Jon Sumrall makes it a point not to complain. He has bad moments, he says, but not bad days. The supposed "chaos" of college football in 2026 doesn't bother him, because his first head coaching job arrived in 2022 so he doesn't know any different. Likewise, the 9-game SEC schedule is new to everyone else in the league, but it will be all he knows as a head coach. Sumrall didn't have a full-time nutritionist when he got to Troy; at Florida, he has a staff of them.
Sumrall also has a rule, at work and at home, against complaining and whining. His young-adult football players are a lot better about following it than his adolescent children.
All that said, Sumrall calls it like he sees it, and he was dismayed at the (lack of) strength in the offensive line he inherited.
We've only got two guys that really started games at the University of Florida, so it's a very new group.
This is a line of scrimmage game. This is a line of scrimmage league, but I don't care what league you're in, you better be good on the line of scrimmage. I've been really pleased with the group of our offensive line this summer, in particular the weight room. That was probably my greatest disappointment when I took the job and started to watch our team work in January and February -- the strength of our O-line was underwhelming to me. It was not what I felt like it needed to be," Sumrall said Wednesday at SEC media days.
Sumrall acquired that knowledge first hand. Generally speaking, it's not a good thing for your prospects as an SEC offensive lineman if your head coach has to add weight when follows you at the bar.
Jon Sumrall said when he first got to Florida he would go lift with the players and he could dead lift more than half the O-line. Not good! But he said there are several guys who’ve added 100+ lbs to their max this offseason.
— 💫🅰️♈️🆔 (@ADavidHaleJoint) July 22, 2026
Sumrall put it plainly when assessing the offensive line after Florida's spring game: "Those guys have to have a freaking great summer or we got no chance. Like, no chance."
Three months removed from that proclamation, Sumrall is pleased with the progress the group has made.
"Those guys have embraced the challenge, they've worked incredibly hard. I think we've got great leadership in that room. Two transfers have really set the standard for how we work -- Harrison Moore, offensive center from Georgia Tech and TJ Shanahan, offensive guard from Penn State, have both elevated the rhythm that room marches to," Sumrall said.
Florida was more talented last year than their 4-8 record indicated, and Sumrall retained more of the Gators' returning talent than most expected, considering the options guys like running back Jadan Baugh and wide receivers Vernell Brown III and Dallas Wilson had on the table. This is a roster that's ready to at least compete with the upper echelon in the SEC everywhere else on the roster. Realistically, "average" is a good goal for the offensive line considering where they started back in January.
"They've got a lot of pride in how they work. I'm very direct. When we do something well I tell our guys we did it well, and when we don't I let them know it wasn't good enough... It takes time to gel. The cohesion of the offensive line as a unit matters. We were mixing and matching so many different groupings that I don't know it was fair to them in the spring to really asses where we'll play as a whole unit on the O-line come this fall because we're trying to figure out which guys can be swing guys. That group has embraced the challenge, they've worked incredibly hard, and I'm proud of the work they've done," Sumrall said.
Out-deadlifting the head coach is a good start.