Florida Gators head coach Jon Sumrall has offered a rather surprising suggestion for the transfer portal.
Florida Gators head coach Jon Sumrall has certainly done a tremendous job in the transfer portal this winter.
Not only did Sumrall put together a haul that is ranked 12th in the nation by On 3 Sports, but he also convinced several key Florida players to stay.
It has been an impressive showing by Sumrall, who was just hired by the Gators back in late November.
However, Sumrall is not entirely pleased with how the offseason currently operates and pitched a rather surprising suggestion to improve things.
"We kind of know who's on our team, especially now that there's no second portal window, which I'm probably in the minority there,'' Sumrall told reporters. "I'd be okay with a second portal window, being a first-year head coach, because I think it gives you a chance to maybe assess who you are through the spring and maybe re-calibrate if you've got some gaps within your roster."
The second transfer portal window was eliminated after last year, and just about everyone agreed that having only one window was more ideal. That way, it would limit the amount of players that would get plucked between portals.
Florida Gators coach Jon Sumrall. Credit: Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images.What was odd, however, was that the NCAA elected to get rid of the spring transfer portal window rather than the one in the winter, as the latter takes place in the middle of bowl season.
Yes, the spring portal was certainly a bit later in the year, but there could have been some sort of compromise where it was moved up a little bit on the calendar.
Regardless, the point is that Sumrall would like another transfer portal window to add some more talent to his roster.
"Like where we're at in a lot of ways. Don't really know where we're at in a lot of ways, too," Sumrall added.
Having that extra opportunity to bring in transfers is a double-edged sword, though, as Florida would potentially lose some more players, too.
The Gators went 4-8 last season and have posted four losing campaigns over the last five years, marking one of the worst stretches in program history.
Sumrall has four years of head-coaching experience, splitting his time between Troy and Tulane. He went 43-12 during that span.
We'll see if Sumrall can turn things around in Gainesville.
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