Florida head coach Jon Sumrall addressed the team's roster following the transfer portal. He could always have better players.
New Florida head coach Jon Sumrall had a rough time during the last offseason.
As the head coach of Tulane, he had to watch as quarterback Darian Mensah left for Duke. Several other players left for what they thought were greener pastures.
As the head coach of Tulane, he had to watch as quarterback Darian Mensah left for the Duke. Several other plays left for what they thought were greener pasteurs.
Sumrall had the last laugh, taking the Green Wave to the College Football Playoff. This offseason, he was able to keep most of Florida's roster from transferring, though he lost quarterback DJ Lagway to Baylor.
“It was more fun than losing everybody,” Sumrall told reporters on Wednesday, via On3. “Last year at Tulane, we started the season and we had our left tackle and left guard that were starters back.
"We had a D-lineman, a linebacker, and a safety. So five total. And I’m like, ‘I don’t know how we’re going to win seven games,’ much less what we did.”
Like he did last season at Tulane, Sumrall is hoping he can elevate Florida's core players to better than it did last season when it finished 4-8.
The Gators should have the talent to improve their record, but Sumrall admitted he, like all coaches, would like to have a better roster.
"We’re going to lose players at times even at Florida,” Sumrall said. “There’s guys that left that I would have loved for them to have stayed. But they didn’t feel like it was maybe the right fit or they needed a change of scenery or whatever.
“It does feel nice to at least have some resourcing to be competitive and go retain guys and maybe in the open market you go acquire guys or add guys. You ask any coach, I think they’d tell you, ‘How much is enough?’ There’s never enough. You always want more. I feel better with more good players.”
After a losing season and missing out on head coach Lane Kiffin, UF fans certainly feel the same way.
The biggest question for the Gators going into the offseason is who will be under center?
Florida will have a quarterback battle between Tramell Jones, Aidan Warner, Will Griffin, and Georgia Tech transfer Aaron Philo.
Philo is joining new Gators offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner, who was his offensive coordinator with the Yellow Jackets.