Take Five: 2026 Florida Football Preview

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Please Read: Welcome to the new-look Inside the Gators

• Florida-Florida Atlantic Breakdown & Prediction
• Former Florida Football Player Roundtable III
• Florida Football Preseason Superlatives
• Notebook: Depth chart released
• Post-Fall Camp Ranking of Florida position-by-position

Florida’s first game of the 2026 season is a mere 24 hours away. Before the Gators kick off against Florida Atlantic, Inside the Gators offers up this Take Five Fall 2026 Season Preview.

Five Most Important Games

• Florida Atlantic: It is incredibly important for the psyche of the fanbase, and maybe even the returning players, that Florida get off to an impressive start. If this game is closer than anticipated, doubt could begin to creep in.

• @Auburn: This is probably the most pivotal game of the season. Not only is it the first road and SEC game of the season, it also matches up two coaches who were hired in the offseason. They are both on the same timeline. Regardless of how it plays out over time, the winner of this game looks like the better hire.

• Ole Miss: The Rebels will come into the game battle tested, having already played ranked teams Louisville and LSU. If they lose just one of those games, they’ll come in at 2-1 and ranked inside the top 15. Even if they lose two, it will be a chance for Jon Sumrall’s first big home win (FAU and Campbell don’t count as big wins).

• South Carolina: This is probably a swing game. It is likely the game that most determines which way Florida’s season will go. Coming in, the Gators will likely be either 4-1 or 3-2. With Texas and Georgia immediately following USC, a win here gives the Gators some breathing room. A loss almost certainly means that UF will have at best a .500 record, or perhaps even a losing record, after the UGA game and then be fighting for bowl game eligibility rather than an up and coming type of season.

• @Florida State: Look, like it or not, Miami is the premier college football program in the state of Florida. Right now, the Gators grasp as the second best instate program with the ability to ascend is firm, mostly because of the sad sack shape the Seminoles are in. UF has got to keep its foot on FSU’s neck. A win is a must, while a loss here would be devastating.

Five Impact Transfers

• Alec Clark: If you think about it, Florida really has turned into STU with the consistency in which the Gators have sent place kickers and punters to the NFL. Clark, who, like Florida’s previous punter, hails from Australia, arrives in Gainesville after being named first team All-AAC for Jon Sumrall’s Tulane program last season.

• Kanye Clark: Coming in, you weren’t going to be impressed with what he did in his three seasons at UCLA (16 games played, no picks, 4 PD) or him from a physical standpoint (5-foot-10, 179-pounds), but he made his mark over the spring and hasn’t looked back.

• Harrison Moore: There was a clip going around Twitter recently where his former head coach at Georgia Tech wasn’t all that pleased with what he received from Moore last year. What went on there, who knows? This year, however, he is slated to be Florida’s starting center. It will be interesting to see if a healthy Jason Zandamela can push him for the job this season.

• Evan Pryor: He isn’t a feature back, but with Jadan Baugh on the roster, he wasn’t brought in to be one here either. He might only receive a couple of touches a game, but he has the ability to take one of them to the house.

• TJ Shanahan Jr.: It doesn’t happen a lot with players moving around so much, but I actually go back with Shanahan Jr. to when he played high school football in the state before moving to Texas as a senior. Even back then, he was considered a hard worker, and that work ethic has helped solidify his spot on UF’s line. I can’t tell you how many times during recruiting events he would show up on his own to ‘get a workout in.’

Five Returning Starters to Feel Good About

• Brendan Bett: He didn’t have a great 2024, but he flashed. Take away his spitting incident, and there was much more positive than negative. Forget photos or video posted on social media; when I saw him up close and personal during the first open practice this fall, you could see that he has taken it to the next level in the weight room. If he is as dedicated on the field, he will be a deciding factor for this defense.

• Jadan Baugh: Do you like things such as roller coasters and scary movies? Do you want to be shaken up a bit? Then just imagine where UF would be today if Baugh had followed Jabbar Juluke to Texas. Terrifying, right? Other than maybe Aaron Philo, Baugh is the single most important piece to Florida’s 2026 puzzle. Unlike Philo, Baugh is a proven commodity.

• Vernell Brown III: Remember the 5-6 game stretch last year where VBIII made at least one ‘wow’ play per game? There were times last year when he and the player below and above were the only positive things going for Florida football. Now, he isn’t a finished product just yet; he did have some drops last year, but if those hiccups have been corrected, he could be an All SEC type of all-purpose contributor this year.

• Myles Graham: I have said it before, I was as wrong about him as I have been about any player in I don’t know how many years. Standing next to him when he was being recruited, yes he looked athletic (and it showed on tape), but I figured there was no way this player, who was not only much lighter than you would like for the position, but had a slim build down through the hips, was going to be able to put on enough weight/muscle to be physical enough to make a difference in the SEC. Now, he is still on the smaller side for a linebacker, but he is physical for his size. I was wrong.

• Jayden Woods: If he had done a better job finishing plays last year, he would have been considered one of the top returning players in the nation this time around. However, he missed out on some tackles/sacks in the backfield – stunting his overall numbers. That doesn’t take away from the fact that he is a disruptor along the line, with the ability to help confuse defenses with his ability to drop into coverage.

Five New Starters to be Concerned About

• Bryce Lovett: He isn’t a new starter in the sense that he hasn’t started for UF before, because he has. However, his starts have come at right tackle and guard, not at left tackle, where he is set to open the season. To be honest, to this point, during gameplay he has looked a lot better inside at guard than he has outside at tackle. Will a remade body help him perform better than he did the last time he was on an island on the edge? He started the first two games last season before being replaced by Caden Jones. We’ll see if he can hold on to his starting spot this time around. Had he won a starting guard spot, he wouldn’t be on this list.

• Aaron Philo: To recap what I wrote in our Preseason Superlatives: There is nothing on Aaron Philo‘s resume (zero career starts against P4 competition) to warrant his being handed the keys to the family car. Take away his start against FCS Gardner-Webb, and his career stat line (38/74 (51.3%), 565 yards, 1 touchdown, and 2 interceptions) doesn’t impress.

• Emeka Ugorji: When I saw him at Metro Diner while he was on his official visit, my first impression was that he looks the part. Then you dig into what he did at Stanford last season (yes, he was a true freshman), you start to see some doubt creep in. Then, seeing him in the O&B Game, where he at times served as a turnstile, you seriously start to worry and wonder. To his credit, when the staff talks about his offseason work, those aren’t just words. I saw him off working with some other linemen on his own time when I was out at the football fields for 7-on-7 camp. Maybe that extra work, nose to the grindstone mentality, will make a difference.

• Amir Jackson: Entering his third season, we are well past the point of talking about some of the incredible plays he made in high school. At this level, he has three catches in the 14 games that he’s played in.

• Luke Harpring: He is here because he is listed as the co-starter along with Amir Jackson. With his familiarity with Buster Faulkner’s offense, what does it say about him that he isn’t able to outright beat out a player who had three catches over the last two seasons? Okay, looking over the official depth chart, it was a stretch to come up with the fifth player, and he likely doesn’t deserve to be on here.

Five Most Important Non-Starters

• Eagan Boyer: Even with Phil Trautwein leading the way, given their past performances at the position, the chances that both Florida’s new starting tackles live up to expectations probably aren’t that great. Boyer has shown that he is a true swing tackle candidate.

• Dijon Johnson: This isn’t to say that Ben Hanks III didn’t earn his starting spot, but it did come about at least in part by default because Johnson was limited in fall camp. When he has been healthy (and that hasn’t been often enough here lately), Johnson has flashed.

• Tramell Jones Jr.: His level of importance is based on two factors: Not only Aaron Philo’s performance, but how long a leash does Philo have if he indeed struggles? The fact that the quarterback battle went on as long as it did leads me to believe that Jones Jr. likely has more upside, but lost out due to Philo’s familiarity with the offense. Will that upside have an opportunity to be realized is the question.

• Joseph Mbatchou: Though Betts is listed as the starter over MBatchou, looking at his snap counts from last season, even in the games he started, Betts hardly takes half the snaps. So, while he may be a backup in name, look for Mbatchou to see plenty of snaps along the interior of Florida’s defensive line.

• Micah Mays Jr.: I’ve stated my mea culpa on Mays Jr. several times. I went from, ‘Why in the world did UF take Wake Forest’s fifth receiver?’, to ‘He looks like a difference maker.’ His role could potentially be ramped up because, if nothing else, Dallas Wilson has had issues staying on the field during his time at UF.

Five Reasons to be Optimistic

• Jon Sumrall: Not only does he bring a track record of winning at each of his previous two stops, but he has been a breath of fresh air in Gainesville based on his energy level and get to the point truthfulness. Back to his energy level, I am a firm believer that you need that, especially on defense. You can feel an uptick in energy when he is around. That’s just part of the equation. He put together a damn good staff, especially in the S&C department, and it feels like he is a great fit. However, let’s not put the cart in-front of the horse; there are still games to be played before crowning him the next Steve Spurrier.

• Buster Faulkner: The natural inclination of the fanbase is to play up, even overstate, the importance of any staff addition. In the case of Faulker, any praise he received was well deserved. Not only is he an incredible upgrade over what Florida has had the past several seasons, he is legitimately thought of as one of the best offensive minds in college football (Football Scoops’ Offensive Coordinator of the Year). If he made the correct choice with his quarterbacks, watch out.

• OL/DL Coaches: The SEC is a line of scrimmage league, and with Phil Trautwein and Gerald Chatman, it feels like Florida has one of the top line coaching duos in the league. Going player to player, UF doesn’t have the most talented group on either side of the ball, but both of these coaches have a history of getting the most out of what they have.

• The Running Back Room: If the running back room consisted only of Jadan Baugh – you would be damn happy with what the room brings to the table. Add in Duke Clark and Evan Pryor, and this is a top five running back room in the Southeast.

• Wide Receiver: Florida not only held on to its most productive and talented receivers from last season; they added two more huge pieces in Eric Singleton Jr. and Micah Mays Jr. Not only that, but there’s hope that they will be utilized more with more three and four wide sets and less 12 personnel.

Five Reasons to be Pessimistic

• Jon Sumrall: While he brings a fresh new approach to Florida football centered on energy and toughness, the fact is if you were looking at resumes on LinkedIn, Sumrall and Billy Napier are identical twins, separated at birth. Their numbers are so strikingly similar (scarily so if you are a Florida fan), you can legitimately wonder if the results at Florida will be the same.

• Lack of Experience at Quarterback: Even if you agree that there has been much more good than bad with the new staff, it is perfectly okay to wonder why Florida invested so many resources in the receiver room to then willingly go into battle with so little experience at the position whose responsibility is to get them the ball? In Aaron Philo and Tramell Jones Jr., UF’s top two quarterbacks have one combined start entering the 2026 season. Are one or both of them potentially great? Are they potentially good? Or, are they both mid? We don’t know. Neither has played enough to this point to get a feel for what they are capable of becoming. That has to be the scariest part of the team.

• Offensive Line: While Phil Trautwein has a proven track record for producing top offensive lines, there are two reasons to be concerned with this line. First, not only are there not a lot of proven commodities along it, there are a couple of players who have been outright disappointing while playing the position they are currently projected to play. Then, and I don’t know if this is a concern so much as it is an oddity. I can’t remember the last time I’ve seen a Florida offensive line this ‘light’ across the board. Now, obviously you would love to have a 6-foot-5, 330-pounder who is strong, mobile, athletic, has great stamina, and is physical. Those players, however, are unicorns (or first round NFL draft picks). UF has gone in the completely opposite direction, with its biggest lineman (TJ Shannan Jr.) going 6-foot-4, 309-pounds. Lighter equals better mobility at the very least, but will that lost bulk be missed when SEC play rolls around?

• Cornerback: In Ben Hanks III, J’Vari Flowers, Cormani McClain and Dijoin Johnson, just based on talent, Florida has four corners as good as anyone in the league. Now, if we circle back around to proven, consistent results, that’s where the issues arise. If at least three of the four remain healthy enough to consistently play to their ability, the Gators have a damn good shot at being damn good on the back end. That is asking a lot though.

• Losing Mentality: To paraphrase him as well as I can, so many years later, Urban Meyer once said it was his mindset to recruit players from winning high school teams because they are used to winning. They know what it takes to win, and they haven’t learned what it’s like to lose. Florida brought in 50 new players over the course of the offseason. That means that there are over 50 players returning from last year’s team. A team that, like the phrasing or not, came to accept losing. How do you change that mindset in today’s college football universe where there are no contract incentives? You get paid this year regardless of how you perform. You make the exact same amount win or lose – and last year you came to realize losing isn’t the end of the world.