GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) 鈥� Jon Sumrall had no idea one of his first major moves as Florida鈥檚 football coach had been done before in Gainesville 鈥� more than two decades ago.
Sumrall gave his players shorts, shirts and other gear without any Gators logos. It was reminiscent of Hall of Fame coach Urban Meyer鈥檚 approach in 2005, which paid off with two national titles in his first four seasons at Florida.
鈥淕otta earn it. Gotta earn the logo,鈥� Sumrall said. 鈥淲e ain鈥檛 earned it yet. We haven鈥檛 earned a damn thing. All we鈥檝e got is our name. 鈥� To wear the Florida Gator logo, to wear the Gators across your helmet, to wear the Gator head, you got to earn that.鈥�
Sumrall said he鈥檚 unsure how or when the players can earn logos.
鈥淚 haven鈥檛 thought about that yet,鈥� he said.
Florida hired Sumrall in late November, days after it became clear to athletic director Scott Stricklin that top choice Lane Kiffin was headed to LSU. Sumrall signed and potentially get the once-proud program back to national prominence.
Sumrall鈥檚 coaching resume includes four consecutive league title games. He won back-to-back Sun Belt championships in two seasons (2022-23) at Troy and then led Tulane to the American title game both seasons (2024-25) there. The Green Wave won the league last year and earned a spot in the College Football Playoff.
The Gators are hoping for similar results.
Sumrall鈥檚 first steps included keeping five top-tier players in Gainesville: linebacker Myles Graham, running back Jadan Baugh, defensive end Jayden Woods, and receivers Vernell Brown III and Dallas Wilson. Some of them considered hitting the transfer portal, but all of them ended up back at Florida 鈥� at a combined cost of $5.2 million 鈥� for Sumrall鈥檚 debut season.
鈥淐learly, the most important thing to me was trying to retain our best players,鈥� Sumrall said. 鈥淣ot going to keep them all, ever. There鈥檚 a coaching change. There鈥檚 going to be some change and some transition, but that part was critical for us to have any opportunity to have success next year.鈥�
Sumrall and general manager Dave Caldwell then signed Georgia Tech quarterback Aaron Philo, reuniting him with , as part of a portal class that includes more than two dozen newcomers.
They formally joined the returning group in mid-January and have since been running and lifting weights in plain, black or blue workout attire.
Meyer鈥檚 motivational version included kicking players out of the locker room and not allowing them to even wear school colors. He also removed a large gator head that players touch for luck on their way into the stadium. They eventually regained access and logos. But the gator head didn鈥檛 return until the day of the 2005 season opener.
Florida basketball coach Billy Donovan . After his two-time reigning national champion Gators lost eight of their final 11 games in 2008 and missed out on the NCAA Tournament for the first time in a decade, he banned them from their practice facility and told them they couldn鈥檛 wear any Florida attire.
Players spent days shuffling between the O鈥機onnell Center practice floor and the antiquated Florida Gym while preparing for the NIT. They responded by winning three consecutive games and making the semifinals at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
So there鈥檚 precedent for Sumrall鈥檚 arrangement to work. His ultimate goal:
鈥淭oughness, confidence, discipline, accountability, grit, just the mindset we鈥檙e going to work hard,鈥� Sumrall said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e never going to back down anything we ever do. We鈥檙e going to put them through some things that they have not experienced.
鈥淭hey already have seen some of that. It鈥檚 going to be real. It鈥檚 going to be live.鈥�
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