On Tuesday, the day before Florida’s first fall practice, Gators head coach Jon Sumrall met with the media.
JON SUMRALL
While he wants to be physical and tough, Sumrall said that they also have to be thoughtful. There are some injuries that you can’t prevent, but he said, “This is a physical game, you have to practice that way if you want to play that way.” The training camp model is helpful for the player’s recovery, and called it player-friendly. They will open camp by going four days in a row, Wednesday through Saturday, going from a lower-load, higher-load schedule.
The scrimmages will be one in the morning and the second one at night, because the home opener is at night.
In the four main S&C lifts (squat, deadlift, power clean, and bench press), the team improved by almost 14,000 pounds over the summer.
Sumrall said that the offensive line has made significant gains in the weight room. He said that was needed.
Sumrall said that the best ability is availability. How do you do that, you have to be resilient and strong. He said that throughout training camp, throughout the year, they will still lift heavy. They might not do as many reps though. He said too many teams back off of heavy lifting.
Sumrall said that when he first met S&C Coordinator Rusty Whitt, he was about to fire him, but then went on to praise the work he has done. He called UF’s summer body composition changes is as impressive as he’s seen any group do in the length of time that they’ve had.
He said that he saw some flashes in the spring where he thought the team could be really good, but the consistency wasn’t there.
Sumrall said that he is blessed with the resources UF has provided him in being able to put together a great staff.
Sumrall called Buster Faulkner well traveled. His upbringing was more in the Air Raid system, where they throw the football around a lot. He evolved at each stop. Coaching in the SEC he realized you have to run the ball to win.
As for defensive coordinator Brad White, Sumrall called him brilliant. He said that White could be a Fortune 500 CEO. Called him a great teacher.
Sumrall spoke about the dramatic weight loss along the offensive line. He said that you have to be physical along the line, but you have to be athletic too. “To move other people, you also have to be able to move yourself.”
Sumrall spoke about Stive-Bentley Keumajou Yondui reclassifying. He said he has athletic ability, but needs a lot of development.”
Sumrall said that he couldn’t imagine life without Jayden Woods.
Injury update: Jaylen Jordon is out for a couple of a days with a minor issue, Kaiden Hall has a soft tissue issue that may sideline him for a couple of days, and Fletcher Westphal will take part in fall practice. Dijon Johnson will practice on a pitch count where he will participate in certain drills, and sit for others.
Video courtesy GatorVision | Caden Alvis contributed to this report
