Florida head coach Jon Sumrall is doing one thing that Urban Meyer did when he took over the Gators program in 2005.
New Florida head coach Jon Sumrall is setting the tone in Gainesville during his first offseason as the head coach.
Sumrall is coming off an 11-3 season with Tulane that saw the Green Wave make their first-ever College Football Playoff appearance. He's inserting a program that went 4-8 in 2025.
The Gators haven't competed for a national championship since Urban Meyer left the program in 2010 after winning two titles. UF's last SEC championship came in 2008, the final year the program won a national championship.
Sumrall is stealing a move that Meyer used during his first offseason with Florida in 2005.
Per the AP and ESPN, Gators logos were not on athletic gear handed out to players for workouts this offseason. Players will have to earn the opportunity to wear the logo.
"Gotta earn it. Gotta earn the logo," Sumrall said. "We ain't earned it yet. We haven't earned a damn thing. All we've got is our name. ... To wear the Florida Gator logo, to wear the Gators across your helmet, to wear the Gator head, you got to earn that."
Sumrall said he didn't know how players can earn logos.
The logo tradition is somewhat common at Florida. Former Gators basketball coach Billy Donovan banned players from their practice facilities and didn't allow them to wear UF clothing after missing out on the 2008 NCAA Tournament.
Sumrall wants to see a culture change in Gainesville. He should, because 4-8 won't cut it in 2026.
"Toughness, confidence, discipline, accountability, grit, just the mindset we're going to work hard," Sumrall said. "We're never going to back down from anything we ever do. We're going to put them through some things that they have not experienced.
"They already have seen some of that. It's going to be real. It's going to be live."
Sumrall has a successful track record of winning at his first two stops in college football. He went 23-4 during his two seasons at Troy, winning two Sun Belt Conference Championships.
Sumrall went 20-8 in his two seasons with Tulane. He won the American Conference in 2025.