Jon Sumrall will enter his first SEC football media days as Florida football coach with somewhat of a home field advantage.
The event is being held in the state of Florida for the first time in history, at the Tampa Marriott Water Street, from July 20-23.
Sumrall will speak on July 22 and is bringing three players — star Florida Gators running back Jadan Baugh, linebacker Myles Graham and wide receiver Vernell Brown III.
There will be plenty of curiosity as Sumrall takes the podium. He’s one of six first-year coaches at SEC schools, a list that includes Lane Kiffin (LSU), Pete Golding (Ole Miss), Will Stein (Kentucky), Ryan Silverfield (Arkansas) and Alex Golesh (Auburn).
Florida is looking for Sumrall, who guided Tulane to the College Football Playoff last season, to transform a program that has endured four losing seasons in its last five years. UF hasn’t won an SEC title since 2008.
Here are five questions that Sumrall could face at SEC media days:
Who starts at quarterback for Florida football, and what’s the timetable on the decision?
Florida will go into fall camp with an ongoing competition between redshirt sophomore Aaron Philo and redshirt freshman Tramell Jones Jr. for the starting job.
Philo, a Georgia Tech transfer, brings familiarity with new offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner’s scheme, though Sumrall has insisted he will make the final call on the quarterback decisions. Jones, a former Jacksonville Mandarin High standout, appeared in two games last season as DJ Lagway’s backup, passing for 191 yards and 2 TDs.
Both Philo and Jones possess the mobility and toughness that Faulkner and Sumrall are looking for in a quarterback. In UF’s spring game, Philo completed 21-of-28 passes for 193 yards and 2 TDs but also threw two intercepions. Jones completed 13-of-17 passes for 210 yards and 2 TDs but was sacked three times.
Sumrall said he met with both quarterbacks after the end of spring practices to let them know where they stood. He could name a starter the week before UF’s opener on Sept. 5 at The Swamp against FAU (7:45 p.m., SEC Network). Or Sumrall could let the competition play out through the first two games of the season against FAU and Campbell (Sept. 12 at The Swamp, 5:30 p.m., SEC Network Plus) and name a starter before UF’s SEC opener on Sept. 19 at Auburn (7 p.m., ESPN).
How did the Florida football offensive line develop in the weight room in the spring?
Sumrall said following UF’s spring game that offensive linemen need to continue to make significant strength gains.
“Those guys have to have a freaking great summer or we got no chance, like, no chance,” Sumrall said.
New Florida strength coach Rusty Whitt is in the midst of a summer strength program that will physically prepare the offensive front for a nine-game conference schedule.
One of the big questions going into the 2026 fall camp is at left tackle, where Penn State transfer Eagan Boyer and Stanford transfer Emeka Ugorji will battle for the starting job. Right tackle Caleb Jones and left guard Knijeah Harris return as starters on the offensive line from last season. Harrison Moore, a Georgia Tech transfer, will take on the challenge of replacing two-time All-American Jake Slaughter at center.
Will the Florida football offense improve under first-year coordinator Buster Faulkner?
It can only go up, right? Florida averaged just 21.1 points against FBS competition last season with head coach Billy Napier and former UF quarterbacks analyst Ryan O’Hara calling the plays. That included a brutal three-game September stretch when UF averaged just 11.0 points and scored just three TDs in losses to USF, LSU and Miami.
Faulkner is bringing an Air Raid scheme that averaged 460.0 yards per game at Georgia Tech. He’s talked about using some four wide receiver sets to utilize UF’s talent at the position group.
“I want to be able to push the field vertically, horizontally, over the middle, every which way we can,” Faulkner said.
Can Florida football maintain the stamina to finish off games in the fourth quarter?
Sumrall has preached physical and mental toughness since he first arrived at Florida. The Gators were within one score in the fourth quarter in losses to LSU, Miami, Texas A&M and Ole Miss but couldn’t come up with the big stop on defense or big play on offense needed to pull those games off.
Whitt put UF through an offseason conditioning test —the gauntlet — which is based on competition with teammates and inspired from his stint as an Army Special Forces Sargeant during Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Which players will emege in Florida fooball’s secondary?
Sumrall said he was concerned about the consistency of the cornerbacks during spring drills. Redshirt freshman cornerback Ben Hanks III is coming off a strong spring and will challenge incumbent starters Dijon Johnson and Cormani McClain for playing time. At safety, returning starter Bryce Thornton, Baylor transfer DJ Coleman and Kentucky transfer Cam Dooley form a solid trio. UCLA transfer Kanye Clark is another newcomer to watch at defensive back and could man the star position on passing downs.
Kevin Brockway is The Gainesville Sun’s Florida beat writer. Contact him at kbrockway@gannett.com. Follow him on X @KevinBrockwayG1.
This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Five burning questions for Florida football coach Jon Sumrall at 2026 SECMD
Reporting by Kevin Brockway, Gainesville Sun / The Gainesville Sun
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By Kevin Brockway, Gainesville Sun | USA TODAY Network
