Florida, Jon Sumrall Receive Surprising Criticism From Multiple Coaches

By most accounts, the Florida Gators had a pretty good offseason.

Florida bagged Jon Sumrall to be its next head coach back in late November, and Sumrall then went on to put together an impressive transfer portal class that was ranked 12th in On 3's transfer portal rankings.

Not only that, but Sumrall convinced key players like running back Jadan Baugh, wide receiver Vernell Brown and edge rusher Jayden Woods to remain in Gainesville.

Sumrall has also been very active on the recruiting trail, as the Gators seem to be in on just about everyone.

However, in a poll conducted by The Athletic where coaches were asked which team was most underwhelming in the transfer portal, numerous participants cited Florida.

"Maybe Florida," one Group of 6 coach said. "With a new coach coming in, I thought they would bring in a larger talent influx with the resources they have."

One SEC staffer then said that the Gators seemed more concerned with retaining players already on their roster.

"I don’t know what Florida did. Their biggest thing was trying to hold on to their guys, I guess," the staffer said.

The Gators landed 29 players in the portal, highlighted by four-star wide receiver Eric Singleton Jr., who transferred over from Auburn. They also lost 34, but that is to be expected during a regime change.

"Florida, I don’t know what they’re doing," another SEC staffer remarked.

The overwhelming sentiment had been that Sumrall did a tremendous job in the portal, but apparently, rival squads do not feel that way.

The Gators went just 4-8 last season and have posted four losing campaigns over the last five years, marking one of the worst runs in school history.

Sumrall was supposed to come in and change all of that, and to his credit, the atmosphere in Gainesville does feel noticeably different since he arrived.

Of course, the jury is still out on Sumrall.

The 43-year-old has four years of prior head-coaching experience, splitting his time between Troy and Tulane. He went 43-12 during that time, most recently leading Tulane to an 11-3 record and a College Football Playoff appearance.

In spite of the success that Sumrall had at his previous stops, the SEC is an entirely different ballgame, so we will see how he handles his first season in a Power-4 conference.

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