GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) 鈥� It鈥檚 been seven years since Florida notched double-digit wins and 17 years since were legitimate national championship contenders.
Calling Florida overdue would be an understatement in Gainesville, and knows it as well as any diehard who watched the unfold at the Swamp on Saturday.
鈥淐hampionships are the standard and expectation,鈥� Sumrall said following the Orange and Blue game. 鈥淲e鈥檝e got to get it back there. We鈥檝e got to wake this beast up.
鈥淟ike, it鈥檚 time we wake this thing up. This is a sleeping giant. I鈥檓 telling you right now: it ain鈥檛 a matter of if we鈥檙e going to win here. It鈥檚 how fast we鈥檙e going to win. It鈥檚 coming. This winning thing, it鈥檚 coming.鈥�
Florida is a paltry 29-37 over its last 66 games, including losing seasons in four of the last five years. It would be unacceptable at just about any Power Four program. It鈥檚 downright embarrassing for one that has three national titles and eight Southeastern Conference championships since 1990.
But the Gators have spent much of the last two decades chasing Alabama, Georgia, LSU and others.
Sumrall was hired to fix it, essentially tasked with cleaning up the mess created and left behind by fired coach Billy Napier. Sumrall, who led Troy and Tulane to a combined four conference title games in four seasons, could start his rebuild just about anywhere.
Florida ranked last in the Southeastern Conference in scoring last season, averaging 21.6 points a game, and allowed 34.3 points a game in its last three losses.
Sumrall, though, is focusing on the weight room. And anyone needing proof of Florida鈥檚 most glaring weakness should look at the team鈥檚 pro day last month, where long-snapper Rocco Underwood put up better bench numbers (14 reps at 225 pounds) than three-year starting guard Damieon George (12 reps).
鈥淭hat shouldn鈥檛 happen,鈥� Sumrall said. 鈥淗ell, our coaches need to be hitting 12. 鈥� That鈥檚 not something that changes overnight.鈥�
Florida鈥檚 strength program left a lot to be desired during Napier鈥檚 tenure.
He brought buddy Mark Hocke with him from Louisiana-Lafayette in December 2021 and then demoted Hocke two years later, essentially putting him in charge of messaging and motivation while continuing to pay him $750,000 annually.
Napier then hired Craig Fitzgerald in hopes of overhauling the strength and nutrition programs in 2024, but Fitzgerald was on campus less than two months before leaving to join longtime friend Bill O鈥橞rien at Boston College. Napier ended up promoting Tyler Miles who came under fire last year as soft-tissue and season-ending injuries mounted.
Sumrall has made it clear his guys need to get stronger and learn to play through bumps and bruises. And it starts with Florida鈥檚 offensive line, which seems to be the most unsettled unit on the team.
The Gators signed three O-line transfers who might start this fall and landed a 2027 commitment last week from five-star offensive lineman Maxwell Hiller from Coatesville, Pennsylvania. Sumrall challenged the line 鈥渢o live in the weight room鈥� and embrace a 鈥渂lue-collar mindset.鈥�
He believes creating 鈥渕ore movement鈥� at the line of scrimmage is the easiest path to the top in arguably college football’s most physical league.
鈥淣ow, I鈥檓 not patient. I want it to happen every day,鈥� Sumrall said. 鈥淏ut we are going to land some pieces in recruiting. We鈥檙e about to do some things and build a roster here that is going to bring it back to where we all want it to be.鈥�
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