Quarterback Aaron Philo, a transfer from Georgia Tech, throws a pass on Tuesday in his first spring practice with the Gators. (Photo: Ethan Roy/UAA Communications)
Gators Notebook: Sumrall Has No Timeline for QB Battle, Impact of 'The Gauntlet,' Injury Report, More Tidbits
Tuesday, March 3, 2026 | Football
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By: Ryan Roddy, FloridaGators.com Writing Intern
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — It's that time of year.
Memories of 2025 begin to fade away, temperatures are rising, and the Florida Gators football team begins another fiscal year of practice.
Tuesday marked the start of spring practice, the first camp under head coach Jon Sumrall and the first practice for about 50 new Gators at UF.
With the 2026 season slowly but surely creeping into frame, questions linger about the new regime.
Sumrall, Rusty Whitt, the team's director of football performance, inside linebacker Myles Graham and edge rusher Jayden Woods all spoke following practice.
Here are items of note:
QUARTERBACK WATCH
The most famous position in football and possibly all of sports. You can ask someone who only watches the Super Bowl to name a position in football, and there's a good chance "quarterback" is what they say.
When it comes to who will be under center for Florida in 2026, that is still be determined.
Sumrall said that the decision isn't really up to him.
"I don't decide who starts, believe it or not," Sumrall said after practice. "They do by how they practice. Like, everybody thinks, 'Oh, you made a decision to start this guy?' I really don't make the decision. If the quarterbacks lead well, protect the football, create explosive plays on offense and direct and command at the line of scrimmage, pretty good chance you can be the starter. If you turn the ball over, you don't lead well, you don't communicate well at the line of scrimmage – those kinds of things – you're probably not gonna be the starter."
Quarterback Tramell Jones Jr. tosses a pass during Tuesday's practice. (Photo: Ethan Roy/UAA Communications)
Fans may be on the edge of their seats awaiting to hear who will be leading their beloved Gators, but they are going to be disappointed to know they may not find out anytime soon, or maybe they will.
Nobody truly knows.
"I don't ever want to put a timeline on it," Sumrall said. "Yeah, if we had an incumbent starter, that'd be really nice and easy and clean. We don't. I'm okay with that. I'm really comfortable with that. I've been here, done that before. We'll let you guys compete, and they're competing with each other, not against each other."
Sumrall did not speak about each individually, but was asked about Griffin, the early enrollee four-star who was Florida's Gatorade Player of the Year and whose name is all over the FHSAA record books following a decorated career at Jesuit High in Tampa.
"Will's got a cannon, man," Sumrall said. "He's got big, strong hands. He's got really big hands, which helps you gripping and throwing the football. He's physically got giftedness and tools and talents that you can't teach. He's eager. He's a great communicator. I think he likes playing, like he loves the work that goes with it. It's been fun to be around him. It's nice that he's here midyear, you know, because he gets this whole offseason to kind of learn and develop and grow. Been very pleased with what he's doing so far, and excited about what lies ahead for him. Very talented kid."
The position battle will be closely monitored as camp progresses.
INJURY REPORT
Sumrall addressed Florida's injury situation at the start of camp in a straightforward fashion.
"I'll give you the full injury report right now. I know that's probably new for you, and I don't know — I'm going to do what I want to do," Sumrall said. "Now, I will say this, I'm not going to do this every time I come in here."
Players designated non-contact wore orange jerseys, like the quarterbacks, a change from the black jerseys in recent seasons. Head coach Jon Sumrall speaks to the team on Tuesday. (Photo: Ethan Roy/UAA Communications)
The most prominent players slowed at the start of camp are receiver Dallas Wilson, who did not practice, Graham and cornerback Dijon Johnson. Wilson (foot) is being held out "for an abundance of caution,'' Sumrall said. "He would play if we had a game this week."
Graham (shoulder) underwent surgery in December on his right shoulder and will be limited and won't participate in 11-on-11 tackling drills. Graham led the team with 76 stops as a sophomore.
"We've seen him play. I want to see some other guys," Sumrall said.
Meanwhile, Johnson continues to recover from last season's season-ending knee surgery and will increase his participation as camp progresses.
"He's going to have some return-to-play activities this spring. He wasn't out there today practicing, but should have an opportunity to do more as spring proceeds," Sumrall said.
In addition, Sumrall said five players have been ruled out of spring as they recover from injuries and/or surgeries from a season ago: Freshman defensive lineman Kendall Guervil (knee), redshirt freshman defensive end Jalen Wiggins (hip), freshman offensive lineman Chancellor Campbell (knee), freshman cornerback CJ Bronaugh (shoulder) and redshirt freshman offensive lineman Daniel Pierre Louis (hip).
CALCULATED CONDITIONING
It was just day one, but perhaps the Gators were better suited for the part thanks to "The Gauntlet."
The Gauntlet, a conditioning/cardio program implemented by Whitt, tested players' physical and mental will. The team passed the conditioning challenge on Wednesday, Sumrall said.
"It took a long time to get complete emotional investment into that," Whitt said. "After about the third one, I think a lot of coaches who had not experienced that format were like, 'How in the world are these guys going to pass this?' I think there was a little bit of a sense of doom after the third one, and some of the players, I could see there's like a lost look in their eyes.
Rusty Whitt, Florida's director of football performance, has been pleased with the Gators' improved conditioning since the start of offseason workouts. (Photo: Ethan Roy/UAA Communications)
"And then after around the fifth one, when guys started getting angry, when you started seeing guys who were just kind of going through the motions, and then they started getting angry about it, then I knew, 'Hey, we have a chance.' "
The Gauntlet is rooted in competition and has seen guys like Woods, a defensive lineman, race skill-position players such as receivers and running backs.
"I love it," Woods said. "Coach White talked about that. We were running the unit meeting, and he was just like, 'If you're a true competitor, it doesn't matter who you're going against.' If it's whatever you want to call it – not a fair matchup. You can't control factors like that in a game. So, I'm just going out there and compete whoever is against us is whoever I'm going against."
Graham said The Gauntlet ultimately benefited the team.
"It was very challenging," Graham said. "Just the mental aspect, the physical aspect, all of it. It prepares us for battle and for the season. So, it's designed to help us win games in the fourth quarter, and it's a great thing that we did."
GRAHAM, WOODS DISCUSS RETURNS
The two defensive cornerstones last season for UF spoke about their decisions to remain in Gainesville.
Graham's decision was a simpler one, as he detailed. Jayden Woods
He was one of the first players to publicly announce he would be staying with the incoming new staff.
But that's when he started talking to players to get them to stay as well, potentially.
He said he had calls with multiple players, including Woods, but did not push and offered space.
"I talked to Myles, yeah," Woods said. "It was truly making sure that it's the best decision for me and my family. So Myles saw that and respected it. I could tell he was holding back a little bit, but he was good through that whole process. He's somebody I can ask questions about to, like, 'What do you think about this person, this person?' stuff like that, so he was a good piece for me when I was back home."
Woods said that another Southeastern Conference program, in Texas, was in the race and even tied at one point.
However, he said the Longhorns staff did not "badmouth" Florida, and ultimately respected his decision. Woods mentioned the in-home visit Sumrall took to his family's home in Kansas, which really resonated with him.
"We barely talked about football when they were there, and that was the biggest thing for me,'' he said. "So just knowing that it was genuine and it was relationship-driven, that was the biggest piece for me."
TWO NOS. 1s
Some fans care about uniform numbers. Some couldn't care less.
If you enjoy the fanfare, several key players will be sporting new numbers for the Gators, including receiver Vernell Brown III and Bryce Thornton. Both players requested to wear No. 1 and were granted the privilege after proving to Sumrall that they were deserving.
Sumrall takes tradition into account when a player requests a jersey number change.
"I'm not going to put a guy in 1 if he's like not a good player and he's not doing things the right way from a leadership standpoint. So, yeah, VB and Bryce, they both got 1," Sumrall said.
