks buildup as he prepares to face his old team in the next game. [Read more 🡒]
Ole Miss Just Put Its LSU Win On A Much Bigger Stage
Ole Miss 32-24 win over LSU carried far beyond the box score, turning into the most-watched game of the week on ABC with an average of 10.9 million viewers. In a slate that also featured Alabama-Florida State, Kentucky-Texas A&M, Georgia-Arkansas and Clemson-North Carolina, it was the Rebels and Tigers who ended up drawing the biggest audience, a reminder that some September matchups land with the feel of a national event.
The Alabama-Florida State game still pulled seven million viewers after a weather delay sent it to ESPN2, but Ole Miss-LSU stood alone at the top of the weekends TV rankings. For a Rebels program trying to keep building momentum, that kind of stage matters almost as much as the result itself, because wins like this can travel well beyond the SEC West and into the broader conversation about the season. [Read more 🡒]